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80-399: Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions , including Buddhism , Hinduism , Zoroastrianism , Sikhism , Jainism , Neopaganism , Baháʼí Faith , Judaism , Islam , Christianity , and New Thought , to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from a feminist perspective. Some of the goals of feminist theology include increasing

160-503: A Christian primitivist church, called the "Church of Christ ". The Book of Mormon attracted hundreds of early followers, who later became known as " Mormons ", "Latter Day Saints", or just "Saints". In 1831, Smith moved the church headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio , and in 1838 changed its name to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". After the church in Ohio collapsed due to a financial crisis and dissensions, in 1838, Smith and

240-507: A Great Apostasy began in Christianity not long after the ascension of Jesus , marked with the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies, and followers dividing into different ideological groups. Additionally, Latter Day Saints claim the martyrdom of the apostles led to a loss of priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances . According to Latter Day Saint churches, God re-established

320-634: A U.S. state . This change resulted in the formation of several small sects that sought to maintain polygamy and other 19th-century doctrines and practices, now referred to as " Mormon fundamentalism ". Other groups originating within the Latter Day Saint movement followed different paths in Missouri , Illinois , Michigan , and Pennsylvania . For the most part, these groups rejected plural marriage and some of Smith's later teachings. The largest of these, Community of Christ (known previously as

400-475: A ditheistic concept of a single goddess and a single god, who in hieros gamos represent a united whole. Polytheistic reconstructionists focus on reconstructing polytheistic religions, including the various goddesses and figures associated with indigenous cultures. Wicca is a duo theistic belief system. Members of Wicca will work individually with both a God, the son and partner of the Mother Earth, and

480-412: A complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology, and claim to have similar views about the nature of Jesus ' atonement , resurrection , and Second Coming as traditional Christianity . Nevertheless, Mormons agree with non-Mormons that their view of God is significantly different from the trinitarian view of

560-840: A female version of, preceding, or analogue to, the Abrahamic God associated with the historical rise of monotheism in the Mediterranean Axis Age . Mother Nature (sometimes known as Mother Earth ) is a common representation of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing features of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother. Images of women representing mother earth, and mother nature, are timeless. In prehistoric times, goddesses were worshipped for their association with fertility , fecundity , and agricultural bounty. Priestesses held dominion over aspects of Incan , Assyrian , Babylonian , Slavonic , Roman , Greek , Indian , and Iroquoian religions in

640-700: A means to salvation. However, beginning with his accounts of the First Vision in the 1830s and 1840s, Smith—who said that Christ had told him not to join any existing church—departed significantly from traditional Christianity, claiming all churches of his day were part of a Great Apostasy that had lost the authority to direct Christ's church. Mormonism does not characterize itself as a Protestant religion, as Smith taught that he had received revelation direct from Christ to restore his original church. Mormons believe that God, through Smith and his successors, restored these truths and doctrinal clarifications, and, initiating

720-630: A metaphor. Using masculine and feminine metaphors for God is one way to remind ourselves that gendered descriptions of God are just metaphors. God is beyond gender. These views are highly controversial even within liberal Jewish movements. Orthodox Jews and many Conservative Jews hold that it is wrong to use English female pronouns for God, viewing such usage as an intrusion of modern, western feminist ideology into Jewish tradition. Liberal prayer books tend increasingly to also avoid male-specific words and pronouns, seeking that all references to God in translations be made in gender-neutral language. For example,

800-646: A new heavenly dispensation, restored the original church and Christianity taught by Jesus. For example, Smith rejected the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity as of one body and substance, with no "body, parts, or passions", and instead taught that the Godhead included God, the Eternal Father, also known as Elohim ; his only-begotten son in the flesh, Jesus Christ, also known as Jehovah , the savior and redeemer of

880-517: A society that does not put women on such a high pedestal has to face miseries and failures regardless of how so much noble deeds they perform otherwise. Manusmriti Chapter 3 Verse 56. Within the Vedas the Hindu holy texts, women were given the highest possible respect and equality. The Vedic period was glorified by this tradition. Many rishis were women, indeed so that several of them authored many of

