Paper short abstract:

The paper explores concepts and sources lutheran and Roman Catholic lay women in Latvia employ in discourses of gender equality and religion. With the help of interviews, we try to discover their hermeneutics and also the interpretation of certain passages in relation to gender equality.

Paper long abstract:

It is in our interest to discover the theology of the women interviewed in relation to gender issues. How in the age of technologies do they argue and conceptualize, and where do their ideas come from? From these interviews, we can deduce what we call a biblical reception of the grassroots, which sometimes differs from the official confessional and religious community settings. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore what kind of concepts and sources women employ in discourses of gender equality and religion. We will focus on women's statements about scriptures, how they use and understand these texts, and how they interpret them in relation to gender equality.

In the overall material, both patterns and particular cases are of great interest: Observations show that the understanding of gender roles of women interviewed are based in very general, even stereotypical, assumptions, as well as referring to writings and religious authorities. Both these ways of dealing with – or not - sacred scriptures related to issues of gender equality in a religious setting appear free and independent, granting these women religious agency. They construct their ideas by help of the bible and authoritative texts when they want to, but can also talk freely on their own behalf. Within the theoretical framework of gender theory, intersectionality, and reception history, we will analyze these findings, and highlight the role women ascribe to authoritative sources and concepts in discourses of gender equality.

Paper short abstract:

In Norway, there has been discussions for several decades over how and if the Norwegian gender equality legislation and the Norwegian state's obligation to promote gender equality in all spheres of society according to the CEDAW convention should follow this up with religious communities.

Paper long abstract:

This paper with analyse a specific case within religious gender politics in Norway, namely the statement in the present government's governmental platform that they will require 40% representation of women in the boards of religious communities. Through document analysis and qualitative interviews with stakeholders, the arguments in play will be identified, discussed and analyzed engaging with Anne Phillips argumentation that gender justice may be negotiated away in political interactions between state and religion (Casanova and Phillips 2009). Phillips argues that religious communities are not democratically organized entities, and that religion as a collective endeavour does not focus on individuals, but on the collective. This entails that, generally speaking, women’s human rights is subordinated the right of freedom of religion by religious communities. Mutual dependence between faith communities/religious NGOs and the state limits the space for gender fair religious politics. Can we find such mutual dependence in the Norwegian context?

Paper short abstract:

The paper looks at the use of concept of life and consequently gender in conservative Christian environment. I argue that about the role of procreation reformulated vis a vis bio-technologies, play an important role in justifying and naturalizing conservative thought.

Paper long abstract:

Celebrating the 104th anniversary of the Latvian state in 18 November 2022, LELC Archi-bishop in his stately sermon claimed the true unification of the nation under the test for “giving life”. The speech and the biological understanding of life used there becomes an entry point in analysing the Christian conservatism as a technological embrace. As Jordanova (1995) has argued, a shift of associating children ‘naturally’ with their mothers instead of fathers occurs in 18th century due to shift in perspective in life sciences and technology. I look at its further contribution to contemporary conservative discourse allowing to justify pro-life and anti-LGBTQ+ positions while deleting its historical ties to science and “naturalizing” the work of God.

Paper short abstract:

Paper focuses on relationship between religion and gender equality from Lithuania's female Muslim perspective. Analysis seeks to debunk Orientalist tropes of ‘oppressed Muslim woman’ and shed light on how interlocutors themselves perceive gender equality and need for it in their life practices.

Paper long abstract:

In the West, including Lithuania, following the centuries-long Orientalist tradition, it is generally regarded that Muslim women lack their own agency and are at a double mercy of their purportedly misogynist religion and their equally misogynist men – fathers, husbands, and other close males. The perceived lack of gender equality in Islam is often seen as a stumbling stone in the emancipation of Muslim women worldwide but also in Europe, something that arguably prevents their integration and, quite oppositely, leads to their marginalization in the societies they live in and isolation from a fruitful and satisfactory involvement in the social life.

The paper, which is based on the data of the semi-structured interviews with Muslim women of Lithuania, both Muslim-born and converts, focuses on the construction of religiosity and religious identity as well as the relationship between religion and gender equality in Islam from the female perspective. The analysis seeks to debunk the Orientalist tropes of the ‘oppressed Muslim woman’ and shed light on how the interlocutors themselves perceive gender equality and a need for it in their religious and mundane life practices. The findings of the research, which suggest that Muslim women in Lithuania are well aware of their, as humans and citizens, rights and also fully emancipated members of the society, lend themselves for meaningful comparative analysis of women of different confessional backgrounds.

