Resurgent Religion, Resurgent Patriarchy? Strictly Observant Religion, Gender, and the State

A triple transformation is shaping societies around the world: the rise of strictly observant religion, the backlash against gender equality, and the growing influence of neoliberalism and authoritarianism in state affairs. While each of these phenomena has been intensively studied by social scientists, we know very little about their overlapping confluence. This introduction to the Special Issue “Strictly Observant Religion, Gender and the State in the 21st Century” outlines how we might make sense of the increasing traction of liberal sexual politics and the concurrent rise of neo-traditionalist movements. Rather than providing a unified theory, we propose the concept of “strictly observant religion,” a “social system which aims at structuring all aspects of life around strict adherence to religious doctrines”, as defined by Tobias Müller in his contribution to this special issue. As such, it serves as a heuristic tool to study these macro-transformations through thick descriptions of people’s striving, believing, and struggling. By locating the collection’s contributions in current debates and summarizing key insights, we outline possible pitfalls and pathways for future research in the sociology of religion, feminist theory, and political sociology.