A feminist critique of the sociology of religion.
Item
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Title
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A feminist critique of the sociology of religion.
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Identifier
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AAI9000691
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identifier
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9000691
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Creator
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Erickson, Victoria Lee.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Roslyn Wallach Bologh
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Date
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1989
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Theory and Methods | Religion, General | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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The purpose of this dissertation is to initiate a feminist theoretical critique of the sociology of religion by examining the sociology of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. This critique will also produce a new base for a sociological understanding of "folk" religion.;I am pursuing a theoretical understanding of the practical problems of marginal communities and their relationship to religious knowledge and power. Durkheim, Weber and Marx were interested in the role of religion in the creation of power and dominance in social relations. I will show that implicit in Durkheim's sociology is the understanding that this power is located in a sacred order which is gendered masculine; the feminine is relegated to the profane, to the world of magic.;I will show in both Weber and Durkheim there is an understanding that the sacred order presupposes and requires violence as a way of maintaining its difference from and dominance over the subjugated. This violence can be hypothesized as a necessary product of the genderization and differentiation process. In contrast, the profane order secures its identity through sociable community built on eros.;Liberationists interested in empowering marginalized people need, then, a sociology which understands the material and spiritual realities involved in the creation of this particular form of dominance, called "the sacred," which oppresses and suppresses the profane, the magical.;I wish to analyze this dichotomy of the sacred and profane, of religion and magic, as it has been treated by classical social theorists. A feminist sociological analysis of the sacred/profane dichotomy produces a base for a sociology of "folk" or "mass" religion, which has, in the literature, been associated with the magical profane life. This expanded understanding of religion which attempts to exegete the profane is useful in analyzing the development of contemporary movements such as liberation theology and the revival of goddess and witchcraft spirituality.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy Restricted.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.