Gender & Sexuality Studies Religion in Women's Lives Worldwide Shannon Garvin

RELIGION IN LIVES WORLDWIDE Shannon At a glance , the condition of women in religion across the globe often appears bleak . Religious systems foster and promote the power and voices of men at the expense of the women who make up the majority of adherents . traditions and cultural or familial ties often make it , if not , for women to speak or to act on their own behalf . No major religion has ever allowed women to remain agents of their own spiritual has eventually shuttered women out of its leadership and practices , leaving them subservient to men within structures of the faith . Yet women do make up the majority of practitioners in every religion . That leads us to ask why women continue to participate in religions that sideline or subordinate them . Are women simply passive recipients of religious teachings that relegate them to submission ?

Do they simply accept their oppression ?

Why don they leave ?

Some do . We also know that many push back against the constraints of beliefs and practices that relegate them to second class status . Some do so by staying within their religious tradition and working for change . Others seek different religious traditions that offer a more egalitarian vision and empower them to live and work as people of faith . There are no simple solutions when it comes to women and religion , but there are a lot of stories we can hear and a lot of hard questions to ask of ourselves and others . There are patterns , there are leaders , there are sacred texts and ancient stories , there is faith beyond ourselves , and there is hope in despair . Women are resilient and strong . They have carved lives out of deserts of despair and rocks of indifference . The voice and practice of one woman can change an entire generation . The global community in which we live now has given women unprecedented access to the stories of other women across their differences . This allows us to learn from women of faith and to come alongside women all around the world . All of us can support the work of women to continue to generate wholeness and from within each religion and ture . In this chapter we will learn how to support women and men as they regenerate their own religious systems and structures from within their cultures and experiences , supported by their own ancient texts and stories , to create space for each person to actively and freely engage their own religion in their own particular cultural context .

386 I IN WORLDWIDE American , Buddhist Interview with Claudia Lockhart What to ?

Growing up in the Dominican Republic , I saw a mix of traditions , such as West African nature practices incorporated into the dominant Catholicism . My parents were Christian and meditated daily . Later , I explored , reading the an , and visiting Christian made sense to me . Its philosophy aspect allows any spiritual . I appreciate its focus on being part of the world and spiritual at the same time . Do any challenge as a ' Some of the challenges are the same as in any spiritual practice . I may be the only person of color in a temple I may feel However , that would not get in the way of my immersion in Buddhist practice . The point is to let go of all your identities , to out your own true nature so labels don you . What do want people to about ?

The media is on the principle of mindfulness . It goes hand in hand with compassion , loving kindness , and sympathetic joy Sanskrit , feeling delight at another person . How dues enact ' Buddhism emphasizes interdependence . The concept of the global sangha ( a community out borders ) the tendency for transnational activism . Engaged Buddhism supports the of others , including women , the Indigenous peoples of Washington state , the people of Tibet . It is easier to engage in activism when your actions in the moment align with your true values . To be an activist , it is important to sit and listen , to see the other within yourself . A Little History When new religions are founded or ancient religions begin massive transitions , women are always at the forefront of the are teaching , organizing classes and groups , meeting community needs , and speaking on behalf of themselves and others . Jesus was surrounded by women , and a woman announced

LIVES 387 his resurrection to the men . Mohammed wives were his primary counselors as military advisors , and educators . As religions spread , they require organization to preserve a sense of cohesion . While women remain the primary participants of religion , history and theology record them as eventually losing power and voice as men controlled the institutionalization of religions . Why does this happen ?

Because for most of tory , women have been unable to control their own fertility , being primarily responsible for and maintenance of the home . With their time and energy invested there , they have been prevented from leading in public . Women who hoped to avoid a life of marriage and childbearing often chose single life as a nun to remain focused on their spiritual work . Yet even these women found themselves under male authority as men built religions as patriarchal institutions . God Said What ?

by Sarah Baum One of the most fundamental human rights is the ability to decide if and when to reproduce . This was easier said than done for most of human history , but with the twentieth century came effective and safe means of birth control . With these methods , women and men now could plan when , or when not , to have a child , but the issue didn stay so . Right next to the fundamental right to start a family ( or not ) is freedom , and these two butt up against each other in an interaction that is highly personal for believers . The Catholic Church has long forbidden any means of birth control except the rhythm method , ing that sexual intercourse is intended for procreation only . Protestants have been allowed access to birth control since 1930 ( although it may or may not be encouraged ) because there is nothing in scripture bidding it . In Islam , some birth control is allowed because the an expresses that children need to be provided for , which can only be accomplished if the parents are ready to start a family . In and Buddhism , there is no prohibition on the use of birth control . certain types of birth control are allowed . These are just some broad beliefs , as all religions have various sects that are more or less conservative . Most interesting of all is how things are changing . The of family planning are so great that there is a growing demand for changes in doctrine . As the methods and means of birth control advance and evolve , so do most religious views on the subject . Will we see a time when religion won regulate this vital area ofhuman life ?

Who can say ?

388 RELIGION Here we see another noticeable pattern in history . Either women slowly capitulate to men , or men slowly exert power over women . Religions themselves attempt to explain this universally repeated , historical . The Bible speaks of the Fall , where the man Adam and woman Eve sinned by craving more knowledge than was beyond their abilities , knowledge that was for the divine and outside the nature of humans . Then God outlined the of them being that women would crave men , and men would crave ruling over women . Note the Bible describes this as an outcome , not a punishment , as many people believe and teach . Early Islamic writings record the words and actions of Muhammad and his wives , but after his death , his male followers continued to write interpretations of the original an and without including the wisdom or voices of his widows . These male writers eventually the role of women in Islam as nothing more than domestic servants and teachers of children . The early record women gurus , and the numerous Hindu gods are all of the female goddess , but Hindu women are barred from many temples while they are menstruating . Hindu women offering water of the Ganges River to the Sun God Ancient texts record that men across cultures from Asia to Africa commonly feared the power of women it with the power of the earth to bring life and death . So men , fearful of what they could not do themselves , sought to control the creative power of the cosmos by controlling the women who possessed it . In an agrarian culture , where people can not eat if they can not grow their own food and babies come from women bodies like crops come from the ground , it was easy to correlate evidence of this cosmic power to create life and even death with women , and to fear it . In modern times , we still see how religions attempt to control women sexuality and opposition to contraception and abortion to purity balls to laws that discriminate against queer and trans women . We see women who themselves accept and advocate for this control , believing it is the will of the

iN ) LiVES ) i 389 Divine . We also see women who resist and work within religious traditions to bring about change and ate transformation toward equitable and faith and practice . In the rest of this chapter , we will draw from a wide variety of academic of knowledge to compare , learn , and develop compassion and understanding as we work to understand the relationship between people and religion and move into the future together . First , we discuss women in religion generally , and then we look at some of the ways women experience and participate in religion in homogenous , in refugee and immigrant communities , and in communities . What Is Religion ?

