Much Less Religious, a Little More Spiritual: The Religious and Spiritual Views of Third-Wave Feminists in the Uk

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Women’s Circles and the Rise of the New Feminine: Reclaiming Sisterhood, Spirituality, and Wellbeing

“…For many secular feminists, until recently, religion was seen as an impediment to women's liberation. Hence, the long-standing 'disconnection' between religious and secular feminist perspectives across the disciplines that is grounded in the historically awkward relationship between feminism and religion in Western modernity (Aune 2011;Bracke 2008;Llewellyn and Trzebiatowska 2013;Longman 2008;Reilly 2011). Yet, today, the assumption that religion would simply always be oppressive to women, and the axiom that secularization accompanies gender equality and sexual liberty, are increasingly being called into question (Butler 2008;Scott 2009).…”

Feminist Practice and Solidarity in Secular Societies: Case Studies on Feminists Crossing Religious–Secular Divides in Politics and Practice in Antwerp, Belgium

“…They critiqued the visions and powero fr eligious (notably Christian) authorities in dictating religious beliefsa nd practices and gendered hierarchical relationships (Braidotti, 2008). Second wavefeminism has supported women to take acriticaldistance vis-à -vis religious authorities and imaginaries (Aune, 2011). In many narrations about secondw ave feminism, religion appears rarely and mostly as asourceofopposition (Braude, 2004).…”

“…In many narrations about secondw ave feminism, religion appears rarely and mostly as asourceofopposition (Braude, 2004). In a survey held recently among al arge group of Britishf eminists, Aune (2011) reveals that feminists in general are less supportive of traditional religion and are moreengagedwith and/or supportive of the so-called 'alternative' or non-institutional religiositya nd spirituality. She suggests three main reasons as explaining this phenomenon: feminism's historical alignment with secularism (Braidotti, 2008), the role of feminism within secularization and the so-called 'decline of religion' as agendered historical development differentiated alongreligious and ethnic demarcations (Aune, Sharma, &Vincett,2008), and the connections betweenf eminism and alternative spiritualities (Woodhead, 2008).…”

Gendering the Secular: Interventions in Politics, Philosophy and Movements

“…As noted by various observers, in post-9/11 Western academic and public debates, the idea that women's emancipation and rights, and their religious engagements and belonging, are fundamentally conflicting, has regained plausibility (Aune 2011;Cady and Fessenden 2013;van den Brandt 2014). In public debates, law and policy-making, but also in feminist theory and research, the notion of women's emancipation is predominantly framed in terms of rights, equal opportunities and individual autonomy.…”