Feminist Spirituality and Goddess Religion in the United States

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. Within a few thousand years the first recognizable human society developed worship of the Great Goddess or Great Mother. For these people, deity was female. The importance of fertility in crops, domesticated animals,wild animals and in the tribe itself were of paramount importance to their survival. Thus, the Female life-giving principle was considered divine and an enigma. This culture lasted for tens of thousands of years, generally living in peace. Males and females were treated equally. Their society was matrilineal--children took their mothers' names, but not a matriarchy (Christ 58-59). Life and time was experienced as a repetitive cycle, not linearly as is accepted today. However, Easterners soon brought modern civilization to this culture, including war, belief in male Gods, exploitation of nature, and knowledge of the male role in procreation. Goddess worship was gradually combined with worship of male Gods to produce a variety of Pagan religions, thus losing some of its singular focus on the female as a deity. Goddess Worship during the Christian Era was molded by more dominant outside forces. As Judaism, Christianity & eventually Islam evolved, the Pagan religions were suppressed and the female principle was gradually driven out of religion. Consequently women were reduced to a level inferior to men. The God, King, Priest & Father replaced the Goddess, Queen,

Cited: 1. Christ, Carol P. "Why Women Need the Goddess: Phenomenal, Psychological, and Political Reflections" in Womanspirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion, ed. Carol. P. Christ and Judith Plaskow. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979. pp276-285 2. Christ, Carol P. Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality. New York City: Routledge, 1997. 3. Corbett, Julia Mitchell. Religion in America-4th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. 4. Starhawk (Miriam Stamos). The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979.