Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United States
A large literature on feminist theology and philosophy of religion has explored the various ways in which feminism has reshaped religious thought and practice within different faith traditions. This study uses Festinger’s (1965) cognitive dissonance theory and the 2017 Nishma Research Surv...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-10-01
|
Series: | Religions |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/11/332 |
id |
doaj-e8f1ffbdef4e40c5b20d879d73394164 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-e8f1ffbdef4e40c5b20d879d733941642020-11-25T00:24:00ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442018-10-0191133210.3390/rel9110332rel9110332Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United StatesMichelle Shain0Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, MS 014, Brandeis University, P.O. Box 549110, Waltham, MA 02454-9110, USAA large literature on feminist theology and philosophy of religion has explored the various ways in which feminism has reshaped religious thought and practice within different faith traditions. This study uses Festinger’s (1965) cognitive dissonance theory and the 2017 Nishma Research Survey of American Modern Orthodox Jews to examine the effect of tension between feminism and Orthodox Judaism on lay men and women. For 14% of Modern Orthodox Jews, issues related to women or women’s roles are what cause them “the most pain or unhappiness„ as Orthodox Jews. The paper examines the sociodemographic characteristics associated with this response and tests whether those who experience this cognitive dissonance are more likely to (1) advocate for changes in the role of women within Orthodox Judaism and/or (2) experience religious doubt. The analysis reveals that these individuals overwhelmingly take a feminist stance on issues related to women’s roles in Orthodox Judaism, and they also manifest more religious doubt. The paper discusses the dual potential of cognitive dissonance to either spur changes in women’s religious roles in traditional religious communities and/or threaten the demographic vitality of those communities.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/11/332cognitive dissonancereligionfeminismJewsOrthodox |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Michelle Shain |
spellingShingle |
Michelle Shain Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United States Religions cognitive dissonance religion feminism Jews Orthodox |
author_facet |
Michelle Shain |
author_sort |
Michelle Shain |
title |
Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United States |
title_short |
Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United States |
title_full |
Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United States |
title_fullStr |
Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United States |
title_full_unstemmed |
Whence Orthodox Jewish Feminism? Cognitive Dissonance and Religious Change in the United States |
title_sort |
whence orthodox jewish feminism? cognitive dissonance and religious change in the united states |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Religions |
issn |
2077-1444 |
publishDate |
2018-10-01 |
description |
A large literature on feminist theology and philosophy of religion has explored the various ways in which feminism has reshaped religious thought and practice within different faith traditions. This study uses Festinger’s (1965) cognitive dissonance theory and the 2017 Nishma Research Survey of American Modern Orthodox Jews to examine the effect of tension between feminism and Orthodox Judaism on lay men and women. For 14% of Modern Orthodox Jews, issues related to women or women’s roles are what cause them “the most pain or unhappiness„ as Orthodox Jews. The paper examines the sociodemographic characteristics associated with this response and tests whether those who experience this cognitive dissonance are more likely to (1) advocate for changes in the role of women within Orthodox Judaism and/or (2) experience religious doubt. The analysis reveals that these individuals overwhelmingly take a feminist stance on issues related to women’s roles in Orthodox Judaism, and they also manifest more religious doubt. The paper discusses the dual potential of cognitive dissonance to either spur changes in women’s religious roles in traditional religious communities and/or threaten the demographic vitality of those communities. |
topic |
cognitive dissonance religion feminism Jews Orthodox |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/11/332 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT michelleshain whenceorthodoxjewishfeminismcognitivedissonanceandreligiouschangeintheunitedstates |
_version_ |
1725354583008477184 |