Feminist theory has enhanced and expanded the agency, influence, status and contributions of women throughout the globe. However, feminist critical analysis has not yet examined how the assumption that religion is natural, timeless, universal and omnipresent supports sexist and race-based oppression. This book proposes radical new thinking about religion in order to better comprehend and confront the systematic disempowerment of women and marginalized groups. Utilising feminist and post-colonial analysis of access, equity and violence, contributors draw on recent critical theory to collapse accepted boundaries between religion and secularity with the aim of understanding that religion is a technology of governance in its function, meaning and history. The volume includes case studies focusing on how the category of religion is deployed to perpetuate male hegemony and racist inequities in Australia, Mexico, the United States, Britain and Canada. This trenchant feminist critique and academic analysis will be of key interest to scholars and students of Religion, Sociology, Political Science and Gender Studies.

In our contemporary post-modern world, popular forms of spirituality are increasingly engaging with notions of re-enchantment - of self and community. Not only are narratives of re-enchantment appearing in popular culture at the personal and spiritual level, but also they are often accompanied by a pragmatic approach that calls for political activism and the desire to change the world to incorporate these new ideas. Drawing on case studies of particular groups, including pagans, witches, radical faeries, post-modern tourists, and queer and goddess groups, contributors from Australia, the UK and North America discuss various forms of spirituality and how they contribute to self-knowledge, identity, and community life. The book documents an emerging engagement between new quasi-religious groups and political action, eco-paganism, post-colonial youth culture and alternative health movements to explore how social change emerges.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013- 17) was one of the largest public inquiries in Australian history and one of the most important investigations into child abuse internationally. It facilitated a national conversation about justice for victims and survivors and how to improve child safety in the future. Through the examination of practices in key social institutions, including churches, schools, sporting clubs, hospitals and voluntary organisations, it provided new understandings of the widespread abuse that many people had experienced in the past and it made recommendations for a national redress scheme. The Royal Commission also recommended sweeping reforms in policies, practices and institutional cultures. Offering valuable insights into the Royal Commission's history and background, its social and cultural significance, and its implications for policy development and legislative reform, this book provides a wide-ranging analysis of the work of the Royal Commission and its social, psychological, legal and discursive impact. The chapters reveal not only the complexity of the matters that the Royal Commission was dealing with and the difficulties faced by the victims of child sexual abuse, but also the challenges of researching and writing about this sensitive topic. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Australian Studies.

This book explores the impact and contribution of post-theories in the field of Christian feminist theology. Post-theory is an important and cutting-edge discursive field which has revolutionized the production of knowledge in both feminism and theology. This book fills a gap by providing a text that can make authoritative statements on the use and status of post-theory in feminist theology, and secondly it makes an on-going contribution to the discourse of Christian feminist theology and its liberation agenda. Distinguished and established scholars contribute conclusive essays on the most recent and exciting developments in post-theory, feminism and theology.

This book explores the impact and contribution of post-theories in the field of Christian feminist theology. Post-theory is an important and cutting-edge discursive field which has revolutionized the production of knowledge in both feminism and theology. This book fills a gap by providing a text that can make authoritative statements on the use and status of post-theory in feminist theology, and secondly it makes an on-going contribution to the discourse of Christian feminist theology and its liberation agenda. Distinguished and established scholars contribute conclusive essays on the most recent and exciting developments in post-theory, feminism and theology.

Feminist theory has enhanced and expanded the agency, influence, status and contributions of women throughout the globe. However, feminist critical analysis has not yet examined how the assumption that religion is natural, timeless, universal and omnipresent supports sexist and race-based oppression. This book proposes radical new thinking about religion in order to better comprehend and confront the systematic disempowerment of women and marginalized groups. Utilising feminist and post-colonial analysis of access, equity and violence, contributors draw on recent critical theory to collapse accepted boundaries between religion and secularity with the aim of understanding that religion is a technology of governance in its function, meaning and history. The volume includes case studies focusing on how the category of religion is deployed to perpetuate male hegemony and racist inequities in Australia, Mexico, the United States, Britain and Canada. This trenchant feminist critique and academic analysis will be of key interest to scholars and students of Religion, Sociology, Political Science and Gender Studies.