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960-510: A variety of religious denominations and churches, particularly the Unity Church , Religious Science , and Church of Divine Science . It was a feminist movement in that most of its teachers and students were women; notable among the founders of the movement were Emma Curtis Hopkins , known as the "teacher of teachers" Myrtle Fillmore , Malinda Cramer , and Nona L. Brooks ; with its churches and community centers mostly led by women, from

1040-459: Is a crucial piece in feminist theology for Islam and how it relates to a non western state. Other theologists include Riffat Hassan , Amina Wadud , and Asma Barlas . This theology has been used to educate, re-frame religion, pose as a building block for peace, and the advancement of women's rights, in legislation and in society. In Sikhism women are equal to men. The verse from the Sikh scripture

1120-462: Is a loose grouping of social and religious phenomena that grew out of second-wave feminism , predominantly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in the 1970s, and the metaphysical community as well. Spurred by the perception that women were not treated equitably in many religions, some women turned to a Female Deity as more in tune with their spiritual needs. Education in

1200-414: Is also the feminization of rituals such as the ceremonial rite of who lights a funeral pyre. Singh further states that this is the reclamation of religion to inspire "personal and social renewal of change" and that these theologians are seen as gurus rather than simply women or scholars. The teachings of Guru Nanak focus on the singularity between men and women, with anything that differs denounced. He cites

1280-483: Is an aspect of feminist theology which seeks to advance and understand the equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually, and in leadership from a Christian perspective. This is through reformation to be along the lines of feminist thought in regards to their religion. Christian feminists argue that contributions by women in that direction are necessary for a complete understanding of Christianity. These theologians believe that God does not discriminate on

1360-507: Is beyond gender ( Is God male, female, both or neither? How should we phrase our prayers in response to God's gender? , in the Union for Reform Judaism 's iTorah, [2] ): Feminine imagery of God does not in any way threaten Judaism. On the contrary, it enhances the Jewish understanding of God, which should not be limited to masculine metaphors. All language that humans use to describe God is only

1440-487: Is called "Heavenly Mother ". While Latter-day Saints do not pray to Heavenly Mother, she is considered to be the wife of Heavenly Father and therefore His equal in heaven, according to "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"'s description of husbands and wives as equal partners. New Thought as a movement had no single origin, but was rather propelled along by a number of spiritual thinkers and philosophers and emerged through

1520-655: Is impacted by the world. Ruether grew up Roman Catholic and attended Catholic schools through her sophomore year of high school. She was a classics major at Scripps College , worked for the Delta Ministry in 1965 and taught at Howard University School of Religion from 1966 to 1976. "Rosemary Ruether has written on the question of Christian credibility, with particular attention to ecclesiology and its engagement with church-world conflicts; Jewish-Christian relations...; politics and religion in America; and Feminism". Ruether

1600-467: Is not necessarily seen as monotheistic, but is often understood to be an inclusive, encompassing term incorporating many goddesses in many different cultures. The term "the Goddess" may also be understood to include a multiplicity of ways to view deity personified as female, or as a metaphor, or as a process. (Christ 1997, 2003) The term "The Goddess" may also refer to the concept of The One Divine Power, or

1680-542: Is not present, the woman alone has full rights to do yagna". Rigveda Samhita , part 1, sukta 79, sloka 872. Moving on towards the Monotheistic era of Hinduism when such ideals such as Shaivism and Vaishnavism , a specific deity for feministic worship was brought about under the Shaktism branch. From a Hinduism point of view women are equal in all measures to men in comparison, historical texts have stated this and

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1760-508: Is said to be one of the major Christian feminist theologians of our time. Her book Sexism and God-Talk is the earliest feminist theological assessment of Christian theology. In the 1970s Phyllis Trible pioneered a Christian feminist approach to biblical scholarship , using the approach of rhetorical criticism developed by her dissertation advisor, James Muilenburg . Christian feminist theology has consistently been critiqued as being focused on primarily white women. This has resulted in

