Religion, gender and agency
Terhi Utriainen & Salome Tuomaala, University of Helsinki
Religion opens up many challenging questions concerning agency and gender. Likewise gender and agency have become important theoretical perspectives in the study of religion. Besides asking empirical questions of women and religion in the contemporary urban world, the session focuses on methodology and theory of variety of religious and gendered agencies.
How do religion, gender and agency work as analytical tools for researching late modern, urban religiosity? What are the challenges of this combination of concepts? How could religion, gender and agency construct fruitful intersections for study of religion?
We welcome presentations discussing and analyzing religion and spirituality, as well as gender and agency both from empirical and methodological angles. Presentations of works in process are also welcome.
The papers could address, among others, such questions as:
How are religious activities gendered in urban settings?
What do concepts of gender and agency offer to study of religion today?
Questions of power, gender and agency in religious traditions and in contemporary spiritualities.