Women as theological figures, have played a significant role in the development of various religions and religious hierarchies.
Women who have influenced religious development
Judaism
- Deborah Hebrew prophetess, fourth judge.
- Esther Jewish heroine associated with the feast of Purim.
Christianity
- Women were prominent in the Early Christian Church.
- Hildegard of Bingen - wrote much music (there being some recordings). There have been a number of hymns written by women, and also psalms e.g. from the pen of Emily Gosse.
- Julian of Norwich - was a mystic.
- Heloise (student of Abelard).
- Mary Magdalene - is a very important figure in the New Testament.
- Mary, the Mother of Jesus - is also a very important figure in the New Testament.
- The mythical Pope Joan
- Anne Boleyn - influenced religious development in England indirectly by leading Henry VIII to divorce Catherine of Aragon and break from
the Catholic Church. - Antoinette Bourignon - another mystic.
General Christian history
In the early 16th century Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, a German theologian teaching in France published "On the Nobility and Superiority ofth e Female Sex" in which he argued that there was no reason why women should not hold political or religious office.
During the period of Oliver Cromwell's rule there were many religious and political debates and developments. Among the former (see Gangrena for a partial overview) were female preachers.
Doctors of the Church
Since the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has only added women to those deemed Doctors of the Church. The three new additions are.
- St. Teresa of Avila - 1970
- St. Catherine of Siena - 1970
- St. Thérèse of Lisieux - 1997
Among the Protestant Churches
- Catherine Booth - cofounder of the Salvation Army.
- Evangeline Booth - fourth General of the Salvation Army.
- Mary Baker Eddy - founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist.
- Elizabeth Fry - Quaker and prison reformer.
- Selina, Countess of Huntingdon - was involved with Methodism and there was a group called the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection.
- Mother Ann Lee - leader of the Shakers in America.
- Aimee Semple McPherson ("Sister Aimee”) an early 20-th century evangelist and founder of the Foursquare Church
- Phoebe Palmer - prominent leader in the Holiness movement
- Hannah Whitall Smith - prominent leader in the Holiness movement
- Joanna Southcott
- an 18th Century self-described religious prophetess and founder of Southcottians. - Ann Wardley - contributed to the development of the Shakers.
- Ellen G. White - co-founder and prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Buddhism
- Pema Chodron - fully ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Shambhala lineage.
- Machig Labdrön - founder of the Tibetan practice of Chöd.
- Ani Tenzin Palmo - a nun in the Drukpa Kagyu lineage and founder of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India.
- Yeshe Tsogyal - Tibetan consort and disciple of the Padmasambhava.
In other religions:
- Madame Blavatsky - contributed to the development and promotion of theosophy
- Annie Besant - Theosophist influential in the Indian Independence Movement.
- Nakayama Miki - founder of Tenrikyo.
- Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya - Important figure in the development of Sufism.
In religious hierarchies
Women can take on specific roles in different religious hierarchies.
- In various religions (including Christianity and Buddhism) women can take on the role of nuns: the head of a nunnery is an abbess.
- In the Classical period women could, among other roles, be priestesses, Vestal Virgins and Maenads.
- From the Early Christian period there have been deaconesses and abbesses.
- In the modern period women can serve as priests in the Anglican Church: there is presently a move towards opening up the role of bishop to them.
- Women can also serve as ministers in various other Protestant churches.
- Certain modern Jewish traditions allow female rabbis - for example Rabbi Julia Neuberger.
Female teachers and gurus in Hindu religions or lineages
Recognition of the feminine aspect of God during the last century by Tantric and Shakti religuous leaders, has led to the legitimization of the female teachers and female gurus in Hinduism. A notable example was Ramakrishna, that worshiped his wife as the embodiment of the divine feminine.
- Gangaji aka Antoinette Roberson Varner
- Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, latest guru in the lineage of teachers of Siddha yoga (as of 2005).
- Mata Amritanandamayi
- Mother Meera referred to as a "female guru" by author Karen Pechilis
- Nirmala Srivastava founder of Sahaja Yoga
See also
References
- Pechilis, Karen. The Graceful Guru: Hindu Female Gurus in India and the United States ISBN 0195145380
- Shattuck, Cybelle and Lewis, Nancy D. The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Hinduism (2002). ISBN 0028644824