The ancient Greeks explored knowledge and used to separate the process of knowing ( with what we know ( the world ) and how we choose to interact with the world and our knowledge ( religion ) For cultures that were by the Greeks , religion is a way of understanding the world we live in and what happens beyond what we see . These beliefs consciously and unconsciously affect how we interpret events , how we live our lives today , and how we plan for the future . We see the of Greek thought in Christianity as it evolved in its few centuries and later in Islamic jurisprudence . In other cultures , outside Greek , religion , and philosophy remain melded together as a whole , and the world is understood holistically . In these cultures , religion is not primarily about belief but about all of existence experienced as a whole . he Diverse Divine by Ramona Flores history , mythology about the divine has included lesbian , gay , bisexual , trans , queer , or intersex plus ( either as gods themselves or as protectors of queer people . Stories of deities origin and often play loosely with the gender binary , one example being the Hindu deity Kamala ' a , the androgynous form of the Hindu god Vishnu and his partner Lakshmi another is the Greek . an Aztec god of duality , was a deity that presented as both male and female and contained every multitude of the world . Classical Greek mythology included a number of gay , bisexual , lesbian , and intersex entities ( Achilles , Apollo , Artemis , Pan , Neptune , Zeus ) Further presence of queer supreme beings can be found in Chinese mythology , with Tu Er , the rabbit god , serving as the patron saint of homosexual love .

390 I RELIGION IN LIVES WORLDWIDE In Chinese folklore , there is a story of an isolated thread being a place where queerness is the norm . ation myths . There are also many deities that serve as patrons of queer people . an Aztec god of art , games , and dance , also serves as the patron saint of homosexuals , and , the goddess of , tion , and illicit sex , was served by priestesses who cared for those who sought her blessings or cleansing , all of whom were said to be lesbians or transgender women . island populated entirely by women , not unlike the legend of the Isle in legend , where all relationships are between women , and duction is facilitated by the blowing of the wind when the islands inhabitants sleep on the beach . These legends share similarities despite being geographically and culturally distant , with the connecting Queerness is not a new invention or new revelation . It is tied deeply to origin stories and Religion is also about people relationship to the sacred and the ways they make meaning of existence . For many people around the world , religion is one of most means by which they understand and interact with the world around them and think about the world beyond what they can see . Religion not only provides a framework for understanding the world and events , but it also our making as we live in that world . Religion offers of and traumatic events . In most cultures , it also offers of a being ( god ) or multiple beings ( pantheon ) that interact with humans beyond the world we can see and touch . Re is not just mystical it is also practical . It grounds us to the earth where we live as well as the heavens beyond our reach . Women have always been at the front of creating a localized , system of re practices that balance theological beliefs about the universe and cosmic deities with the everyday responsibilities of food and shelter in such a way that it nurtures both home and community and is adaptable over a life span as needs and responsibilities change . By the necessity of caring for chi dren , home , and neighbors , women have out how to practice religion that integrates these concerns . We can see evidence of this integration in home altars , care of local religious sites , and practices of hospitality and healing .

WORLDWIDE 391 Women at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem Belief systems can be categorized as religions because they share commonalities in form and function . They existence as well as practices . They attach meanings to locations and experiences . They explain the seen as well as the unseen . They call people to live outside of themselves in the larger community of humanity as well as in their local environment . Religions also the parts and experiences of existence . They practice exclusion , as they name who is in and who is out by determining who does and does not share similar interpretations of reality . Originally , when religions were embedded in their local , religion , race , and environment were commonly all understood together as a localized group understanding of their identity and existence . Later , as ethnic groups or individuals were displaced or traveled into different areas with different belief systems , religious became part of identity we tell ourselves apart from Religious Leadership Over time , women became excluded from leadership and lost both voice and identity in their own ions even thou the and tau it in the home . Few ions ave women an alternative to and childbirth . Women who desired their own a had to ive home and ily relationships to live under the authority of a man . Nuns and monks were common to Buddhism , but Buddha , his own lascivious , feared women and the es of nuns within boundaries strictly controlled by local monks . Similarly , Catholic nuns were subservient to priests because only men could accurately reflect and authentically contain the image and work of God on earth . While women served as leaders in early Christianity , their leadership was limited and obscured as the

392 i iN ) church became institutionalized . Women emerged again as public leaders in some of the dissenting following the Quakers , Methodists , and Baptists , for example . Still , women leadership among Protestant churches remained contentious , even as some women were ordained as starting in the nineteenth century . Even today , the Catholic Church and many Protestant churches continue to exclude women from leadership . Only offered women free passage into religious vice and retained their voice as primarily . Nuns could rise to Celestial Immortality , as sexual energy was valued as the basis for transformation , and the female cosmic force of yin was superior to the yang ( and 2003 , 167 and 250 ) nuns were also free to create monastic ties they could marry , and children were an assumed part of monastic life . Clergy Broadening Their Faith Communities by Andi Boyer Finding your self in modern Christian religions may prove challenging as a woman . Christianity has historically been practiced as a patriarchal religion , with different rules of acceptable behavior and for male and female practitioners . Most biblical teachings portray women in a role that is ordinate to men , though the Catholic faith does grant sainthood to women recognized for great deeds or meritorious conduct , which could be as varied as giving birth to a male saint or losing their lives in defense of their faith , as well as for their contributions to the Catholic church and their communities . Recently , however , there seems to be a shift happening in some religious cultures . In formal western , women are beginning to be recognized in customarily patriarchal roles such as clergy . Although women have often provided a consistency of practice that holds a congregation together week after week , as they become part of the clergy , the diversity within their congregations expands and becomes inclusive of more races and identities . Women as clergy seem to the expression of faith as well . Women are bringing into the ministry a perspective of becoming more focused on the actions of their faith , compared to identifying one merit by learning and remembering a set , as seems to be a governing practice ofa religious patriarchy . This inclusiveness provides an opportunity for people to take their god out of the box and the divine in a way that is meaningful within their own lives while continuing to participate in a common community . References Sheppard , Nancy . Community Church Elder . Personal communication . April 28 , 2021 .