1840-448: Is that Mormonism is a form of Christianity, but is distinct enough from traditional Christianity so as to form a new religious tradition, much as Christianity has roots in but is a distinct religion from Judaism. The Mormonism that originated with Smith in the 1820s shared strong similarities with some elements of 19th-century Protestant Christianity including the necessity of baptism, emphasis on family, and central doctrine on Christ as

1920-626: Is the author of the widely reprinted essay "Why Women Need the Goddess", which argues in favor of the concept of there having been an ancient religion of a supreme goddess . This essay was presented as the keynote address to an audience of over 500 at the "Great Goddess Re-emerging" conference at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the spring of 1978, and was first published in Heresies: The Great Goddess Issue (1978), pgs. 8–13. Carol P. Christ also co-edited

2000-503: Is the basis of Hinduism, recognizing women as valuable and interconnected between men and women. Shakti, the name meaning power and referring to the female counterpart of Shiva, possesses connected powers that do not belong to just male or female but rather works together, equally dependent upon the other. Hindu feminist scholars also go beyond the reconstruction of texts but also the reestablishment of society and Hinduism in practice. Some currents of Neopaganism , in particular Wicca , have

2080-624: The Nauvoo Expositor , and formed their own church . The city council of Nauvoo, Illinois , led by Smith, subsequently had the printing press of the Expositor destroyed. In spite of Smith's later offer to pay damages for destroyed property, critics of Smith and the church considered the destruction heavy-handed. Some called for the Latter Day Saints to be either expelled or destroyed. Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum,

2160-656: The Assistant President of the Church , were both killed by a mob while in a Carthage, Illinois jail , and several individuals within the church claimed to be the senior surviving authority and appointed successors. These various claims resulted in a succession crisis. Many supported Brigham Young, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ; others Sidney Rigdon , the senior surviving member of

2240-741: The First Presidency . Emma Hale Smith failed to persuade William Marks , the president of the Presiding High Council and a Rigdon supporter, to assume leadership and the surviving members of Smith's immediate family remained unaffiliated with any larger body until 1860, when they formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with Joseph's eldest son Joseph Smith III as prophet. These various groups are sometimes referred to under two geographical headings: "Prairie Saints" (those that remained in

2320-596: The Guru Granth Sahib states that: From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. According to scholars such as Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, feminist theology in Sikhism

2400-818: The Midwest United States ); and "Rocky Mountain Saints" (those who followed Young to what would later become the state of Utah). Today, the vast majority (over 98 percent) of Latter Day Saints belong to the LDS Church, which reports over 16 million members worldwide. The second-largest denomination is the Missouri-based Community of Christ, which reports 252,000 members. Small denominations that trace their origins to Rigdon, James Strang , or other associates of Smith's still exist, and several fundamentalist sects which separated from

2480-694: The Nicene Creed of the 4th century. Mormons consider the Bible as scripture and have also adopted additional scriptures. These include the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants , and Pearl of Great Price , although not all denominations use all books as part of their scriptures. Mormons not only practice baptism and celebrate the eucharist but also participate in religious rituals not practiced in traditional Christianity. Focusing on differences, some Christians consider Mormonism "non-Christian"; members of

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2560-739: The UK Liberal movement 's Siddur Lev Chadash (1995) does so, as does the UK Reform Movement 's Forms of Prayer (2008). In Mishkan T'filah , the American Reform Jewish prayer book released in 2007, references to God as "He" have been removed, and whenever Jewish patriarchs are named (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), so also are the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.) In 2015 the Reform Jewish High Holy Days prayer book Mishkan HaNefesh

2640-569: The "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"), was formed in Illinois in 1860 by several groups uniting around Smith's son, Joseph Smith III . The founder of the Latter Day Saint movement was Joseph Smith, and to a lesser extent, during the movement's first two years, Oliver Cowdery . Throughout his life, Smith told of an experience he had as a boy having seen God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings, who told him that

2720-495: The "latter days", before the Second Coming of Christ , and is used to distinguish the members of the church, which considers itself the restoration of the ancient Christian church. Members are therefore often referred to as " Latter-day Saints " or "LDS", and among themselves, "saints". The Latter Day Saint movement classifies itself within Christianity, but as a distinct restored dispensation . Latter Day Saints hold that

