Is a total renunciation of clothing a prerequisite to attaining spiritual liberation? In Gender and Salvation, Padmanabh S. Jaini brings to light previously untranslated texts centering on a centuries-old debate between the two principal Jaina sects, the Digambaras and the Svetambaras. At the core of the debate is the question of whether gender-based differences of biology and life experience shape or limit an individual’s ability to accomplish the ultimate religious goal. For the Digambaras, the example of total nudity set by Mahavira (599–527 B.C.), the central spiritual figure of Jainism, mandates an identical practice for all who aspire to the highest levels of religious attainment. For the Svetambaras, the renunciation occurs purely on an internal level and is neither affected nor confirmed by the absence of clothes. Both sects agree, however, that nudity is not permitted for women under any circumstances. The Digambaras, therefore, believe that women cannot attain salvation, while the Svetambaras believe they can. Through their analysis of this dilemma, the Jaina thinkers whose texts are translated here demonstrate a level of insight into the material and spiritual constraints on women that transcends the particular question of salvation and relates directly to current debates on the effects of gender in our own society. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.

Is a total renunciation of clothing a prerequisite to attaining spiritual liberation? In Gender and Salvation, Padmanabh S. Jaini brings to light previously untranslated texts centering on a centuries-old debate between the two principal Jaina sects, the Digambaras and the Svetambaras. At the core of the debate is the question of whether gender-based differences of biology and life experience shape or limit an individual’s ability to accomplish the ultimate religious goal. For the Digambaras, the example of total nudity set by Mahavira (599–527 B.C.), the central spiritual figure of Jainism, mandates an identical practice for all who aspire to the highest levels of religious attainment. For the Svetambaras, the renunciation occurs purely on an internal level and is neither affected nor confirmed by the absence of clothes. Both sects agree, however, that nudity is not permitted for women under any circumstances. The Digambaras, therefore, believe that women cannot attain salvation, while the Svetambaras believe they can. Through their analysis of this dilemma, the Jaina thinkers whose texts are translated here demonstrate a level of insight into the material and spiritual constraints on women that transcends the particular question of salvation and relates directly to current debates on the effects of gender in our own society. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.

The early Salvation Army professed its commitment to sexual equality in ministry and leadership. In fact, its founding constitution proclaimed women had the right to preach and hold any office in the organization. But did they? Women in God’s Army is the first study of its kind devoted to the critical analysis of this central claim. It traces the extent to which this egalitarian ideal was realized in the private and public lives of first- and second-generation female Salvationists in Britain and argues that the Salvation Army was found wanting in its overall commitment to women’s equality with men. Bold pronouncements were not matched by actual practice in the home or in public ministry. Andrew Mark Eason traces the nature of these discrepancies, as well as the Victorian and evangelical factors that lay behind them. He demonstrates how Salvationists often assigned roles and responsibilities on the basis of gender rather than equality, and the ways in which these discriminatory practices were supported by a male-defined theology and authority. He views this story from a number of angles, including historical, gender and feminist theology, ensuring it will be of interest to a wide spectrum of readers. Salvationists themselves will appreciate the light it sheds on recent debates. Ultimately, however, anyone who wants to learn more about the human struggle for equality will find this book enlightening.

As much of the intense political and social changes in Madagascar revolve around urban youth, who view themselves as avatars of modernity, this book argues that traditional social science offers inadequate theorizations of generational change and its contribution to broader cultural historical processes.

Translated by Ann Patrick Ware Introduces a perspective on evil and salvation to address "the evil women do, " the evil they suffer, and women's redemptive experiences of God and salvation.

Winner, 2023 Clifford Geertz Prize in Anthropology of Religion, Society for the Anthropology of Religion The Jahriyya Sufis—a primarily Sinophone order of Naqshbandiyya Sufism in northwestern China—inhabit a unique religious soundscape. The hallmark of their spiritual practice is the “loud” (jahr) remembrance of God in liturgical rituals featuring distinctive melodic vocal chants. The first ethnography of this order in any language, The Sound of Salvation draws on nearly a decade of fieldwork to reveal the intricacies and importance of Jahriyya vocal recitation. Guangtian Ha examines how the use of voice in liturgy helps the Jahriyya to sustain their faith and the ways it has enabled them to endure political persecution over the past two and a half centuries. He situates the Jahriyya in a global multilingual network of Sufis and shows how their characteristic soundscapes result from transcultural interactions among Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and Chinese Muslim communities. Ha argues that the resilience of Jahriyya Sufism stems from the diversity and multiplicity of liturgical practice, which he shows to be rooted in notions of Sufi sainthood. He considers the movement of Jahriyya vocal recitation to new media forms and foregrounds the gendered opposition of male voices and female silence that structures the group’s rituals. Spanning diverse disciplines—including anthropology, ethnomusicology, Islamic studies, sound studies, and media studies—and using Arabic, Persian, and Chinese sources, The Sound of Salvation offers new perspectives on the importance of sound to religious practice, the role of gender in Chinese Islam, and the links connecting Chinese Muslims to the broader Islamic world.

A Coherent Pauline Theology of Gender Respected New Testament scholar Cynthia Long Westfall offers a coherent Pauline theology of gender, which includes fresh perspectives on the most controverted texts. Westfall interprets passages on women and men together and places those passages in the context of the Pauline corpus as a whole. She offers viable alternatives for some notorious interpretive problems in certain Pauline passages, reframing gender issues in a way that stimulates thinking, promotes discussion, and moves the conversation forward. As Westfall explores the significance of Paul's teaching on both genders, she seeks to support and equip males and females to serve in their area of gifting.

This collection of original essays explores the historical and cultural diversity of the experience of gender reversal over an exceptional geographical and chronological range. Topics cove- red include anthropology, history, literature.Gender reversal is a perennial theme in the cultures of both East and West. It emerges in classical Chinese theatre, in the ceremony consecrating the Japanese emperor, and in Hindu mythology; in the ancient Greek rites of Dionysos, in medieval Christian thought and in the culture of the American Indians.The original essays in Gender Reversals and Gender Cultures explore the historical and cultural diversity of the experience of gender reversal over an exceptional geographical and chronological range. The contributors bring a unique mixture of perspectives to bear on the subject, with backgrounds in anthropology, history, literature, political science, comparative religion and women's studies. They reveal the complex relation of gender reversal to taboo, and show how differing attitudes reveal much about particular cultures.

What does the Bible actually say about women? This scripturally accurate book rejects harmful misinterpretations and reminds us of the dignity God places on His daughters, with a helpful guide for reflection and group discussion included. In the wake of the Me Too and Church Too movements, many of our loved ones are leaving the church or questioning Christianity because the Bible has at times been misused against them. How do we help our loved ones understand Scripture accurately? Apologetics for Women In this helpful look at God’s work of redemption from Creation to today, Wendy Alsup explores questions such as: • How does God view justice and equal rights for women? • What does it mean to be made in the image of God? • How have the centuries distorted our interpretation of how God views women? • How did Jesus approach the Old Testament and how does that help us read difficult passages today? • What is the difference between a modern view of feminism and the feminism that Scripture models? • How does the Bible explain the Bible to us? Using a Jesus-centered understanding to look at both God’s grand storyline and specific biblical passages, Alsup shows the noble ways God speaks to and about women in its pages. Most of all, she gives concrete tools for understanding Scripture to women who are questioning if the Bible is truly good for them.

When it comes to understanding what Scripture says about men and women, those on both sides of the debate can and do marshal strong evidence from the Bible. Does the Bible contradict itself then? Not so. John Stackhouse describes the single approach in Scripture that guides us with clear direction and moves us beyond the impasse in this important debate.