IN WORLDWIDE 393 Theology and Religious Texts Religions are not monolithic even when they appear so at first glance . Their theology ( beliefs ) and are not static or identical over time and space . They vary from culture to culture . Despite concrete anchoring points in history , most religions today show creative varieties across cultures and history . For example , evangelical Christianity in the United States , with its emphasis on converting people and politics , differs greatly from the ancient Christianity of Iraq or Palestine , where families live side their neighbors without the pressure to convert them or determine whether they can access health care or have an abortion . Likewise , Buddhism across Southeast Asia holds to beliefs and practices that require women to return in their next life as men and excludes them from education and access to in their female bodies . But Buddhism in the United States and Europe embraces and not only women and men , but also those who are transgender or gender . Within Islam today , the issue of veiling is a and complex practice that interpretations of ancient texts as well as cultural . In some places , veiling , which is not required by the an , is required by the civil or religious law for women . In other places , wearing a veil is banned by the government for being too religious . In none of these places are the women themselves allowed to choose how their dress does or does not their religious beliefs . Historically , women rarely wore veils . But over the past few decades , an upsurgence in conservative Muslim ( and the ensuing and violence forced women to veil and judged the purity of a local culture primarily on the appearance and subjection of its women . In other places , where women want to make their faith visible , some moderate Muslim women are choosing to wear hijab to make a public statement that is layered with political and religious sentiments . The current conversations about laws , modesty , stereotypes , personhood , and faith are an excellent example of the twists , turns , complications , and of religion , culture , and practices in the everyday lived experience of women .

394 WOMEN Veiled women attend a mosque in the western Sahara While beliefs and practices of most religions have mostly been developed by men , women have also shaped religions from their unique perspectives and experiences , For example , rich traditions across the majority of Indigenous religious around the world honor women as keepers of sacred sites and relics as well as healers in their communities . Many groups also honor girls and boys as they come of age , with boys acknowledged for strength or prowess and girls for their ability to create and bring forth life . In Tamil , India , a turmeric bathing ceremony ) is a celebration of a girl onset of menstruation . While most Hindu ceremonies are led by men , this one is conducted mostly by women . It begins with ritual seclusion , where the girl is cared for by other girls and women and engages in ritual bathing , and ends with a public function in which people give the girls gifts , including silk sarees . In Judaism , feminist thinkers have challenged traditional beliefs about women . Some have old practices . For example , some feminists have created Passover ( ritual ceremonies ) that center women . So instead of setting out a cup for the prophet Elijah , feminists set a cup for Miriam , the sister of Moses , who often becomes the primary character in the telling of the Passover story . Scholars today are using the breadth of culturally experiences to reformulate theology and for today cultures in which people of all genders experience spiritual agency . Contextual recognize individual and group experiences as the starting place for constructing . lan , for example , a displaced Christian postcolonial feminist Chinese theologian , notes that the Bible is highly diverse and pluralistic , showing both the indelible marks of imperialistic theology and the to the dominant power that have liberating possibilities ( 2005 , Islamic scholars from

LIVES 395 Southeast Asia to Africa are using the an to challenge the cult of virginity theology , which assumes that through marriage , men are to own a trophy wife to carry on their male line rather than create a life partnership of mutual respect . They also write against the subjugation of women under Sha ria laws that highlight the difference between the an ( written by Mohammed ) and the early ( written by Mohammed friends and students ) from the later interpretations that devalue women ( interpretations written by men promoting their own cultural beliefs centuries after Mohammed died ) When we look at ancient texts from the an , to the Torah , to the Bible , to the , we must remind ourselves that the winners write history and theology . Those who are in the room shape the decisions that will be implemented outside the room and taught as fact even if they are little more than . Today , we have the privilege and the challenge to read between the lines of ancient texts and stories and interpretations and to notice what human voices and experiences are missing as well as those which are included . Then we can evaluate how the interpretation is incomplete and invite in those voices we need to complete the whole of our religious beliefs . This work is best done from inside each faith community . We do justice by asking hard questions of our own religion and supporting honest questions asked by adherents of other religions . Impacts of Colonization More than any other outside force , colonization has affected religious beliefs and practices around the world , and religious beliefs have often propelled and maintained colonization . From the ancient Persians to the Romans , to the Chinese , to the European powers , active colonization of land for the of an outside dynasty has intentionally used religion to further its interests . From displacing peoples from their land to forcing them to change their names and stripping them of civil and religious power , Christianity , and Islam have often become transnational in service to civil . As African postcolonial feminist biblical scholar Musa notes , of Africa took land and resources for God , gold , and She also notes a fourth , arguing that practices and impacts of colonization had detrimental consequences for African women . European used the Bible to justify the taking of land and control of people they considered to be innately inferior . In Africa , as in North America , assumed the inferiority of Indigenous religions and sought to impose Christianity on Indigenous people through evangelization that was often accompanied by . Through these generations of colonization , the religious traditions of both and colonized interacted and shaped one another , usually to the of the colonizer .

396 WOMENS People representative Diana Sue blesses an amphitheater at Grand Canyon National Park Scholars today are wrestling with the arduous task of untangling ( as much as possible ) the effects of of people ( both oppressed and oppressors ) and are seeking creative ways to integrate transnational faiths with ancient Indigenous stories and practices . This is not an easy process , as evidenced in the United States and Canada in debates over land . For example , scientists recently won approval to build a new scope on a Volcano on the Big Island of i , over the opposition of Indigenous , who sider Kea to be sacred . Similarly , Indigenous activists have fought a battle against the Keystone Pipeline , which would cross their lands and could threaten their water . One of the acts by President Joe was to cancel the Keystone Pipeline project . In , Indigenous Mayan human rights defenders draw strength from traditional Mayan ceremonies by engaging in struggles over land and water rights , ending violence against women , and seeking justice for the genocide during the internal armed in the latter part of the twentieth century . The Chinese ment represses religion in Tibet because it sees Tibetan Buddhism and its reverence for its leader , the Dalai Lama , as threats to its control . China is also trying forcibly to assimilate its Muslim minority in what the US State Department calls In contrast , postcolonial theologians are uncovering colonial entanglements in belief and practice and are imagining new ways of doing religion that do not perpetuate colonization . Each religion must navigate these tensions between theology and practice , history and current events , freedom and teachings , and must do so within the larger field of global , conversations and applications . Women practice their faith in many around the world , and these shape the practice of faith , even as the practice of faith shapes these . In the next sections , we look at religious

