Women as theological figures - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Women as theological figures have played a significant role in the development of various religions and religious hierarchies

Hierarchy

A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...

Bahá'í Faith

In Bahá'i writings, the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

is often described as the "Maid of Heaven

Maid of Heaven

Maid of Heaven refers to a vision that Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith had of a maiden from God, through whom he received his mission as a Messenger of God.In his Súriy-i-Haykal Bahá’u’lláh describes his vision as follows:...

".

Three women figure prominently in the history of the Bahá'í Faith: Táhirih

Táhirih

Táhirih or Qurratu'l-`Ayn are both titles of Fátimih Baraghání , an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith in Iran. Her life, influence and execution made her a key figure of the religion...

, a disciple of the Báb

Báb

Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...

; Ásíyih Khánum

Ásíyih Khánum

Ásíyih Khánum was the wife of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. She is viewed by Bahá’ís as the paragon of a devoted mother and wife. She is also known by her titles of Navváb, the Most Exalted Leaf, Búyúk Khánum or Hadrat-i-Khánum. Khánum, is a title usually given to a Persian lady...

, the wife of Bahá'u'lláh

Bahá'u'lláh

Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...

; and Bahíyyih Khánum

Bahiyyih Khánum

Bahíyyih Khánum the only daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greatest Holy Leaf"...

the daughter of Bahá'u'lláh. Táhirih and Bahíyyih, in particular, held strong leadership positions and are seen vital to the development of the religion.

Several women played leading roles in the early days of the Bahá'í Faith in America. Among them are: May Maxwell

May Maxwell

Mary "May" Maxwell , an early American member of the Bahá'í Faith.-Early life:...

, Corinne True, and Martha Root

Martha Root

Martha Louise Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously...

. Rúhíyyih Khanum

Rúhíyyih Khanum

Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...

and a mix of male and female Hands of the Cause

Hands of the Cause

The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...

formed an interim leadership of the religion for six years prior to the formation of the Universal House of Justice

Universal House of Justice

The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...

. Later prominent women include Patricia Locke, Jaqueline Left Hand Bull Delahunt, Layli Miller-Muro

Layli Miller-Muro

Layli Miller-Muro is the Executive Director of the Tahirih Justice Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting women from human rights abuses through the provision of legal aid and public policy advocacy...

, and Dr. Susan Maneck, who herself wrote books documenting the role of women in the Bahá'í Faith.

Buddhism

Khema
Khema
Khema was one of the two chief female disciples of Buddha .The name Khema means well-composed and she was quite beautiful. The nun belonged to the royal family of Magadha and was one of the chief queens of King Bimbisara....

and Uppalavanna
Uppalavanna
Uppalavannā was considered to be amongst the two chief female disciples of the Buddha, the other being Khema.She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant and was known for her great beauty. Her name means "one with the hue of the blue lotus"....

, the two chief female disciples
Sravaka
Shravaka or Śrāvaka or Sāvaka means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple".This term is used by both Buddhists and Jains. In Jainism, a shravaka is any lay Jain...

of the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
Kisa Gotami
Kisa Gotami
Kisa Gotami was the wife of a wealthy man of Savatthi. Her story is one of the more famous ones in Buddhism. After losing her only child, Kisa Gotami became desperate and asked if anyone can help her. Her sorrow was so great that many thought she had already lost her mind...
Machig Labdrön
Machig Labdrön
Machig Labdrön was a renowned 11th century Tibetan Tantric Buddhist practitioner and teacher....

—founder of the Tibetan practice of Chöd
Chöd
Chöd , is a spiritual practice found primarily in Tibetan Buddhism. Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego," the practice is based on the Prajñāpāramitā sutra...
Maha Pajapati Gotami
Pema Chodron
Pema Chödrön
Pema Chödrön is a notable American figure in Tibetan Buddhism. A disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, she is an ordained nun, author, and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage which Trungpa founded....