2800-420: The 1880s to today. Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, political, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major denominations of Judaism. There are different approaches and versions of feminist theology that exist within the Jewish community. Some of these theologies promote

2880-449: The 1960s article, "The Human Situation: A Feminine View", written by Valerie Saiving (Goldstein). Her piece of work questioned theologies written by men for men in a modern perspective to then dismantle what it had created over the years, patriarchal systems that oppress women. After Saiving's work was published, many scholars took up her ideas and elaborated upon them, which built the feminist theology movement further. Grenz and Olson view

2960-466: The Arts became a vehicle for the study of humanitarian philosophers like David Hume at that time. A unifying theme of this diverse movement is the femaleness of Deity (as opposed and contrasted to a patriarchal God ). Goddess beliefs take many forms: some people in the Goddess movement recognize multiple goddesses, some also include gods, while others honour what they refer to as "the Goddess", which

3040-479: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), 250,000 in Community of Christ , and several other denominations with memberships generally ranging in the thousands of members. The predominant theology of the churches in the movement is Mormonism , which sees itself as restoring again on Earth the early Christian church ; their members are most commonly known as Mormons . An additional doctrine of

3120-704: The Goddess herself. The Goddess is commonly referred to as the Triple Goddess in Wicca. She is also commonly addressed as the Mother Goddess or the Mother Earth. The Goddess represents creation, strength, destruction and the Earth at once. Wicca's common theme across its beliefs is the feminist movement of the Female Goddess, which honours the importance of the female body. Wiccan Feminism demonstrates

3200-540: The LDS Church after it rejected plural marriage in 1890 claim tens of thousands of members. Most members of Latter Day Saint churches are adherents to Mormonism , a theology based on Joseph Smith's later teachings and further developed by Brigham Young, James Strang and others who claimed to be Smith's successors. The term Mormon derives from the Book of Mormon , and most of these adherents refer to themselves as Latter Day Saints or Mormons. Mormonism and Christianity have

3280-510: The LDS Church, focusing on similarities, are offended at being so characterized. Mormons do not accept non-Mormon baptism. Mormons regularly proselytize individuals actually or nominally within the Christian tradition, and some Christians, especially evangelicals , proselytize Mormons. The LDS Church has a formal missionary program with nearly 70,000 missionaries, with 15 training centers and 407 missions worldwide. A prominent scholarly view

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3360-535: The basis of biologically determined characteristics, such as sex and race. Their major issues include the ordination of women , male dominance in Christian marriage, recognition of equal spiritual and moral abilities, reproductive rights, and the search for a feminine or gender-transcendent divine. Christian feminists often draw on the teachings of more historical texts that reinforce that feminism does not go against Christianity but has always been in its texts. Mary Daly grew up an Irish Catholic and all of her education

3440-661: The body of the church moved to Missouri. However, they were persecuted and the Latter Day Saints fled to Illinois. After Smith was killed in 1844, a succession crisis led to the organization splitting into several groups. The largest of these, the LDS Church, migrated under the leadership of Brigham Young to the Great Basin (now Utah ) and became known for its 19th-century practice of polygamy . The LDS Church officially renounced this practice in 1890 and gradually discontinued it, resulting in Utah Territory becoming

3520-573: The chuppah [wedding canopy]", and adding a third, non-gendered option to the way worshippers are called to the Torah, offering "mibeit", Hebrew for "from the house of", in addition to the traditional "son of" or "daughter of". In 2003 The Female Face of God in Auschwitz: A Jewish Feminist Theology of the Holocaust , the first full-length feminist theology of the Holocaust, written by Melissa Raphael,

3600-579: The church allows for prophets to receive and publish modern-day revelations . A minority of Latter Day Saint adherents, such as members of Community of Christ, have been influenced by Protestant theologies while maintaining certain distinctive beliefs and practices including continuing revelation , an open canon of scripture and building temples . Other groups include the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , which supports lineal succession of leadership from Smith's descendants, and

