The Encyclopedia of World Religions

feminism S 147

At the maximum, fasting involves total absten tion from food and drink. On the Day of Atone ment observant Jews do not eat, drink, or smoke for 25 to 26 hours. Certain Jain SAINTS give up eat ing and drinking as a way to bring on death ( see J AINISM ). But many fasts are partial. For example, it was once common for Roman Catholics not to eat meat on Friday. The reasons people fast are as numerous as the reasons people practice religion. In ancient Greece, people fasted to get ready to be initiated into secret cults known as “mysteries” ( see MYSTERY RELIGIONS ). Some people fast to purify their bodies or control their appetites and desires. The fast on the Day of Atonement is part of a ritual asking for G OD ’s forgiveness. Jains fast in order to stop the accumulation of bad KARMA . Some people fast to acquire spiritual merit and benefits; for example, a Hindu woman may fast to have the same hus band in her next life. Christians fast at Lent as a reminder of their SINS . The Ramadan fast com memorates important events in early Islam. It also helps Muslims develop sympathy for the less fortu nate, for whom fasting is a way of life. In the 20th century, Mohandas G ANDHI made special use of fasting. He said that he fasted to learn to control his senses and to atone for the sins of his followers. But his fasts were also very effec tive political tools. In the time since Gandhi, many others have gone on hunger strikes to bring issues of injustice to public attention. feminism A way of thinking prominent in the second half of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, concerned with overcoming the subordi nate position that women have often occupied in societies. Feminism has been important in religions themselves as well as in the study of religions. In many respects, North American and European feminists have taken the lead, but feminists have been active in most parts of the globe. In the 19th century, feminists addressed such issues as voting rights and access to education. At times they also addressed issues of religion, as when Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) edited

The Woman’s Bible (1895). Beginning in the 1960s many feminists turned sustained attention to religion. Since then, they have studied women’s contributions to religion. They have also sought to reformulate traditional religions or to develop religions of their own. In addition, feminists who have identified themselves with religious commu nities have played prominent roles in working for women’s rights. WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO RELIGION In the past scholars often overlooked the contribu tions that women made to religions. That still hap pens today, but as a result of feminism women’s contributions have received more attention. Early feminist scholars who helped draw attention to women’s contributions include Marija Gimbutas (1921–94), who specialized in the goddesses of Old Europe; Judith Plaskow (b. 1947), a scholar of J UDAISM , and Rosemary Radford-Ruether (b. 1936), a scholar of the N EW T ESTAMENT . As a result of feminism, scholars have begun to appreciate the important role of GODDESSES in religions, such as the village goddesses so preva lent in ordinary H INDUISM . They have come to rec ognize that male gods traditionally have feminine dimensions, too, such as the Presence and Wis dom of God personified as feminine in the Hebrew scriptures (e.g., Proverbs 1:20–33, 8:1–9:6) ( see SCRIPTURES , H EBREW ). In addition, recent research has revealed that, even if J ESUS , M UHAMMAD , and the B UDDHA were men, women played formative roles in the early years of C HRISTIANITY , I SLAM , and B UDDHISM . In some religious contexts, women are important leaders, such as the female SHAMANS of Japan and Korea. Women have made important contributions even to heavily patriarchal religions. For example, many women in medieval Europe produced inspiring reports of their powerful mystical experiences. A good example is Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), who is also prominent in the history of music. Feminists not only have drawn attention to prominent women but also have shown how important it is to pay attention, too, to the religious lives of ordinary women, who make up a sizable