Paper short abstract:

Both natural scientists and humanities have tried to ponder the depth and reasons for violence against women. In the international context, especially the Istanbul Convention has made a strong attempt on combating violence against women. The backlash has been strong also in the Baltic states.

Paper long abstract:

Violence against women has attracted attention only during the last few decades. Both natural scientists and humanities have tried to ponder the depth and reasons for it. In the international context, especially the Istanbul Convention has made a strong attempt on preventing and combating violence against women. It has had obvious impact on the legislation of the countries which had ratified it. However, the convention is related also with a strong backlash against the agency of women and gender equality. The IC is functioning as a magnifying glass that brings forth the ugly undercurrents in both secular and religious communities. I will look at the interviews with religious women, and media analysis on the Istanbul convention, collected by the ReliGen project researchers in 2020-2021, and will present some ideas on the implicit reasons (religious, cultural/historical, evolutionary) for this thought-defying pattern in human behavior.

Paper short abstract:

Under the influence of the age of information technology, the arguments against ordination from being strictly biblical become more grounded in an appropriate philosophical theory.

Paper long abstract:

Since 2016, the ordination of women as pastors has not been possible in the Lutheran Church of Latvia. Historically, arguments in favor of such a synod decision were made using biblical quotations. However, more and more often in the expressions of church officials, another conviction can be heard. That is, ordination will cause the breakdown of order in the church, which is the antidote to degradation and chaos in society. In this neoconservative position, references to Jordan Peterson's theory about the need for a balance between the order of the masculine hierarchy and the feminine chaos can be heard. Thus, under the influence of the age of information technology, the arguments against ordination from being strictly biblical become more grounded in an appropriate philosophical theory.

Paper short abstract:

Religion provides the Baltic religious women with an agency personally, through family and community. Women identify the benefits of religion, but seldom question the conservative religious beliefs or offer more liberal interpretations, different from official religious doctrine.

Paper long abstract:

With the third wave of feminism, scholars restored the agency of religious women, rejecting idea that religion only oppresses women and religious women have a false consciousness, while arguing that the complexity of the relationship between gender and religion was overlooked. Still, religious women must search for the ways to cope with the conflicting demands of society and their own religion, others might struggle to reconcile the conservative religious beliefs and their more progressive personal attitudes, some might find content in the more liberal or feminist interpretations and living practices of their religion. It is especially valid for the Muslim women, when their identities and belonging are challenged when living in the non-Muslim societies.

The post-communist societies have been repeatedly characterized by “patriarchal renaissance”. The practicing religious women continue to face a pressure from society to pursue a lifestyle with more gender equality. In the Baltic countries, religious women do not face entirely the same dilemmas as in the more liberal western societies. In the latter, being religious is analysed as female choice and agency. In the former, being religious can be analysed also as complying with conservative social norms, except of Muslims, who face extra challenges.

The analysis reveals that religion provides religious with an agency personally, through family and community, but rarely through a career, which serves more as an area of personal autonomy, despite of religion. The degree and expression of agency provided by religion differs among three groups of women. Women identify the benefits of religion, but seldom question the conservative religious beliefs or offer more liberal interpretations, different from official religious doctrine.

Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses perception of gender roles and family practices among pagan women Lithuania and Estonia, focusing on the examples of Romuva and Maausk organizations.

Paper long abstract:

The paper discusses perception of gender roles and family practices among pagan women in Lithuania and Estonia, focusing on two examples. The first one is the ancient Baltic religious organization Romuva, its teaching and everyday practices among its female members in contemporary Lithuania. The second is Estonian native faith organization Maausk. The aim of this paper is to analyze the gender roles presented in the teachings of the groups and the way they are lived by women in both organizations. Reconstructive pagan religious groups usually represent a traditionalist worldview, while the impact of feminist ideas is mostly observed within goddess-oriented pagan traditions like Wicca. The cases discussed in this chapter represent a mixture of the two traditions about perception of gender roles and its lived practices by female members. The paper is based on participant observation and interviews with women members in both organizations, conducted in 2021–2022.