RELIGION I 397 and issues for women in their local historical communities that are characterized by a dominant religion practiced by most of the population , women in communities where they are refugees or immigrants , and women in or pluralistic societies . Women in Their Local Communities Many women around the world still live and practice Indigenous religions in their own communities , where that religious faith is dominant . These women live on the same land as their ancestors , within a place where it is easy to consider their own experience as normal , and it may be hard to delineate between culture , religion , race , and ethnicity . On the one hand , this means women may feel supported by a munity of people on the other , it may mean women possibilities are limited by religious beliefs and practices that seem natural and inevitable because they are unchallenged . festival of ( guardians of the night ) in The African traditional religions ( practiced in Africa inform all aspects of life from birth to death . Within these traditions , to be human is to be in community and to participate in the munity rituals , ceremonies , and festivals . At the same time , women are mostly excluded from religious leadership , although there are rare exceptions , like the and the of . Legacies of Colonialism Indigenous communities and religions are often shaped by legacies of colonialism that are particularly devastating for women , as well as for people who are lesbian , gay , bisexual , trans , queer , or intersex plus ( Before the colonization of North American , for example , many Indigenous communities welcomed and revered people . Contact with Christianity , however , disrupted

398 i iN ) LiVES ) tus in many Indigenous communities as missionaries taught traditional western gender roles and sexual . In Africa , Asia , and Latin America , transnational colonial religions have had many adverse impacts on women . For example , women in Ecuador possess the fewest rights in South America . A woman there gives up her property and money when she is married under Catholic law . If her husband dies , the inheritance goes to male relatives who can choose to support her or not ( Wilson 2013 , From North America to South America today , the lines between religion and politics are so blurred that many political campaign promises are made to incorporate conservative Evangelical or Catholic beliefs into law . In his tion speech on January , 2019 , President of Brazil said , We will unite people , value the ily , respect religions and our tradition , combat gender ideology and rescue our His ministers of education and family have followed his lead and reinforced gender stereotypes , including appropriate colors of clothing for boys and girls and removal of discussions of gender from classrooms ( 2019 ) In Southeast Asia , 20 percent of the population lives or works in another country for gain or education or because of a natural disaster . The global economy has led to massive migrations , and national citizenship is often subservient to local ethnic group and religious membership . As a result , migrants are easy targets of policies and religious persecution , such as women and children out citizenship or rights , persecution of ethnic and religious minorities , and a ban in Singapore on foreign workers in at local tem les , mos , and churches . Women Religious Resistance Despite colonial and patriarchal religious interpretations , women remain at the forefront of grassroots discussions around the world , supported by the United Nations ( UN ) nongovernmental , religious organizations , and populations . In Malaysia , women came together in the because they were observing such a disparity between lived realities and their ideas of what they thought represented justice and equality ( Ali 2019 , 71 ) They recognized the necessity of grappling with the trajectory of Islamic discourses critically with regard to gender in order to challenge how they get in real lives either by culture or by They decided that the context of people lives takes precedence over In an exegesis of praxis within an Islamic faith historically based in jurisprudence , Can there be justice if Muslim women do not experience justice ?

Ali 2019 , 72 ) Across the world , in western Africa , Methodist Mercy , who lives in the colonized country of but came from the ruling line of an ancient matrilineal tribe , noticed how the male theologians around her talked about polygamy . I found that the men were talking for women all the time , and I thought , well , it about time they heard the women voices in the first person ( 2016 , 160 ) She notes that a fellow male theologian said to her , This is a good thing you have started , because a bird with

WOMENS 399 one wing does not She has prioritized the voices of women not only to tackle issues such as polygamy and that disproportionally affect women , but also to challenge patriarchal notions of . She has also encouraged her religious community to ask , What does it mean to be a man ?

so men could change their behavior . To do this well , she has engaged the critical necessity of cultivating religious relationships ( 2016 , 161 ) In the 19905 , Buddhist nuns were ordained in Sri for the first time anywhere in east Asia in a millennium , even though they are still not officially recognized by the local governments or the ruling monks ( and Dong 2017 , The Conferences address topics like abuse , power , and sexuality in Buddhism while affirming that enlightenment is contingent upon the mind , which is genderless , and not on the physical body ( 2018 , 11 ) Women have greater access than before to online support , international groups , and scholarly theological and historic writings . We see the results of this in the religious and social changes women are bringing to health care , education , and access to their own religious rites and sites . Buddhist nuns in Reimagining Religions There are both positive and negative effects for a religion embedded in its own historical community . On the positive side , sorting through the effects of colonization , growth , and reimagining that comes from within a particular religion and culture avoids another layer of colonial damage . Scholars today note how unpacking the effects of colonialism ironically also continues the legacy of damage to ancient cultures and religions . In short , you can not undo the past you can only struggle to move into the future with integrity . In , Mercy , leading the Circle of Concerned Theologians , notes , We are awake

400 I IN WORLDWIDE to our responsibility as creative beings made in the image of God ( 99 ) We need new myths , new metaphors , new language ( between men and women ) to become a source of healing for the unhealthy relations foisted upon us by patriarchy and ( 44 ) In India , women inspired by the campaign online have begun demanding access to their own temples and publicly questioning the religious of women , which has led to cultural bans on cussing the common human experience of menstruation and has normalized a gang rape culture of girls and women alike . In places like , new models of faiths are emerging , like Christianity as a model for preventing HIV infection and promoting patriarchal resistance ( 2011 ) Queen , who in the Bible refused to be paraded as a sex object in front of the king friends , is seen as a hero for women and a model for resisting marital violence and HIV . Gender Violence and Intolerance On the negative side , gender violence and religious intolerance remain deep seated in many places . For example , across Africa , many Muslims practice female genital cutting ( even though Islam does not call for it . In some places , even outsiders who live in these areas feel pressured to participate in as a rite of passage . One journalist tells how she would not allow her daughter to be circumcised while they lived in Africa even though her daughter begged and said all of her friends were as a sign of their womanhood . women , in their native Punjab , as the minority religion in a Muslim majority ture , now fear leaving their homes or exercising leadership in their religious community . Because of accepted norms , they now experience intimate partner violence at the same rate as their Muslim neighbors , even though their faith is one of equality in theology and practice . women can now only freely and safely practice their faith in communities . Because religion and culture are deeply mixed and reinforcing , change can be slow and difficult . Religions around the world continue to exert enormous pressure on vulnerable populations that perpetuate sion of women , children , and Indigenous tribal populations in the name of civil leadership and stability . Even when nations commit to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , which was by the UN General Assembly in 1948 , or to other human rights treaties , they may still apply for religious waivers to subject the international charters to local religious laws that nullify the protection of women , minorities , children , and populations as human rights are subsumed to religious practices . Women in Women who live in communities , either as refugees or immigrants , encounter different and challenges to living out their religion than women in their local communities . A munity is any place where people of similar ethnicity and language live together that is not their original

