Visible Religious Practices

Abstract

In Chapter 3, emphasis was placed on women’s written and verbal expressions of religious knowledge. This chapter by contrast examines how women expressed religious sensibilities through non-verbal means, in visible, often visual, religious practices. How did women leave their mark in contemporary religion through their actions? The activities and practices analysed here all, at some level, conformed to collective norms and social expectations within particular confessional identities. Beyond this, however, what can be ascertained about how women’s spiritual actions and devotional practices informed, and were expressions of, their religious sensibilities? Many activities clearly identified a woman’s confessional allegiance. What personal religious meaning did participation in certain devotional practices have for individual women? Moreover, were these meanings more broadly gendered, so that the same devotional practice might have different meanings for women and men?