3680-408: The church was referred to as the "Church of the Latter Day Saints" in early church publications, and in 1838 Smith announced that he had received a revelation from God that officially changed the name to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". In 1844, William Law and several other Latter Day Saints in church leadership positions publicly denounced Smith's secret practice of polygamy in

3760-550: The classic feminist religion anthologies Weaving the Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality (1989) and Womanspirit Rising (1979/1989); the latter included her essay Why Women Need the Goddess . The Latter-Day Saint movement is unique among Christian denominations in that it affirms the existence of a Divine Feminine as a part of its core doctrine. The Latter-Day Saint Divine Feminine

3840-584: The creation of a more equal and just society. This is done through the advocation of the female autonomy in line with the guideline of the Qur'an. Feminist theologians like Azizah al-Hibri, professor of law at University of Richmond, founded KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. Feminist theology and Islam is also used to strengthen the spiritual connection to the women of Islam when they undergo severe trauma, to promote human rights especially those of women. Fatima Mernissi 's book, The Forgotten Queens of Islam ,

3920-407: The development of movements such as womanist theology , focusing on African American women coined by the works of Alice Walker, Asian feminist theology , and mujerista theology, introduced by Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz concerning Latinas. The term Christian egalitarianism is sometimes preferred by those advocating gender equality and equity among Christians who do not wish to associate themselves with

4000-580: The distinctive theological developments they believe to have been developed later in Mormonism. The beliefs within the LDS Church with regard to saints are similar but not quite the same as the Protestant tradition. In the New Testament , saints are all those who have entered into the Christian covenant of baptism. The qualification "latter-day" refers to the doctrine that members are living in

4080-615: The embodiment of great virtue and wisdom. Thus we have: "O bride! May the knowledge of the Vedas be in front of you and behind you, in your center and in your ends. May you conduct your life after attaining the knowledge of the Vedas. May you be benevolent, the harbinger of good fortune and health and live in great dignity and indeed illuminate your husband's home." Atharva Veda 14-1-64. Women were allowed full freedom of worship. "The wife should do agnihotra (yagna), sandhya (puja) and all other daily religious rituals. If, for some reason, her husband

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4160-580: The empress of your mother-in-law, father-in-law, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law (sisters and brothers of the groom). May your writ run in your house." Rigveda Samhita Part -4, sukta 85, sloka 9712 This sloka from the Atharvaveda clearly states that the woman leads and the man follows: "The Sun God follows the first illuminated and enlightened goddess Usha (dawn) in the same manner as men emulate and follow women." Athravaveda Samhita , Part 2, Kanda 27, sukta 107, sloka 5705. Women were considered to be

4240-512: The example that origins and traditions stem from women as supervisors and in control, as well as engaged in history, such as Mai Bhago , who rallied men to fight against imperial forces alongside her in the battle at Muktsar in 1705. Within Ancient Hinduism, women have been held in equal honour as men. The Manusmriti for example states: The society that provides respect and dignity to women flourishes with nobility and prosperity. And

4320-711: The faculty at Union Theological seminary which is a hub of liberation theology and even Senator Rafael Warnock referred to God as "she' in his exegiesis of John 3. See also: Unity Church , Christian Science , Christian theological praxis and Postmodern Christianity . Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam . It aims for the full equality of all Muslims , regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights , gender equality , and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam ,

4400-422: The female body. Members of the practice acknowledge the menstrual cycle as a powerful form of creation and life. Women are not shamed for being open about their sexuality and individualism, as Wicca considers menstruation, pregnancy and menopause to be manifestations of the divine feminine and a source of creation.The faith's feminist approach and emphasis of a female deity creates an appeal to women, which has led to

4480-462: The female experience from the male. A male or female deity can create through speech or through action, but the metaphor for creation which is uniquely feminine is birth. Once God is called female, then, the metaphor of birth and the identification of the deity with nature and its processes become inevitable Ahuva Zache affirms that using both masculine and feminine language for God can be a positive thing, but reminds her Reform Jewish readership that God

4560-413: The feminist movement. Women apologists have become more visible in Christian academia. Their defense of the faith is differentiated by a more personal, cultural and listening approach "driven by love". To learn more about feminism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, go to this article . Some advocates of liberation theology will refer to God as "she". This is particularly true of many of