) LiVES ) i 401 home . communities retain their culture ( religion , rituals , food , etc . in a new location . Women can live in a community on the same continent as their ancestors ( in a refugee camp ) or they can live across the world ( as an immigrant ) Those who live close often assume their to be temporary and hold hope of normalizing their life and returning home eventually . Wars , local violence , natural , or economic need commonly create refugees across Africa and Asia , where identity is found in local tribes and communities rather than in colonially created national identities . travel and formal immigration to another country can create a permanent for an individual or family , but the vast majority of refugees plan to return home as soon as possible . What remains consistent through various kinds of migration . is an ongoing with a communal identity based on a culture of Marie Griffith notes that includes imagined communities , cultural hybridity , and timeless connections to a monolithic and primordial continent ( Griffith and Savage 2006 , That is , immigrants and refugees hold a dual relationship both with their original homes and culture on the continent where their people have always lived and the communities where they now live , whether they are close to their place of origin or around the world ( Marshall and 2016 , New Ways of Practicing Faith Because a woman in is a woman out of time and place , a space of dissonance and growth is created within her where she can work out new ways of living , worship , and passing on her faith to her children . Identity formation and retention , recognition of religious traditionalism , and adaptation and innovation all occur in this new context ( 2016 , and 2019 , 69 ) Women are at the practical theological forefront in settings , working through creative ways to practice their religion with internal integrity and transmitting traditions and beliefs to their children . In , women come to experience for themselves , the separation between culture and religion . In some instances , this may mean women have greater agency and ability to create new ings and practices of their faith . Other women may face greater constraints because of pressure to maintain the faith of home amid another culture . Women in particular may be considered Negotiating faith in new Settings responsible for producing the future for a people . In Orthodox Jewish communities formed after the Holocaust , for example , women experience great pressure to new generations to preserve the future for Orthodox Jews .

402 RELIGION ) Many women also begin to write more in . Separation from home drives inner and expression in novels and poetry as well as theological work . Contemporary Muslim women writers from migrant backgrounds often write about the intersections of gender , religion , and violence inflicted by religion in particularly complex and illuminating ways ( 2018 , 202 ) It is easier to see how women accounts of their religious experiences may demonstrate multiple shifting claims to power that are sometimes built on and sometimes of their understandings of womanhood ( Griffith and age 2006 , In , people tend to gather by religion as well as by language and race . In the United States , this often creates a Little Italy or Chinatown where people are comfortable among those who look , act , and believe in similar ways . Such groups are emotionally and relationally necessary to refugees and immigrants because of the emotional burdens of transition , language barriers , and cultural misunderstandings . and immigrants and refugees are more or fully grated into the local community , having shared educational experiences and being skilled in language and cultural differences . While integration the children of communities , it also causes challenges with family and community over religious differences in theology and practice and cultural ideas of individuality and choice . Challenges of Integration Women in not only encounter people of other religions , but they also meet people who practice the same religion in difference ways . They make alliances within the sphere of religion across ethnic and national boundaries in ways that were unimaginable back home ( 2016 , 66 ) While unique forms of coming together are possible under a broader understanding of transnational religion , women also face challenges of language and cultural misunderstanding . In Vancouver , British Columbia , where the Canadian ideal of equality in diversity is actively pursued from civil land planning to education , researchers have observed that recent Afghan refugees have had to remain other in order to receive the help they need and to a place to This means that Afghan refugees need special assistance to learn a new language or job skills , or to navigate new stores and schools , but as they do this , they must present themselves as genuinely Afghan . They need to remain immigrant at the same time they are trying to integrate into a new society . This is an unexpected result of places in pluralistic cultures . Immigrants and refugees work hard but do need help , as local economies are generally far more expensive than the ones from which they came , and it takes time to become stable in a new job or career . In Canada , There must be the multiplicity of cultural identities in order to sustain the contemporary Canadian multicultural identity ( Bryan 2014 , iv ) but how can refugees also become Canadian while still being Afghan or any other former nationality ?

Time solves this problem for the ensuing generations , but immigrants right now face a pressing question How do I integrate into Canadian society and still create stability for my family ?

This Canadian ) i 403 experience is different than the United States , where immigrants are less welcomed and more by bootstrap theology to prove themselves economically worthy of becoming an American . Supporting Others For an immigrant woman in , practicing her religion may look different from how her children practice their religion . She may cling more to the old ways because her sense of self has been disrupted as she has moved into a new place and culture . She may also be at the forefront of creating new ways to pass on beliefs and practices that once were traditional in the old country . In Britain , for example , and bald ( devotional and educational groups ) have sprung up to keep the descendants of Indian grants connected to their culture of origin ( 2011 , 40 ) Scholars have also noted that women in raise and give more money back to their home country than into their local religious centers . In fact , women in raise more money for disaster relief than anyone else in the world . Women may also they eventually have the space to reflect on their faith and the ways in which it was practiced in their home country that may be incongruent with their religion original writings and short , how cultural traditions authentic religious practices over time . Women may space to ine new ways of living and worshipping with greater equality , especially where their human rights are by the civil government rather than subsumed under local religious practices . Many women also create ways to support and encourage other women back home . The Collective in Canada began as a way for women , free to worship and lead in British Columbia , to remind their fellow women in the Punjab and around the world that they have the freedom to be themselves , look like themselves , and practice and lead their faith for themselves in their communities as well as in their sion and gender violence are cultural experiences , not a part of their history , theology , or practices . Dissonance , Adaptation , and Creativity Often , when women have been displaced by violence , famine , or a natural disaster , they their way into UN refugee camps , where they meet aid workers and encounter people who may hold different values , especially about women . For many women , this experience can create dissonance and disruptions as beliefs come into contact with the discourse of human and women rights . For some women , these encounters underline agency and and mark the beginning of a journey into personal exploration . Women may also take these new ideas back into their local communities or their new in ways that shape the practice of religion there . Women in also come to make creative and localized forms of religious syncretism . They draw from their own religious tradition as well as the traditions of their new places of residence and blend them into meaningful religious beliefs and practices for themselves . For example , Mostly

