Jesus, Religion, Gender

Abstract

This special issue of Religion and Gender explores gendered presentations and constructions of Jesus from antiquity to the present. Sharing a broadly intersectional approach to gender analysis, the authors in this issue offer new insights into the dynamics of religion and gender, particularly as these dynamics concern central religious figures such as Jesus. The issue sheds new light on a diverse religious tradition by analyzing the gendering of one of its key protagonists in multiple receptions within the tradition. Scholars from various disciplines and fields will benefit from engaging this issue-long case study of several varieties of religious genderings of Jesus. The remainder of this introduction brings forward the historic question of Jesus’ identity, surveys the topic of the gendered reception of Jesus, and introduces the issue articles within the context of the wider field.