RT Article
T1 Women's "Experience" in New Religious Movements: The Case of Shinnyoen
JF Japanese journal of religious studies
VO 30
IS 3/4
SP 216
OP 241
A1 Usui, Atsuko
LA English
YR 2003
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1703403509
AB While preaching a doctrine of sexual equality, many new religious movements in fact place women in a subordinate position. Previous research on these movements has claimed that it is women themselves who support the structures of male-dominance and has been critical of the women as being backward. In this article I point out that such research paints women as a peculiar, problematic existence. Ironically, this has averted attention from the peculiar, problematic existence. Ironically, this has averted attention from the has hindered efforts to make a true record of the role of women in religious history. I focus on Shinnyoen as a case where traditional gender ideology does not lead to the exclusion of women's religious experience. The group has cho sen to emphasize individual spiritual development, while at the same time preserving traditional doctrines and practices, and as a result it has established an environment where gender categories are not fixed. This suggests the possibility that "spirituality" might restrain the tendency towards conservativism in gender structures.
K1 Buddhism
K1 Feminism
K1 Gender Equality
K1 Gender Roles
K1 Men
K1 Religious Studies
K1 spirit mediums
K1 Women