Essays discuss goddess worship, spiritual consciousness, the relationship between politics and religion, and applications of spirituality as a political force.

Informal, revealing, unexpected, this book is a captivating and thought-provoking meditation how faith, in all its facets, remains profoundly relevant for and in our culture. “When the Italian writer Antonio Monda sat down to talk religion with American cultural leaders... he went straight for the big questions.” —O, The Oprah Magazine Some of the most well-known and well-respected cultural figures of our time enter into intimate and illuminating conversation about their personal beliefs, about belief itself, about religion, and about God. Antonio Monda is a disarming, rigorous interviewer, asking the most difficult questions (he often begins an interview point blank: “Do you believe in God?”) that lead to the most wide-ranging conversations. An ardent believer himself, Monda talks both with atheists (asked what she feels when she meets a believer, Grace Paley replies: “I respect his thinking and his beliefs, but at the same time I think he’s deluded”) and other believers, their discussion ranging from personal images of God (Michael Cunningham sees God as a black woman, Derek Walcott as a wise old white man with a beard) to religion’s place in American culture, from the afterlife to the concepts of good and evil, from fundamentalism to the Bible. And almost without fail, the conversations turn to questions of art and literature. Toni Morrison discusses Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner, Richard Ford invokes Wallace Stevens, and David Lynch draws attention to the religious aspects of Bu–uel, Fellini...and Harold Ramis's Groundhog Day.

Essays discuss goddess worship, spiritual consciousness, the relationship between politics and religion, and applications of spirituality as a political force.

This book comes directly out of women's grassroots efforts to understand and transform their spiritual traditions. It is a comprehensive account of the discussions, arguments, perspectives and approaches of contemporary women in Canada toward spirituality and the monotheistic religions. The author presents a concise history of each religion, discusses normative practices and focuses on the roles, rituals and rights of contemporary women as they accommodate to and deal with their respective religions. It deals with women's encounters with spirituality within the framework of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and outside of this framework within the new religions of contemporary Goddess worship.

From the inside scoop on goddesses, Amazons, and ancient matriarchal societies, to feminist theology and pagan rituals--Women’s Spirituality offers a comprehensive survey of what is happening in women’s spirituality today. Mary Faulkner also provides a sweeping historical and social overview of women’s spiritual experience from the dawn of civilization to present day: Goddesses, amazons, priestesses and Magicthe history of early matriarchal societiesecofeminismPagan and New Age ritualsWiccan, Celtic, Jewish, Christian, native peoples, and other spiritual traditions Faulkner also highlights the work of well-known writers, theologians, and academics who have contributed to the field, including Barbara Walker, Marija Gimbutas, Luisah Teish, Starhawk, Alice Walker, Rosemary Ruether, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sallie McFague, Mary Daly, Judith Plaskow, Carol Christ, Sue Monk Kidd, and many more. For the novice, adept, or the simply curious, this book offers both a sweeping history and an inside view of one of the most profound movements and moving religious impulses of today.

Written by an acclaimed scholar to enrich and complete the vision offered by traditional Western spirituality, Women and Spirituality demonstrates that women, as women, have a valuable contribution to make to religion. This new edition is revised and updated in light of thirteen years of feminism, including new biblical role models and a new chapter on women's special relationship to time. Prodding readers to pay attention to their own experiences, Ochs challenges traditional religious concepts such as solitary struggle, otherworldliness, and the spiritual journey to a distant goal, and shows how women's spirituality focuses on relationships with others, commitment to this world, and engagement with the present.

Once the basis for all religion, the Goddess is resurfacing and being reclaimed by women in their quest for inner development and wholeness. Here you will learn of the deceptions of history and the hidden secrets of our past. Also learn the techniques of ritual, group structure, individual work, healing, crystals, tarot and I Ching, the discovery and development of power from within, and much more.

A women's spirituality classic now back in print! The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries is essential for Pagans, feminists, and women seeking to learn more about the spiritual path as it relates to the feminine and the Goddess aspects of witchcraft and Wicca. This book is not about reinstating a matriarchy or tearing down patriarchy; it is about women's spirituality and its relationship with politics and lifestyle. Z. Budapest is one of the founding mothers of modern women's witchcraft, beginning with the establishment of Susan B. Anthony Coven in Los Angeles in 1971. She catapulted herself into the media spotlight when she was tried as a witch and found guilty in 1975 after being arrested on Venice Beach for reading tarot cards. She fought the charges and, after a nine year battle, won the right for every tarot reader to do so legally. The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries is a seminal text that contains invaluable information on Dianic witchcraft and spells, including everyday magick, sabbat rituals, and divination methods; a section on how vegetarian theories and politics relate to witchcraft and the feminine aspect; and a good deal of information on goddesses and how the patriarchal religions distorted old myths to serve their own needs. There are several unique and beautiful Rites of Passage for women and men that you don't often find, and Budapest's personal life stories are an equally valuable read, from her escape across the mountains from Communist Hungary to her fight for women's religious freedom upon moving to America. * This reprint features a new introduction by Z. Budapest, in addition to essays by luminaries such as Starhawk and Merlin Stone.