Abrahamic Religions and Feminism in the Context of the Subordinate Theory of Spivak
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8154495Keywords:
Deconstruction, Feminist Theology, Religious Feminisms, Spivak, SubalternityAbstract
This study focuses on how religious feminisms, which emerged in the context of feminist approaches to the religious beliefs and traditions of religious women belonging to the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam, relate to post-colonial studies on epistemological and methodological grounds. Based on the feminist discourse, the theoretical ground on which the new ways of life and thinking that they consciously own and experience in their daily, social and religious lives are based on are discussed in the axis of the subaltern/subaltern concept of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Considering the analytical role that feminism plays in the handling and interpretation of various norms, sacred texts and values, which are in the unique religious traditions of the three divine religions and which are considered anti-women as contrary to gender equality, by feminist women of these religions, It has been tried to reveal that the aim is to reveal the essence/truth of religions that are not contrary to gender equality. The path followed by Jewish, Christian and Islamic feminisms in order to reach this common theological goal has been tried to be revealed by examining the academic literature activities. In this context, the critical role played by deconstruction as a methodological tool, which is a post-structuralist approach for all three religious feminist discourses and which Spivak especially wants to be used as a feminist method by adding a new dimension, has been tried to be revealed. In this context, one of the main routes of the study has been the feminist consciousness's tendency not to give up on their traditions completely, despite the existence of descriptions, boundaries and judgments of religious people, to whom they belong to religious feminists, and their intention to remain religious women with their feminist consciousness. As a result of the research, the study shows that religious feminisms that emerged in the postmodern period focused on the position of women in the past and present, and in this context, they used subalternity, which is a post-colonial approach, as an analytical loop, and what is the position of women for all three feminisms. It has also been determined that they use deconstruction as a methodological device in order to reveal that their religious traditions are suitable for gender equality.
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