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The new (atheist) woman: a legacy of the 1960s cultural revolution?
[journal article]
Abstract It is undoubtedly true that a number of British women turned their back on religion, from the beginning of the period of the cultural revolution of the 1960s and onwards. To what might we attribute these defections and the taking up of a new nonreligious identity? Was it the change in sexual mores ... view more
It is undoubtedly true that a number of British women turned their back on religion, from the beginning of the period of the cultural revolution of the 1960s and onwards. To what might we attribute these defections and the taking up of a new nonreligious identity? Was it the change in sexual mores and the rise of second wave feminism, the increase in women entering higher education opening up new worldviews to them or increasing affluence? This article examines a variety of factors through the eyes of self-identified women atheists/humanists most of whom have lived through that period. It notes that, while these factors may well be significant to different degrees for different women, the turn to atheism, specifically, results largely from women having been damaged by religion and the deep emotional impact thus left behind. The turn to atheism is not a uniform experience as the women are enmeshed in differing types of ‘emotional regime’ which affects how they respond.... view less
Keywords
woman; cultural revolution; religion; feminism; atheism
Classification
Women's Studies, Feminist Studies, Gender Studies
Cultural Sociology, Sociology of Art, Sociology of Literature
Sociology of Religion
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 51-66
Journal
Society Register, 1 (2017) 1
ISSN
2544-5502
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed