Feminism

=== Theology ===
{{see also|Feminist theology|Gender of God|Goddess movement}}
[[File:US Navy 080123-N-3385W-028 Cmdr. Adrienne Simmons, medical provider for Provincial Reconstruction Team Khost and only woman on the team, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for a women's mosque and park in downtown Khost City.jpg|thumb|Cmdr. Adrienne Simmons speaking at the 2008 ceremony for the only women's mosque in [[Khost|Khost City]], a symbol of progress for growing women's rights in the [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] belt]]
Feminist theology is a movement that reconsiders the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of religions from a feminist perspective. Some of the goals of feminist theology include increasing the role of women among the clergy and religious authorities, reinterpreting male-dominated imagery and language about God, determining women's place in relation to career and motherhood, and studying images of women in the religion's sacred texts.<ref name=Bundesen>{{cite book |author=Bundesen, Lynne |title=The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture |publisher=Jossey-Bass |isbn=978-0-7879-8495-3|date=30 March 2007 }}</ref>

[[Christian feminism]] is a branch of feminist theology which seeks to interpret and understand Christianity in light of the [[Christian egalitarianism|equality]] of [[Women in Christianity|women]] and men, and that this interpretation is necessary for a complete understanding of Christianity. While there is no standard set of beliefs among Christian feminists, most agree that God does not discriminate on the basis of sex, and are involved in issues such as the [[ordination of women]], male dominance and the balance of parenting in [[Christian views on marriage|Christian marriage]], claims of moral deficiency and inferiority of women compared to men, and the overall treatment of women in the church.<ref name=Haddad>{{cite journal |author=Haddad, Mimi |title=Egalitarian Pioneers: Betty Friedan or Catherine Booth? |journal=[[Priscilla Papers]] |volume=20 |issue=4 |date=2006 |url=http://www.cbeinternational.org/sites/default/files/pp204_10ep.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713193304/http://www.cbeinternational.org/sites/default/files/pp204_10ep.pdf |archive-date=13 July 2015 }}</ref><ref name=andeson>{{cite book |author=Anderson, Pamela Sue |author2=Clack, Beverley |title=Feminist Philosophy of Religion: Critical Readings |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-25749-7}}</ref>

[[Islamic feminism|Islamic feminists]] advocate women's rights, gender equality, and [[social justice]] grounded within an Islamic framework. Advocates seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the [[Women in the Quran|Quran]] and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Quran, ''[[hadith]]'' (sayings of [[Muhammad]]), and ''[[Sharia#Women|sharia]]'' (law) towards the creation of a more equal and just society.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/international/Islamic-Feminism-01.html|title=Islamic Feminism: What's in a Name?|author=Badran, Margot |access-date=17 December 2015 |date=17–23 January 2002}}</ref> Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also used [[Islam and secularism|secular]] and Western feminist discourses and recognize the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.feminismeislamic.org/eng/index.htm|publisher=feminismeislamic.org |author=Catalonian Islamic Board |title=II International Congress on Islamic Feminism|access-date=9 July 2008 |date=24–27 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070114144940/http://www.feminismeislamic.org/eng/index.htm|archive-date=14 January 2007}}</ref>

[[Buddhist feminism]] is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and [[social status]] of [[Women in Buddhism|women within Buddhism]]. It is an aspect of [[feminist theology]] which seeks to advance and understand the equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually, and in leadership from a Buddhist perspective. The Buddhist feminist [[Rita Gross]] describes Buddhist feminism as "the radical practice of the co-humanity of women and men".<ref>{{cite book |title= Buddhism After Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism|last= Gross|first= Rita M.|year= 1992|publisher= [[State University of New York Press]]|location= Albany, New York|isbn= 978-0-7914-1403-3|page= [https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros/page/127 127]|access-date=7 October 2012 |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros |url-access= registration}}</ref>

[[Jewish feminism]] is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of [[Women in Judaism|women]] within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women. The main issues for early Jewish feminists in these movements were the exclusion from the all-male prayer group or ''[[minyan]]'', the exemption from positive time-bound ''[[Mitzvah|mitzvot]]'', and women's inability to function as witnesses and to initiate [[Jewish view of marriage#Divorce|divorce]].<ref name=Plaskow1997>{{cite book |author=Plaskow, Judith |editor=Frank, Daniel H. |others=Leaman, Oliver |title=History of Jewish Philosophy |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-32469-4 |chapter=Jewish Feminist Thought}}</ref> Many Jewish women have become leaders of feminist movements throughout their history.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Forward]]|title= Why are there so many Jewish feminists? |author= Marjorie Ingall |url= http://forward.com/articles/2305/why-are-there-so-many-jewish-feminists/ |date= 18 November 2005 |access-date= 31 May 2015}}</ref>

[[Dianic Wicca]] is a feminist-centred [[thealogy]].<ref>Wisdom's Feast: Sophia in Study and Celebration, p. 9, Susan Cole, Marian Ronan, Hal Taussig. 1996</ref>

Secular or [[atheist feminism|atheist feminists]] have engaged in feminist criticism of religion, arguing that many religions have oppressive rules towards women and [[misogynistic]] themes and elements in religious texts.<ref>Gaylor, Annie Laurie, ''Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So'', Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. (1 July 1981) {{ISBN|1-877733-02-4}}</ref><ref>Ali, Ayaan Hirsi ''The Caged Virgin: A Muslim Woman's Cry for Reason'', Free Press 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-7432-8833-0}}</ref><ref>Miles, Rosalind, ''Who cooked the Last Supper?'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2001, {{ISBN|0-609-80695-5}}</ref>