Main Content
Religion and Gender
Religion and gender are closely intertwined: Religious traditions, beliefs, symbols and practices are gendered; gender roles, stereotypes and ideals are underpinned and sanctioned by religion. Not only religious traditions themselves, but also the research and representation of religions are predominantly characterised by androcentric perspectives. The subject of this research is a systematic review of data and perspectives on the history of religion against the background of gender studies in the Study of Religion. This aims to make the connections and differences between various religious traditions with regard to the construction, idealisation, standardisation and symbolic use of gender visible and to demonstrate the diverse interactions and intersectionality of religion, gender and society on the basis of exemplary fields of social interaction.
What connections and differences can be found in various religious traditions with regard to the construction, idealisation, standardisation and symbolic use of gender and how do the interaction and intersectionality of religion, gender and society manifest themselves in fields of social interaction?
What consequences does a gender-sensitive perspective have for methodology and theory formation in research on religion and what revisions need to be made with regard to knowledge/findings in the history of religion, in particular on the topics of religion as a regulatory power, religious authority and gender stereotypes?
Research
Dr. Doris Decker: Gender and Sexuality in the Thought of Grand Ayatollah Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍlallāh (1935–2010). On the Dynamics of Doctrinal and Juridical Opinions in Contemporary Islam. DFG Forschungsprojekt.
Analysis of negotiation processes on gender and sexuality in the Islamic world of modernity as well as of dynamics and transformation processes of Islamic traditions and theological interpretations in the present: Interrelation between religion and contemporary events of modernity.
Prof. Dr. Edith Franke: Religion und Geschlecht. Eine religionswissenschaftliche Einführung
Publication project together with Prof Dr Birgit Heller, University of Vienna; to be published by De Gruyter in 2024
Dr. des Marita Günther: Religion, Gender and Knowledge in Contemporary Concepts of Matriarchal Spirituality in Germany: A Contribution to Gender Studies in the Study of Religion (PhD Project)
Dr. Franziska Singer: Muslim women in Sarajevo: an empirical study of self-positioning, narrating faith, and everyday practice (PhD project)
Verena Maske: Islamic – hip – integrated. On the significance of religious community-building for the identity formation of young Muslim women in the Muslim Youth in Germany e.V. (MJD) (PhD project)