404 I RELIGION IN LIVES WORLDWIDE Hindus in , Trinidad , and worship Mother Kali . In Trinidad , a syncretistic worship of Mother Kali sees her as the Catholic Virgin Mary . This Catholic La , meaning The Divine Shepherdess was adapted as a Virgin Mary and is worshipped on Good Friday . She is for traveling with the Indian people across the ocean to their new home ( 2007 , 15 ) living creates both positive and negative religious and personal experiences for women as they encounter new communities , beliefs , and practices . It can provide distance , space , and opportunities for women to reflect on what they believe and why . It may allow creative and personalized adaptation of to real life instead of forcing life experiences to conform to religious beliefs . It may allow women to speak hope and ideas ( theology and practices ) back into the communities of origin in hopes of ing original beliefs lost over time , patriarchal control , and culture ( Collective ) It may allow creative improvisation and compromise that attain a sense of purpose and make peace over reality within lives with little to no control ( Griffith and Savage 2006 , xvi ) It may give those who take note of lived a variety of examples of how people of the same faith tradition in various places create and navigate theological themes can lose power , and dormant ones can spring back to life . It may reveal new and old oppressions but also opportunities to defy them through citizenship in a new space ( 2011 , 40 ) Pushback and Backlash For all people , change often creates of the this fear without thoughtful tion can create religious backlash and a felt need to dig in one heels to preserve religious Women themselves may struggle with the new people and beliefs they encounter and may hold even more tightly to the beliefs and practices they brought with them . The emotional energy ( fear and anger ) in these often plays out as gender violence against the most , children , and Indigenous people , and people . When women do begin to question traditional beliefs or , they may also encounter resistance from more conservative members of their communities of origin who may claim religious beliefs are necessary to preserve culture or tradition . Often , however , this back is really about control and power over women . Women may face labels of faithlessness or from men when they encounter opportunities in their own communities that challenge traditional beliefs and practices , such as in Afghanistan or Iraq , as women work outside the home or seek safety in domestic violence shelters supported by the UN or .

IN 405 Domestic Violence in Russia Lockhart In 2017 , Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law making it no longer a crime for a man to beat his wife , child , or elder parent . Instead , a perpetrator might have to pay a if the survivor of his abuse pressed charges ( providing her own evidence , since police no longer have to investigate ) Both houses of the Russian Parliament passed the bill by wide margins . Protests and debates about it were . Astonishingly , the Orthodox Church in Russia supported this move , saying , among other things , that the state should not interfere in family matters , and that protecting women against domestic violence is a western phenomenon that they call gender ideology , which in the face of Russian culture and so should be rejected . The church denies there is a problem , saying domestic violence is not an issue because the church ports the traditional structure of the family , with men in charge , women subordinate , and relationships based on authority and It urges women to forgive their abusers , emphasizes ing families together in spite of harm to individuals within them , and even opposes programs to prevent violence in the first place . Russian activists are working to reduce the impact of domestic violence by supporting survivors , for changes in the law , including the introduction of restraining orders , and using social media to bring awareness to the problem . In the meantime , Russian estimate as many as fourteen thousand per at the hands of their own husbands , sons , and fathers . The experience of can create both opportunities to on and reshape faith , or it may feel threatening and overwhelming and lead to a retreat into even more tightly held convictions about beliefs and practices . Practicing one faith in a community can provide a sense of familiarity and fort in new and challenging circumstances . As immigrants and refugees encounter diverse people and faiths and people who practice the same faith in different ways , they may begin to think differently about gender in particular , recognizing and perhaps challenging cultural practices and adapting beliefs and als to with new experiences and communities . Women in Pluralistic Communities Pluralistic societies are those in which different types of people with different beliefs coexist . People who advocate for pluralism believe that living and working together across differences is a good thing that

406 strengthens societies . Some religions embrace pluralism , recognizing that diverse beliefs reveal the varied experiences that contribute to larger social understandings and benefits . Many religions , however , with pluralism . Convinced that their religion is the only true religion , practitioners may hold negative beliefs about people of other faiths or refuse to cooperate with them . They may proselytize or even try to impose their convictions on others through in public processes . Typically , in pluralistic societies , governments try to protect the religious rights of all people , even when one religion dominates , although , as we will see , these efforts are not always successful . Druids or may struggle for religious recognition Human Rights and Religious Rights It is eas for us to assume that women in communities ex freedom to live out their ious beliefs without interference to their own wishes , but as we are seein with the worldwide and highly politicized debate over the veiling of Muslim women , this is not necessarily the case . In France , for example , women are not allowed to wear a hijab or other religious marking in school or public ings in an effort to preserve France secularity . In Turkey , which has maintained a civic rather than ious core des ite its Muslim , the of was banned in civil service jobs and in government offices until 2013 . In , Canada , the hijab has been banned for civil leaders such as teachers and ud es , but the is bein the priorities of those who want full religious freedom for citizens to dress as they see . In many secular governments , laws and policies are guided by a human rights framework , which recognizes the freedoms and conditions inherent to all people as a result of their humanity . In a pluralistic or community , these human rights precede ( come before ) religious rights and may clash with religions

RELiGiON ) i 407 when religious practices conflict with secular laws . So , for example , female genital cutting on a girl under the age of 18 is illegal in the United States even if it is a traditional religious practice within a family or local religious community . We also see this when gay couples are denied service because of a business owner religious beliefs . Then the courts must affirm the functioning order of human and religious rights . Even in secular communities , religion often has a in political and social life . The dominant religion in a community in particular may shape women experiences . Often , these dominant religions have played a considerable role in colonizing Indigenous communities and imposing roles on women and men . In the United States , for example , Christianity is the dominant religion , and even though the Constitution forbids the government from establishing , favoring , or prohibiting religion , many laws and policies have been shaped by Christian belief To a great extent , laws that limit abortion access conservative Christian viewpoints about when human life begins . Laws that allow businesses to deny service to people result from beliefs about the sinfulness of diverse . In India , Hindu nationalists have begun to challenge the nation secularism and have targeted Muslims for crimination and violence . In , majority Buddhists have participated in genocidal violence against the Muslim minority . Learning Activity Treatment of People across Lutheran Majority Countries in Europe by is the largest religion in northern and Western European countries such as Denmark , land , Iceland , Norway , and Sweden . But there is variety within and between these countries in their attitudes toward and treatment of people who are lesbian , gay , bisexual , trans , queer , or intersex plus ( on issues such as marriage , adoption of children , sewing as clergy , and of sexuality . Take time to research in a few of these countries , and note the church stance and policies on the community . How do they interpret the Bible and other religious texts and speak about people ?

