Doniger: Respect For Women Yes, Worship of Goddesses No

[Guest guest]

Respect For Women Yes, Worship of Goddesses No

by Wendy Doniger

January 18, 2007

 

Women have fared very badly indeed in religions throughout

history, is the short answer. Most large-scale religions, like

most aspects of human culture, have been run by men, who

have often used them to control and suppress women, in order

to make sure that the sons who inherited their stuff were

really their sons.

 

Religions have therefore regulated both women's procreation

and women's right to own property. The two come together

in the paranoid male obsession with female chastity, to ensure

that male property would be inherited by male descendants.

 

On the other hand, religion on a local scale is also a place

where women have often expressed their resistance,

sometimes in their private rituals, which men called

witchcraft, or by channeling the voices of angry goddesses.

 

Women's storytelling, too, and their religious artwork, often

mocks men and tells us how women devised various ways,

the weapons of the weak and the arts of resistance, to get

around the dominant male traditions so that women could

have their own way in many essential matters.

 

But the goddess feminists are whistling in the dark when they

argue, first, that everyone used to worship goddesses (some

people did, but many did not) and, second, that this was a

Good Thing for women, indeed for everyone, their

assumption being that women are more compassionate than

men.

 

In fact, when men as well as women do worship goddesses,

as they have done for centuries in many parts of India, the

religious texts and rituals clearly express the male fear of

female powers, and the male authors of those texts therefore

make even greater efforts to control women, as if to say, " god

help us all if these naturally powerful women get political

power as well. "

 

There is generally, therefore, an inverse ratio between the

worship of goddesses and the granting of rights to human

women. Nor are the goddesses by and large compassionate;

they are generally a pretty bloodthirsty lot.

 

Goddesses are not, therefore, the solution. Equal respect for

human men and women is the solution.

 

Wendy Doniger (O'Flaherty) is the Mircea Eliade

Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at

the University of Chicago's Divinity School. The " On Faith "

panelist also teaches in the University's Department of South

Asian Languages and Civilizations.

 

From " On Faith " , The Washington Post

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/wendy_doniger/2007/01/women

_yes_goddesses_no.html

or

http://tinyurl.com/2vgdrn

[Guest guest]

Annoying. She really needs to put down that crack pipe and stop trying to think

SHE knows best how to solve the world's problems. Another reputed academician,

who is a Hindu basher on the sly in the name of academic freedom. She and some

of the others, always seem to try to transpose their opinionated, shallow, lame,

western, Freudian, psychoanalytical/sexual constructs on age old Hindu theology.

 

JANARDANA DAS

 

 

msbauju <msbauju wrote:

Respect For Women Yes, Worship of Goddesses No

by Wendy Doniger

January 18, 2007

 

Women have fared very badly indeed in religions throughout

history, is the short answer. Most large-scale religions, like

most aspects of human culture, have been run by men, who

have often used them to control and suppress women, in order

to make sure that the sons who inherited their stuff were

really their sons.

 

Religions have therefore regulated both women's procreation

and women's right to own property. The two come together

in the paranoid male obsession with female chastity, to ensure

that male property would be inherited by male descendants.

 

On the other hand, religion on a local scale is also a place

where women have often expressed their resistance,

sometimes in their private rituals, which men called

witchcraft, or by channeling the voices of angry goddesses.

 

Women's storytelling, too, and their religious artwork, often

mocks men and tells us how women devised various ways,

the weapons of the weak and the arts of resistance, to get

around the dominant male traditions so that women could

have their own way in many essential matters.

 

But the goddess feminists are whistling in the dark when they

argue, first, that everyone used to worship goddesses (some

people did, but many did not) and, second, that this was a

Good Thing for women, indeed for everyone, their

assumption being that women are more compassionate than

men.

 

In fact, when men as well as women do worship goddesses,

as they have done for centuries in many parts of India, the

religious texts and rituals clearly express the male fear of

female powers, and the male authors of those texts therefore

make even greater efforts to control women, as if to say, " god

help us all if these naturally powerful women get political

power as well. "

 

There is generally, therefore, an inverse ratio between the

worship of goddesses and the granting of rights to human

women. Nor are the goddesses by and large compassionate;

they are generally a pretty bloodthirsty lot.

 

Goddesses are not, therefore, the solution. Equal respect for

human men and women is the solution.

 

Wendy Doniger (O'Flaherty) is the Mircea Eliade

Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at

the University of Chicago's Divinity School. The " On Faith "

panelist also teaches in the University's Department of South

Asian Languages and Civilizations.

 

From " On Faith " , The Washington Post

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/wendy_doniger/2007/01/women

_yes_goddesses_no.html

or

http://tinyurl.com/2vgdrn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Autos new Car Finder

tool.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Doniger's article is also posted on the U. Chicago website with the

title _Men Have used Religion to Exert Control over Women_

Most likely that's her original title; it serves as a much better

summary of her central point.

 

http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/07/070120.religion-wp.html

 

So, what (which assertion) annoyed you, Janadana?

 

, Janardana Dasa

<lightdweller wrote:

>

> Annoying. She really needs to put down that crack pipe and stop

trying to think SHE knows best how to solve the world's problems.

Another reputed academician, who is a Hindu basher on the sly in the

name of academic freedom. She and some of the others, always seem to

try to transpose their opinionated, shallow, lame, western, Freudian,

psychoanalytical/sexual constructs on age old Hindu theology.

>

> JANARDANA DAS

>

>

> msbauju <msbauju wrote:

> Respect For Women Yes, Worship of Goddesses No

> by Wendy Doniger

> January 18, 2007

>

> Women have fared very badly indeed in religions throughout

> history, is the short answer. Most large-scale religions, like

> most aspects of human culture, have been run by men, who

> have often used them to control and suppress women, in order

> to make sure that the sons who inherited their stuff were

> really their sons.

>

> Religions have therefore regulated both women's procreation

> and women's right to own property. The two come together

> in the paranoid male obsession with female chastity, to ensure

> that male property would be inherited by male descendants.

>

> On the other hand, religion on a local scale is also a place

> where women have often expressed their resistance,

> sometimes in their private rituals, which men called

> witchcraft, or by channeling the voices of angry goddesses.

>

> Women's storytelling, too, and their religious artwork, often

> mocks men and tells us how women devised various ways,

> the weapons of the weak and the arts of resistance, to get

> around the dominant male traditions so that women could

> have their own way in many essential matters.

>

> But the goddess feminists are whistling in the dark when they

> argue, first, that everyone used to worship goddesses (some

> people did, but many did not) and, second, that this was a

> Good Thing for women, indeed for everyone, their

> assumption being that women are more compassionate than

> men.

>

> In fact, when men as well as women do worship goddesses,

> as they have done for centuries in many parts of India, the

> religious texts and rituals clearly express the male fear of

> female powers, and the male authors of those texts therefore

> make even greater efforts to control women, as if to say, " god

> help us all if these naturally powerful women get political

> power as well. "

>

> There is generally, therefore, an inverse ratio between the

> worship of goddesses and the granting of rights to human

> women. Nor are the goddesses by and large compassionate;

> they are generally a pretty bloodthirsty lot.

>

> Goddesses are not, therefore, the solution. Equal respect for

> human men and women is the solution.

>

> Wendy Doniger (O'Flaherty) is the Mircea Eliade

> Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at

> the University of Chicago's Divinity School. The " On Faith "

> panelist also teaches in the University's Department of South

> Asian Languages and Civilizations.

>

> From " On Faith " , The Washington Post

>

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/wendy_doniger/2007/01/women

> _yes_goddesses_no.html

> or

> http://tinyurl.com/2vgdrn

>

>