4640-470: The first article to deal theoretically with the issue of female God-language in a Jewish context".  Gross was Jewish herself at this time. Reconstructionist Rabbi Rebecca Alpert ( Reform Judaism , Winter 1991) comments: The experience of praying with Siddur Nashim [the first Jewish prayer book to refer to God using female pronouns and imagery, written by Margaret Wenig and Naomi Janowitz in 1976] ... transformed my relationship with God. For

4720-495: The first time, I understood what it meant to be made in God's image. To think of God as a woman like myself, to see Her as both powerful and nurturing, to see Her imaged with a woman's body, with womb, with breasts – this was an experience of ultimate significance. Was this the relationship that men have had with God for all these millennia? How wonderful to gain access to those feelings and perceptions. In 1990 Rabbi Margaret Wenig wrote

4800-440: The following slokas are uttered by the grooms, yet in recent years their importance is understood less frequently with no active desire to analyze them in depth to come to the conclusions that was being portrayed: "O bride! I accept your hand to enhance our joint good fortune. I pray to you to accept me as your husband and live with me until our old age. ..." Rigveda Samhita Part -4, sukta 85, sloka 9702 "O bride! May you be like

4880-406: The idea that it is important to have a feminine characterization of God within the siddur (Jewish prayerbook) and service. They challenge the male rabbi teachings that only emphasize God as a man with masculine traits only. In 1976, Rita Gross published the article "Female God Language in a Jewish Context" (Davka Magazine 17), which Jewish scholar and feminist Judith Plaskow considers "probably

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4960-570: The majority of the Wiccan population being primarily female over the years. Wicca has a feminist approach to life as it encourages a theme of balance in power between men and women, highlighting the importance of equality in the faith. The term thealogy is sometimes used in the context of the Neopagan Goddess movement, a pun on theology and thea θεά "goddess" intended to suggest a feminist approach to theism . The Goddess movement

5040-534: The millennia prior to the inception of patriarchy . Others who practice feminist spirituality may instead adhere to a feminist re-interpretation of Western monotheistic traditions. In those cases, the notion of God as having a male gender is rejected, and God is not referred to using male pronouns. Feminist spirituality may also object to images of God that they perceive as authoritarian, parental, or disciplinarian, instead emphasizing "maternal" attributes such as nurturing, acceptance, and creativity. Carol P. Christ

5120-557: The more controversial Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints , which defends the practice of polygamy . The movement began in western New York during the Second Great Awakening when Smith said that he received visions revealing a new sacred text, the Book of Mormon , which he published in 1830 as a complement to the Bible . Based on the teachings of this book and other revelations, Smith founded

5200-463: The most important of which is that Christ is the savior of the world and that he suffered for the world's sins so that the penitent can return to live in heaven. A small fraction of Latter Day Saints, most notably those within Community of Christ, the second largest Latter Day Saint denomination, follow a traditional Protestant theology. Community of Christ views God in trinitarian terms, and reject

5280-513: The movement's pioneers have also utilized secular and non-Muslim feminist discourses and recognize the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement. Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the Quran and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Qur'an (holy book), hadith (sayings of Muhammad ) and sharia (law) towards

5360-508: The other goals of this movement, to re frame historical texts and how they are being taught. It is in addition to how God is being viewed but also the role of women historically and how they are being treated today in a new feminist light. While there is some opposition faced, Jewish communities believing feminism is too Western and does not validate Judaism, there is also the approval of an insider feminist perspective that takes into consideration traditions and modern thought. Christian feminism

5440-445: The problems women have concerning the central core symbolism of Christianity, and its effects on their self-understanding and their relationship to God." Daly is a prime example of how some feminist theologians come to the conclusion that reclamation and reform are no longer a viable option, that condemnation is the only way out. Rosemary Radford Ruether writes about crucial additional interpretations of how Christian feminist theology