Are people allowed to have church weddings in these countries ?

Are people able to serve as clergy ?

Are there any restrictions on their service ?

Are church members able to be out about their sexuality in the church community ?

408 RELIGION IN ) LIVES WORLDWIDE Do you think the various branches of are supportive of the community , based on your ?

Are there any correlations between acceptance of people in and governmental policies for that country ?

Take notes on the information you , and share it with classmates or friends to raise awareness of the issues facing the religious community on a global scale . Find some ways to get involved with your local community . Religious fundamentalism roots itself in an imagined past in which a purer form of faith was practiced and ruled social and political life . Fundamentalism , no matter the religion , advocates for strict adherence to rigid interpretations of sacred texts and belief in traditional beliefs . In the present , fundamentalism can fuel oppression when it dominates in a society or when fundamentalists are a minority and feel threatened by changes brought about by modernity or plurality . Religious fundamentalism requires the suppression of women , and in pluralistic communities that profess women equality , women oppression often plays out in religious life and in the home . Pluralism and Syncretism Religions can be , and practitioners can adapt beliefs and traditions as they come into contact with diverse people , customs , and faiths . Majority and minority cultures also change as they adapt to each other ( 2018 , 206 ) and in pluralistic societies , diverse religions interact with and one another . At times , syncretistic forms of religion are begun , such as in Haiti and in Cuba . Syncretism is an attempt to take the best of more than one religion and combine them , generally , in a way that adapts Indigenous beliefs with an and imported transnational religion such as Christianity or Islam . Both and combine traditional West African religions , which were practiced by many enslaved people , with Catholicism . In both and , women are honored and can serve as priests .

IN 409 A ( priestess of ) in Cuba People in pluralistic communities today are reimagining ways in which ancient religions can coexist and create meaning alongside each other in today globalized people are agents of their own spiritual destiny and support each other across religious beliefs for the sake of all people in all . For example , women on the border of Pakistan ( Muslim ) and India ( Hindu ) work hard in their communities to support and care for each other and their families , believing common humanity is more important than the religious threats of the governments that seek to divide people . In openly pluralistic societies like the United States , religious leaders in cities from Los Angeles , California , to Birmingham , Alabama , come together to engage public issues from housing to racial justice . Religious and civil leaders common ground in kindness , compassion , mercy , and hope as the foundation of all faiths to work together across religions and denominations to address issues of the common good for all people . Pluralistic communities offer distinct religious opportunities and challenges as diverse people coexist in geographic proximity . In many places , these relationships are complicated by legacies of colonialism . As both Muslim and Christian postcolonial theologians note , people who belong to dominant and ing groups and people who belong to oppressed and colonized groups both have distinct work to do to bring about reconciliation and justice . Pluralistic communities offer women opportunities to reflect on their religious beliefs and practices in conversation with other beliefs and practices in a mutual process of sharing and shaping religion .

410 IN Speaking and Writing around the World Women also have opportunities to encounter different people and belief systems around the world with expanded access to global platforms such as international conferences , distance educational opportunities , and online religious academic circles and theological groups . Women writers from many religious publish both in traditional print formats and online , making their writings much more widely able . For many women writers , however , publishing online also brings a level of danger , from trolling to threats and instances of violence . Some women are protected or defended by their academic or religious community most are not . For example , Susan Shaw of Oregon State University wrote a piece on white Christians and climate change in 2020 that was picked up by News and quickly went viral . Almost instantly , her email and phones were trolled , and she was harassed and threatened . Her university stood by her and encouraged her to write about her experiences in a article . Others , such as Buddhist nuns Tenzin and in , Malaysia , live and teach outside their mainstream faith . and must remain freelance nuns , unattached to a monastery , because nuns , as women , are still not accepted as fully ordained leaders . The male leaders will not openly support them , and they do not want to take vows of obedience to a male monk . Both women hold degrees in higher education , teach , write , and share their experiences trying to live faithful to Buddhism even when their gender is not accepted as fully capable of pursuing Nirvana . Conservative Muslims across the world still denounce African American Muslim scholar for leading prayer in a mosque in New York in 2005 , simply because she was a woman . Amnesty International continues to monitor the danger women face in multiple social media platforms , whether they are civil or religious leaders or even which country they live and work within . A globalized world offers both greater protection and greater threats for women who speak and write openly online . Creating and sustaining healthy , peaceful , societies is difficult . As we have seen in the crisis in Europe , particularly as people have fled civil war in Syria , when diverse religious come into close contact , even in a secular society , conflict is likely . As the European Union ( EU ) has opened its border to millions of refugees , societies such as France and Germany some are open and welcoming , while in others there is an increase in violence against refugees of other faiths or violence against residents by refugees with different cultural and religious assumptions . In the fall of 2020 , French teacher Samuel Paty was killed by an immigrant who was offended that the teacher had shown a cartoon depicting the prophet Muhammad in a class on free speech . Many French citizens believe the ban on images of Muhammad is not acceptable in a secular society , but many Muslims hold this as a foundational belief . In Germany , Chancellor Angela accepted more than the quota of refugees to set an example for other EU nations . She suffered political backlash and lost political support for her tion . In many places in Europe , integration has proven difficult , as many Muslim immigrants live in ethnic enclaves . Islamist extremism among some immigrants and among some native Europeans ( post )

