I knew that Rita Gross was an excellent scholar, but I must confess that I wasn't prepared for the excitement that her book on feminism and religion would stir in me. In this rich and articulate book, Gross addresses many of the basic questions and issues that have emerged in the study of women and religion. Though I have been reading feminist works for many years, Gross's book is one of the best I have ever read, in terms of both clarity and depth. Gross is not content to describe the work of a few feminist scholars; she surveys the field of feminist studies and describes the work of many. She often conveys the major ideas of a writer with enough depth that the reader can grasp the impact of the work for herself. She masterly describes the broad strokes as well as the nuances of an issue. Anyone approaching the feminist study of religion for the first time will see the teaching of religion in a new way after reading Gross's book. Though this is not easy reading, it is well worth the time it takes to comprehend the ideas and their implications. It is a sophisticated handling of religion, feminism, patriarchy and androcentrism. It is also very helpful in teaching the reader about feminist sources for use in a world religions course. Gross has co-edited one such resource with Nancy Auer Falk: Unspoken Worlds: Women's Religious Lives. Gross also demonstrates the problems with the conceptual framework that many use in teaching religious studies. Without knowing it, many scholars and teachers teach religion from a male-centered perspective. Throwing in a few notable women doesn't really solve the problem. Feminism and Religion is extremely helpful in moving us beyond the problems.

In the introduction, Gross tells us that she is concerned with "four central issues for feminism and religion" (p. 2). The first concern is the "imperative to include information about women in all descriptions of religion." Gross identifies the second issue by asking this question: "Are the world's major religions inevitably sexist and disadvantageous to women, or are they inherently egalitarian and reformable, despite their patriarchal veneers?" Third, "Once we rid ourselves of androcentric methodologies and patriarchal assumptions, it is necessary and instructive to 'reread' the past." Last, Gross describes the past, present and future of feminist studies in religion. Much attention is given to feminist transformations of religion as well.

In chapter one, Gross diligently lays a foundation by defining feminism, religion and religious studies. Readers might be surprised at the simplicity of Gross's definition of feminism: "the conviction that women really do inhabit the human realm and are not 'other,' not a separate species" (p. 16). In short, feminism is about seeing women as human beings. By surveying almost any field of knowledge, we discover that men have been almost the sole subjects of study. Gross urges us to correct this problem in the field of religion. In this chapter, Gross raises one of the pivotal issues of her book: androcentric scholarship isn't "neutral" or "objective" as is so commonly believed. Though many people are suspicious of feminist scholarship as biased, Gross convincingly argues otherwise: ". . . in my viewpoint, gender-balanced and gender-inclusive scholarship is far more objective than androcentric scholarship, simply because it is more complete" (p. 16). Feminist scholarship attempts to be inclusive whereas much of traditional scholarship in the field of religion has been exclusive. If you could see only half of each sentence of this review, you would wonder where the missing half is. And so feminist scholars wonder when reading scholarship that conveys only information about males. Gross says: ". . . in androcentric thinking, any awareness of a distinction between maleness and humanity is clouded over, and femaleness is viewed as an exception to the norm." One repercussion of such thinking is that "the generic masculine includes the feminine, making it unnecessary to study women specifically" (p. 19). Yet, anyone who is familiar with women's experience and roles in specific religions, knows that women and men are different. "A more accurate model of humanity would compel recognition that humans come in two sexes and that both sexes are human. It would also recognize that in virtually every religion, culture, or society, gender roles and stereotypes intensify biological sexual differences. As a result, men's and women's lives are more separate and different from each other's than is biologically dictated" (p. 20).

Chapter 2 of Gross's book is a survey of the impact of feminism on religion and religious studies. This brief history of the 19th and 20th centuries is very helpful to see the big picture. Gross also describes two 19th century sources which suggest there was a matriarchy many centuries back. Gross doesn't think so and addresses this question in depth in chapter 5.

In chapter 3, "Where Have All the Women Gone?" Gross describes the need for a new paradigm:
"An androgynous paradigm demands that scholars be interested in women and what they do in the same way that we have always been interested in what men have done and thought" (p. 70). Part of doing feminist scholarship is to state one's values and biases openly and to recognize the unstated values that appear in androcentric scholarship. We also need to ask who decides what is important to study and why. Those who have heard the phrase "history is written by the winners," will quickly understand Gross's argument. Gross then demonstrates the ways women have contributed to specific religions and how to move beyond androcentric scholarship. For example, while it is true that women were rarely leaders of Christian institutions, the study of women's personal spirituality reveals great insight and activity by women. Women were doing more than having babies.

"Why are kings, wars, popes, and parliaments more interesting or important than ordinary people, peace, mystics and domestic technology? For example, Eleanor McLaughlin suggests that historians of Christianity might well temper their interest in the history of theology and of church institutions. . . 'In this world of spirituality. . .women are found who speak and write, who made history and shaped a tradition.' Men do dominate the history of theology and of church institutions. But it is a judgment and a choice, rather than an objective datum, to conclude that these subjects are what one should study in the history of Christianity." (pp. 67& 68)

Besides re-thinking our assumptions when we study women's history, we must also bring a new set of questions.

Gross addresses one of the most controversial questions in feminist studies in chapter 4: "Are the world's religions inevitably sexist?" She does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the argument, and in doing so, she surveys many feminist works. One of the added benefits of Gross's work is that she doesn't limit herself to western feminism or western religions. For example, her scholarship in the field of Buddhist studies is integrated into many chapters of her book.

In the last and probably most useful chapter of her book, Gross takes an exhaustive look at post-patriarchal religion. This chapter covers a wide array of subjects in feminist spirituality: ritual practices, inclusive language, "women-church," wicca, Buddhism, ecology and feminism, and post-Christian conceptions of the divine. She concludes with a description of "common themes in the variety of feminist religions."

For the reader confronting feminist scholarship for the first time, Gross's book is one of the best resources available. In only 247 pages, Gross pulls together the issues of feminist scholarship in a thoughtful and provocative way. She is convincing about the need for change in the way we conceptualize and teach religion. Though upperclass students would be capable of reading some or all of Gross's book, many teachers might want to use it as a personal resource for introducing some of these ideas into the classroom. If you are only going to buy one book on feminism and religion, this is the one.

review ©2001 by Sher Sweet and RSiSS
Northfield-Mount Hermon School

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