Living In The Lap Of The Goddess
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Living in the Lap of the Goddess
"One of the most rapidly growing religious movements in the United States, feminist spirituality first came of age during the religious ferment of the 1960s. It has since emerged as one of the sturdiest survivors of that era of religious experimentation. The goddess, her worshipers, and the myth of her reign over humankind's prehistory are becoming familiar features in the American religious landscape, and are gradually spreading beyond there, out into the cultural mainstream." "In spite of its increasing cultural presence, feminist spirituality is poorly understood by those not participating in its development or privy to its secrets. Why do these women worship a goddess, and who is she? What do they do when they meet together? What do they do alone? What attracts them to feminist spirituality? Are they part of a passing cult or are they creating a new religion that will one day take its place alongside Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the West? What are their hopes for the world, and what are they doing to see their dreams actualized?" "Living in the Lap of the Goddess answers these questions and more. Drawing on scores of interviews with spiritual feminists, participant-observation in feminist spirituality's rituals and retreats, and a close reading of the movement's many texts, sociologist of religion Cynthia Eller describes this innovative spiritual movement in detail. Among the topics covered are the origins of feminist spirituality; its use of ritual, myth and magic; and the politics with which spiritual feminists determinedly intertwine their religion." "The feminist spirituality movement represents an important option for feminists, the critical third choice available in the false dilemma between reforming patriarchal religions and giving up on religion altogether. Living in the Lap of the Goddess introduces the reader to this important option, and the infinite variety that is the feminist spirituality movement. Memorable characters are met in the pages of this book, and novel theories on gender, deity, human civilization, and the universe are encountered. Throughout, the key question guiding this venture into the alternative religious world is this: Who are these women, and why are they doing what they do, saying what they say, thinking what they think? The answers, like the participants themselves, are manifold and intriguing."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Marija Gimbutas
This book is a biography and reception history of the Lithuanian–American archaeologist Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994). It presents the first transnational account of Gimbutas’ life based on historical research, and an original examination of the impact of her ideas in various feminist contexts, both academic and popular. At the core of this book is a success story of an Eastern European woman who survived both Soviet and Nazi occupations of her homeland, lived as a displaced person in postwar Germany, and built her career and scholarly authority within the androcentric American academia. At the same time, it is also a story of a controversy, which followed Gimbutas’ theory of Old Europe – a prehistoric civilization, characterized by peacefulness, egalitarianism, women’s leadership, and the worship of the Great Goddess. First introduced in 1974, this theory inspired women’s movements worldwide, but was harshly criticized by other archaeologists. This book examines the various intellectual contexts (feminist, nationalist, theoretical) in which Gimbutas’ ideas were formed, received, and interpreted, as well as appropriated for different political goals. This timely study will appeal to scholars and students in the following fields: history of archaeology, prehistoric archaeology, gender studies, feminist studies, women’s history, Baltic studies, and religion and spirituality. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Rebirth of the Goddess
First published in 1999. One of the most unexpected developments of the late twentieth century is the rebirth of the religion of the Goddess in western cultures. Though we were taught that the Gods and Goddesses died with the triumph of Christianity, the re-emergence of the Goddess is not as surprising as it might seem. This book explores the meaning of the Goddess, and the questions we ask as well as the ways we answer them.