Reasons for Devotion to Hindu Goddesses

As history has shown, life cannot be sustained without a female presence. Religion of this time took that into consideration as women were the center of worship and ensured that proper rituals and ceremonies were upheld to please the gods. In both Greek and Roman religion, most deities were of female gender due to their connection with the cycle of life as well as having a nurturing demeanor. These female goddesses stayed consistent in both societies, under different names. For example: The goddess of hearth and home was known as Hestia in Greek mythology, and Vesta in Roman; Aphrodite is the goddess of sexual attraction and love in Greece, with her equal Venus in Rome. Female goddesses followed the skill sets of women in this time – the bearing of children as well as all life, keeping of

In many cultures, the roles of women vary reluctantly. While researching the many aspects of Buddhism, the religion is sometimes practiced differently and the roles of women differs. According to Experiencing World Religions, (Molloy, 127) Buddhism is one of the world's oldest yet most significant religions thus far. It has influenced many cultures, originating from India and making its way to migrate throughout the country of Asia, and women have been involved since the very first day. In today’s society, although men are predominantly inferior over women, women are granted the same opportunities. Just like many other societies in other countries or many other religions there are discriminations and prejucial acts against women. Although, woman are offered the second class citizenship in many Buddhist traditions, a woman's role is very important when helping maintain the religion resulting in mass population of worshipers , fulfilling the duties as caregivers and also wives to their husbands, and also providing any assistance if needed in the community. (Molloy, 127)

Asoka was a ruler of India, with much territory which he inherited from his dynasty. Asoka wanted to expand his territory for his people. So they intruded the Kalinga’s territory. Asoka was a ruthless conqueror because he was responsible for many deaths, wanted unfair wars, and had unjust laws.

Men counter women by placing them in subordinate roles. One theory behind this othering is that men feel the need to project their fraility and vulnerability on females as a justification for treating them as inferior (Arini). These supporting and domestic roles are presented by Christianity as the more moral choice. Most religions require that a woman concentrate on her family, appealing to the female maternal instincts (Arini). After years of being taught scriptures on being obedient, women convince themselves that they are supposed to be submissive. They quell their other aspirations and focus on getting married, having kids, and caring for a family (Arini). A study held by Lauren E. Maltby, M. Elizabeth L. Hall, Tamara L. Anderson, and Keith Edwards showed that increased scriptual literalism in males parelled directly with increased benevolent sexism. Benevolent sexism is the belief that, among other things, women should be kept at home in domestic roles. As a male's agreement with core Christian ideals increases, his tendency to hold sexist views increases (Maltby). Both men and women who accept the literal

Religion plays a crucial role in the daily lives of millions of people. This is even more evident in India. Hinduism and Sikhism are two very prominent religions in this nation (Pinkham, 1967). These two religions are closely linked but also have many distinct practices. Issues of the position of women in society, attitudes towards the caste system, and methods of worship are critical aspects of both religions. Among the many distinct practices that are shared between the religions of Hinduism and Sikhism is the status of women. In Hinduism, women can attain a certain status in that they can either become a nun or

Thousands of years ago, the Goddess was viewed as an autonomous entity worthy of respect from men and women alike. Because of societal changes caused by Eastern influence, a patriarchical system conquered all aspects of life including religion. Today, the loss of a strong female presence in Judeo-Christian beliefs has prompted believers to look to other sources that celebrate the role of women. Goddess religion and feminist spirituality have increasingly been embraced by men and women as an alternative to the patriarchy found in traditional biblical religion.

Years ago when life was still gold and she still had dreams, Dani had watched a man’s head get squashed in the jaws of a Titan. Blood caked her white clothing and the taste of death lingered on her tastebuds even months afterwards. Nightmares did not mercy her, neither did anything else.

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Whether it is in a polytheistic or a monotheistic religion, the gender of divinity is always a topic given great attention. Although Buddhism doesn’t put much focus on gods in the teaching, it does include certain religious aspects such as praying to the higher beings. The feminine divine traits in Buddhism can be found with a closer examination on the feminine metaphors in the Buddhist scriptures. While Buddhas are predominantly in male form, divine beings like Bodhisattvas often appears to be female figures including Kwan Yin and Tara. The concept of Buddha nature is described as “tathagata garbha” at times, which means Buddha womb. The imagery of this spiritual womb nurturing the nature for all beings implies the significance of this feminine feature. Another example is how the Buddha’s wisdom is referred to as a ‘she’ in some Buddhist texts. The involvement of both feminine and masculine traits seems to underline the irrelevance of gender in Buddhahood. On the other hand, in Christianity a prevailing image of God being the ‘Father’ is developed. The teachings of Jesus powerfully delineate God as a kind and merciful father accepting and guiding his children with no discrimination. In fact, there is only one explicit example in the scriptures comparing God seeking a sinner to a housewife in search of a lost coin. In addition to the masculine image of God, it is argued that between two human sexes, Jesus as a male is

Gender can be described as “the social attributes associated with being a woman or a man in a particular society” (Woodward, 2000, pp.47) A person’s gender is then determined by their sex which is “a biological classification”. (Woodward, 2000, pp.47) As gender is a social attribute the identities of people of different genders vary from society to society. For example, in many religions, women do not have place in the rituals of the religion as it is simply only for men to do. (Chryssides and Geaves, 2013, pp.331) As religions were formed in certain cultures this shows a clear divide caused by gender roles based on the cultural origin of the religion but also shows that this has an impact on the identities of the male and female members of the religion. This being that the males feel they have more authority over the females of the religion.

Natoya reading your post I must say I understand everything you wrote because I grew up around a lot of Hindus and they do worship multiple Gods. But, however you stated that in the days woman would marry young, and take care of the household and are expected to giving her husband kids (many kids) which I must say I love it. Also when the wife becomes pregnant she is taken great care of by family members such as Grandmother ,Godmother ,sisters and cousins to make sure of the baby safety in her tummy. You stated that in your culture every morning a Pooja is assembled where family members pray to their Gods for health and prosperity of their loved ones. And this is similar to many other cultures just in a different form of tradition

First I will discuss how higher spiritual beings (or something that is held sacred in a religion) relate to gender inequalities. In Judaism, G-d is neither male nor female. Though the decision is very personal and there is no right answer. People who practice Islam worship Allah, god that many think of as a male. Hindu’s worship a singular god but in many forms. This is a polytheistic religion. Some forms of this ultimate divine god are female. In Christianity, the trinity is a set of three figures all considered male. In Christianity, Mary is a figure of power.

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An often controversial issue within politics is how woman are viewed and treated in the Hindu religion. The role of woman in Hinduism is often disputed and positions range from quite reasonable to highly antagonistic. An often overlooked aspect is that, Hinduism is more of a way of life then a Religion. This is because Hinduism requires that we see the same reality in all the diversity of creation; that we see the same Self in all beings. Hindu women within this religion would view themselves as an important part of the family, but this is not shown through the contents of the Manusmriti. The Manusmriti directly translated is “Laws of Manu,” or “Institutions of Manu,” is regarded as the foundational

Women are not given the position of power, such as a political leader or as Brahmins who are usually males a part of the priestly caste in India with the authority to learn and teach the hymn of Vedas that is the knowledge of revelation. As the Brahmins are at the apex of status, they were given the leadership role of the discussion of knowledge where the scripture gives them superiority, thus their viewpoint representing the establishment of the values and traditions of Hinduism. Hinduism has an underlining of masculine thinking where only men can renounce the world and attain moksha or liberation from rebirth, where a woman's life are divided into three main phases of maidenhood (kaumarya), marriage (vivaha) and should the husband pass away