5520-404: The role of women among clergy and religious authorities, reinterpreting patriarchal (male-dominated) imagery and language about God , determining women's place in relation to career and motherhood , studying images of women in the religions' sacred texts , and matriarchal religion . While there is no specific date to pinpoint the beginning of this movement, its origins can be traced back to

5600-565: The sermon, "God Is a Woman and She Is Growing Older", which as of 2011 has been published ten times (three times in German) and preached by rabbis from Australia to California. Rabbi Paula Reimers ("Feminism, Judaism, and God the Mother", Conservative Judaism 46 (1993)) comments: Those who want to use God/She language want to affirm womanhood and the feminine aspect of the deity. They do this by emphasizing that which most clearly distinguishes

5680-580: The slokas, a poem, proverb or hymn, in the Vedas. For instance, in the Rigveda there is a list of women rishis. Some of them are: Ghosha , Godha , Gargi , Vishwawra, Apala, Upanishad, Brahmjaya, Aditi , Indrani , Sarma, Romsha, Maitreyi , Kathyayini , Urvashi , Lopamudra , Yami, Shashwati , Sri, Laksha and many others. In the Vedic period women were free to enter into brahmacharya just like men, and attain salvation . During Hindu marriage ceremonies,

5760-405: The steps of feminist theology in threes: first, feminist theologians critique the treatment of women in the past, second, they determine alternative biblical/religious texts that support feminist ideologies, and third, they claim the theology that adheres to such standards, through reclamation, abolishment, and/or revision. Grenz and Olson also mention that while all feminists agree there is a flaw in

5840-448: The strength of women within the faith. Wicca's history of leading women begins with examples of members such as Zsuzsanna Budapest (1940), who founded one of Wicca's first feminist covens, has formed further feminist traditions within the faith over time. Wicca encourages a balance in power between men and women, regardless of gender and does not favour one gender over the other. Wicca does not shame femininity, but rather embraces and uplifts

5920-404: The system, there is disagreement over how far outside of the Bible and the Christian tradition women are willing to go to seek support for their ideals. This concept is also important when feminist theology is relating to other religions or spiritual connections outside of Christianity. The primacy of a monotheistic or near-monotheistic "Great Goddess" is advocated by some modern matriarchists as

6000-605: The traditionally worshiped "Great Goddess" of ancient times. Religions Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 253414241 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:52:49 GMT Latter Day Saint movement Collectively, these churches have over 17 million nominal members, including over 17 million belonging to

6080-431: The true church of Jesus Christ had been lost and would be restored through him, and that he would be given the authority to organize and lead the true Church of Christ. The Latter Day Saint church was formed on April 6, 1830, consisting of a community of believers in the western New York towns of Fayette , Manchester , and Colesville . The church was formally organized under the name of the "Church of Christ". By 1834,

6160-532: The world; and the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, an individual personage of spirit whose influence can be felt in many places at once. Further, Smith taught that the essence of all humans is co-eternal with God and that humans, as the spirit offspring of God the Father, have the potential to become like God. The LDS Church, the largest Mormon denomination, while acknowledging its differences with mainstream Christianity, often focuses on its commonalities, which are many,

6240-414: Was published. Judith Plaskow 's Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (1991), and Rachel Adler 's Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics (1999) are the only two full-length Jewish feminist works to focus entirely on theology in general (rather than specific aspects such as Holocaust theology.) This work of feminist theology in regards to Judaism, also contextualizes

6320-488: Was received through Catholic schools. She has three doctorate degrees, one from St. Mary's College in sacred theology then two from University of Fribourg, Switzerland in theology and philosophy. While in her early works Daly expressed a desire to reform Christianity from the inside, she would later come to the conclusion that Christianity is not able to enact the necessary changes as it is. According to Ford's The Modern Theologians, "Mary Daly has done more than anyone to clarify

6400-534: Was released; it is intended as a companion to Mishkan T'filah. It includes a version of the High Holy Days prayer Avinu Malkeinu that refers to God as both "Loving Father" and "Compassionate Mother". Other notable changes are replacing a line from the Reform movement's earlier prayerbook, "Gates of Repentance", that mentioned the joy of a bride and groom specifically, with the line "rejoicing with couples under

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