Women’s Leadership in New Religions and the Question of Gender Equality in Post-Communist Lithuania

This article discusses features of women's religious leadership, social innovations, and transmission of existing gender relations patterns within diverse new religions in post-communist society in Lithuania. The article is based on participant observation in Pagan and Hindu-origin religious gr...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:"Religious Leadership in New Religions: Theoretical and Empirical Trajectories"
Main Author: Ališauskienė, Milda 1976- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: University of Californiarnia Press 2021
In: Nova religio
Year: 2021, Volume: 24, Issue: 4, Pages: 84-103
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Lithuania / New religion / Woman religious leader / Gender-specific role
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AZ New religious movements
KBK Europe (East)
Further subjects:B Patriarchy
B Gender Equality
B post-Communist society
B RELIGIOUS leadership
B Women religious leaders
B Lithuania
B New Religions
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article discusses features of women's religious leadership, social innovations, and transmission of existing gender relations patterns within diverse new religions in post-communist society in Lithuania. The article is based on participant observation in Pagan and Hindu-origin religious groups and interviews with women leaders of these groups. The narratives of women leading Pagan and Hindu religious groups in Lithuania reflected their agency, features of their leadership, and the basis for the construction of their religious authority. Research data showed that the women interviewed took leadership of their respective religious groups after gaining professional experience in their careers. Their agency was not permeated by feminist ideas, but instead the importance of men in their life choices was emphasized throughout their narratives. The three case studies indicate that female religious leadership in these new religions follows the tendency toward a return to patriarchal values in post-communist society in Lithuania, rather than moving towards an ideal of gender equality.
ISSN:1541-8480
Contains:Enthalten in: Nova religio
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1525/nr.2021.24.4.84