PANEL: GENDER (IN)EQUALITIES IN RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS: THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORKS, NORMATIVE PRACTICES, AND CONTEMPORARY RECONFIGURATIONS
02/07/2026 09:00 - 19:30
HALL: Pola - A210

Contact: Amore D.S.

Chair: Casagrande L.

Across religious traditions, gender has functioned as a central axis through which systems of authority, normativity, and social hierarchy have been articulated, contested, and transformed. Theologies, legal frameworks, ritual practices, and symbolic imaginaries have historically both legitimized gendered inequalities and, in certain contexts, provided resources for their critique and reconfiguration. This panel aims to explore how gender (in)equalities are constructed, maintained, and negotiated within diverse religious systems, examining both classical formulations and contemporary reinterpretations.
Bringing together comparative, historical, theological, and anthropological perspectives, the panel invites contributions that analyse gender as a site of tension between tradition and change. Attention will be given to how sacred texts, doctrinal discourses, jurisprudential traditions, and ritual practices shape gender roles, access to religious authority, and embodied religious experience. At the same time, the panel seeks to highlight internal debates, reformist movements, and feminist, womanist, and queer theologies that challenge inherited hierarchies and propose alternative hermeneutical and ethical frameworks.
By situating gender within broader discussions of power, embodiment, and social inequality, this panel aims to foster critical dialogue on the ways religions both reflect and actively participate in the production of gendered (in)equalities. Contributions may address one or more religious traditions or adopt a comparative or transdisciplinary approach, offering insights into how religious thought and practice continue to shape—and be reshaped by—contemporary struggles for gender justice.

162_2.2
162_2.4
QUEERING REDEMPTIVE MASCULINITIES: REIMAGINING MASCULINITY IN AFRICAN PENTECOSTAL CONTEXTS

Van Der Walt C. * [1] , Ngcobo S. * [2]

University of KwaZulu Natal ~ Pietermarizburg ~ South Africa [1] , University of Pretoria ~ Pretoria ~ South Africa [2]
162_2.5
SPIRITUAL MOTHERHOOD AND SPIRITUAL FATHERHOOD: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, GENDER AND POWER

Flatebø T. *

MF - Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society ~ Oslo ~ Norway
162_2.7
GENDERED FORTUNES: THE CONSTRUCTION, PRACTICE, AND ADAPTATION OF GENDER ORDER IN LATE QING DIVINATION TEXTS

Liu Y. *

École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) / Sichuan University ~ Paris ~ France
162_2.8
WOMEN: "TO BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD"? EPISTEMIC AND GENDER INEQUALITIES IN IGBO RELIGIOUS CULTURE

Udeagha N. *

School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds ~ Leeds ~ United Kingdom
162_2.9
THRESHOLDS OF DEVOTION: CONTESTED SACRED GEOGRAPHIES, FEMALE ACCESS, AND RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY IN PAKISTAN

Azam Z. [1] , Chaudhury A. * [2]

FORMAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE UNIVERSITY LAHORE ~ LAHORE ~ Pakistan [1] , UNIVERSITY OF YORK ~ HESLINGTON, YORK ~ United Kingdom [2]