) I 411 to widen the gap between these communities , which desperately need to common ground in their humanity . Theologians In response to increasing globalization and global awareness , women theologians around the world are seeking new ways to learn from each other and work together in interdependence to effect social change that the personhood of all people . In Africa , the Ecumenical Association of Third World ( Women Commission gathers women from Africa , Asia , and Latin America and seeks to explore that are relevant to their own cultural . Mercy Amba became the woman president of the in 1997 and founded the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians , which continues to engage pressing issues , such as polygamy and AIDS in African , and to share those issues from women perspectives instead of listening to men tell them what they think and feel and believe . Biblical critic Musa of writes extensively on AIDS , translation , and gender issues in religion . Melba is a anthropologist who founded the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture . recently took a year of sabbatical retreat to think and write on what it means for all of us to come together across religions to view each other with respect and to work together for the common welfare of all people . Now she is speaking on how to transition America to a truly multiracial democracy so that a sustainable cultural future can become a reality . Muslim professor and Los Angeles resident joined fellow Southeast Asian scholars from a number of faiths to compile a reader edited by Hong Kong native and postcolonial scholar . In this text , students can read and learn from diverse Asian and Asian American religions . Women across religions are busy on Zoom and email , even during the pandemic , supporting one another personally and professionally and what it means to work together with an attitude of learning and respect , and with a focus on implementing in communities where all people because leaders and followers of all faiths respect one another and work together . For now , full implementation of respectful and pluralism remains a pipe dream in many cities and towns , but we have excellent examples lighting the way forward .

412 RELIGION IN ) LIVES WORLDWIDE Gods , Goddesses , and by Shannon Images of deities have long caused both inspiration and confusion among humans . Whether they are in word or sculpted form , images of a deity both and then reinforce and teach cultural stereotypes . There is much discussion now even among traditional and transnational religious scholars on the of more symbols and the limitations of our inherited and traditional religious imagery . For instance , Christianity prohibits physical forms to represent God , yet the male writers of the had no problem their own male life experience in their descriptions of their God . As a result , generations of Christians struggle to view God as anything more than male , and the maleness of the Christian God has diminished the understanding of God into patriarchy and power . In Islam , while Mohammed himself did not seem to have held particular gender bias and was married to several strong and powerful women , the men who followed him were concerned with his writings in a manner that coalesced their expanding power base ( militarily and economically ) at the expense of women and foreigners . Religions may be about the divine , but they are held and shaped by humans and communicated through verbal and visual symbols . It is impossible for humans not to leave their own mark with their dices , lusts , and fears . Today , as women larger spaces and voices , it is not surprising that they also want larger , less of deities . They want religious convictions and deities that are the good of all people . This idea is both threatening and liberating in and out of religious circles . These are necessary conversations and reflective if we are going to continue to grow as a whole human community . Conclusion As citizens of a planet , we all Face the daunting task of living and working together to create a more inclusive , equitable , and just world . Feminist theologian Letty Russell reminds us that there is a great deal of painful oppression in the stories of women , which has to be dealt with if we are going to reconstruct in partnership with one another ( Russell 1988 , 16 ) We can learn a great deal from one another if we listen actively and with an open heart and commit to creating change together . has a dimension of being with the other in spite of distance , time , and physical presence ( Russell 1988 , 136 ) This is why feminist theologians across religions remind us that we all have the ability to live

WOMEN ) I 413 out core , foundational beliefs that are shared across the world religions kindness , courage , love , ity , and hope . While religions can play a role in maintaining systems of oppression , these core values also offer the possibility of religious participation as resistance . Especially for women and people , across their differences , religion is complex terrain , and our study of it reminds us of both the difficulties and possibilities of the work of justice .

414 I RELiGiON IN WORLDWIDE Learning Activities . What is religion and why is it important , according to ?

What is the historical relationship between religion and colonization ?

How do legacies of colonization continue to affect the lives of Indigenous peoples ?

What are the potential challenges and of practicing religion in ?

How does religion political and social life in secular communities ?

How can religions play a role in maintaining systems of oppression , according to Gavin ?

How can they play a role in resistance against systems ?

Provide at least three examples of sion and three examples of resistance from the chapter . Working in a small group , add these key terms to your glossary , contextual theology , ism , fundamentalism , syncretism .

IN WORLDWIDE 415 References Ali , 2019 . The Making of the Lady Imam An Interview with of Studies in Religion 35 , no . Samuel 2016 . Religion and the ( Construction of journal of in Europe , no . Catherine , and Livia . 2003 . in . Cambridge , MA Three Pines Press . Anthony , and Marina . 2019 . Rights Threatened in Brazil under New Post . February 18 , 201 . Susan Stanford . 2018 . Cosmopolitanism , Religion , Anthony and Contemporary Muslim Women New Literary History 49 , no . Marie , and Barbara Dianne Savage . 2006 . and Religion in the African Knowledge , Power , and . Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press . Diana . 2011 . The Paradigm Resistance as a Strategy for Combating Ecumenical Review 63 , no . 2005 . Imagination and Feminist Theology . Louisville , Westminster John Knox Press . Amy Paris . 2018 . An Imperfect Alliance Feminism and Contemporary Female Buddhist Religions , no . 190 . 2011 . Religion and Gender The Hindu in South Asian 31 , no . Marshall , Katherine , and Crystal . 2016 . Religion , Refugees , and Communities in the United States . Washington , Georgetown University , World Faiths Development Dialogue .

416 ) LIVES ) Janet . 2007 . Retention and of in the Go 14 , no . Bryan , Christina 2014 . Gender , Mobility and Women in Vancouver , British dissertation . University of Oregon , Department of Anthropology . Mercy . A Biblical Perspective on the Ecumenical Review 53 , no . The Story of a Ecumenical Review 53 , no . 01 . 2016 . Interview with Mercy Amba Mercy Amba in Her Own journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 32 , no . and Dong . 2017 . The Discrimination of Women in Buddhism An Ethical Open Acres journal , no . Christian von , and Marcel . 2019 . Religion Actor and in Som and the . Contemporary Southeast Asia Series . New York . Russell , Letty 1988 . Theology in Third . Philadelphia Westminster Press . Wilson , Diana . 2013 . Violence against Women in Latin Latin American Perspective 41 , no .

417 Image Praying the Sun God . India by is licensed under Wailing the Wailing Wall by is licensed under BY New Mosque , by is licensed under BY 0355 Grand Mather Point Landmark Dedication 10 25 2010 by Grand is licensed under BY by Linda is licensed under Buddhist Nuns by is available under Race 2012 by is licensed under File Three female Andrew Dunn is licensed under Cuban Smoking Cigar by Carlos Lorenzo is licensed under