Abstract

This article explores the complex inter-relationship between the quests for gender equality and for religious freedom. First, it analyses of the connections between secularism, religion and gender, taking into account liberalism’s own difficulties in granting full citizenship to women. Next, it explores how liberal institutions can successfully strike a balance between minority religious freedom and gender equality, but how in some cases secularism and feminism are mobilized to discriminate minority women. Third, it highlights the challenges posed by the re-politicization of conservative and fundamentalist majority religions in different contexts. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of women theologians in countering antifeminist and exclusionary religious interpretations.