Space, boundaries and borders in the study of religion, gender and society

• Main Author: WOODS, Orlando
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Religion
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3534
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This chapter considers the ways in which boundaries and borders are constructed and negotiated through the study of religion, gender and society. Boundaries and borders demarcate and define space, whilst space serves to mediate the ways in which we navigate our daily lives. The conceptual tools of boundaries, borders and space are, therefore, instructive to any understanding of how religion, gender and society intersect in the contemporary world. Through a critical interrogation of various binaries, such as religion/secular, public/private, male/female and self/other, it considers the ways in which religion is understood and practiced around the world. In doing so, it explores how religion can serve to reinforce, challenge and overcome categories of gender, and how gender can, in turn, mediate the experience of religion. Examples from different socio-cultural contexts are used to illustrate the ways in which these theoretical ideas have been developed.