—fully ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Shambhala
Shambhala Buddhism
The term Shambhala Buddhism was introduced by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in the year 2000 to describe his presentation of the Shambhala teachings, originally conceived by Chögyam Trungpa as secular practices for achieving enlightened society, in concert with the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu and Nyingma...

lineage.
Ani Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin Palmo
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo is a Tibetan Buddhist nun in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school. She is an author, teacher and founder of the in Himachal Pradesh, India...

—a nun in the Drukpa Kagyu lineage and founder of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Yeshe Tsogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal , was the consort of the great Indian tantric teacher Padmasambhava, the founder-figure of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Nyingma tradition considers her equal in realization to Padmasambhava himself. The meditational practices related to her, stress her enlightened...

—Tibetan consort and disciple of the Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...

Women prominent in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...

—one of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

' closest followers
Lydia
Lydia of Thyatira
Lydia of Thyatira is a character in the New Testament. She is regarded as the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe.-Name:The name, "Lydia", meaning "the Lydian woman", by which she was known indicates that she was from Lydia in Asia Minor. Though she is commonly known as “St...

and Phoebe
Phoebe (Christian woman)
Phoebe was a Christian woman mentioned by the Apostle Paul in Romans 16:1.Some have interpreted the Greek "diakonos" to relate Phoebe as a deacon, the most literal interpretation of the word is as a servant which is what all deacons...
Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus
Lazarus of Bethany
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death...

and disciple of Jesus. (Sometimes misidentified with Mary Magdalene)
Priscilla
Priscilla (Christian)
Priscilla and Aquila were a first century Christian missionary couple described in the New Testament and traditionally listed among the Seventy Disciples. They lived, worked, and traveled with the Apostle Paul, becoming his honored, much-loved friends and coworkers in Christ Jesus...

— teacher with her husband Aquila, partner with Apostle Paul
Junia
Junia
Junia or Junias was a 1st century Christian highly regarded and complimented by the apostle Paul: Paul describes Junia as kinsmen, fellow prisoners, and as being "in Christ" before Paul's dramatic Damascus road conversion...

- female apostle of New Testament

Women prominent in the Early Christian Church

Saints Perpetua and Felicity, important martyrs
Saint Monica of Hippo
Monica of Hippo
Saint Monica is a Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo, who wrote extensively of her virtues and his life with her in his Confessions.-Life:...
Clotilde
Clotilde
Saint Clotilde , also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde or Chroctechildis, was the second wife of the Frankish king Clovis I...
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby...

, royal abbess in the 7th century

Women prominent in the Medieval church

Antoinette Bourignon
Antoinette Bourignon
Antoinette Bourignon de la Porte was a Flemish mystic. From an early age she was under the influence of religion, which took in course of time a mystical turn.-Biography:...

—a mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
St. Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 23 July 1373; also Birgitta of Vadstena, Saint Birgitta , was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years...

(1302–1373)
Heloise (student of Abelard)
Heloise (student of Abelard)
Héloïse d’Argenteuil was a French nun, writer, scholar, and abbess, best known for her love affair and correspondence with Peter Abélard.- Background :...
Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen
Blessed Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and...

— theologian, mystic, wrote much music (there being some recordings)
Pope Joan
Pope Joan
Pope Joan is a legendary female Pope who, it is purported, reigned for a few years some time in the Middle Ages. The story first appeared in the writings of 13th-century chroniclers, and subsequently spread through Europe...

- probably mythical figure.
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich is regarded as one of the most important English mystics. She is venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran churches, but has never been canonized, or officially beatified, by the Catholic Church, probably because so little is known of her life aside from her writings, including the...

— a mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
St. Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe is known for dictating The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. This book chronicles, to some extent, her extensive pilgrimages to various holy sites in Europe and Asia, as well as her mystical conversations with God...

(c.1373–1438)
Saint Macrina the Younger
Saint Macrina the Younger
Saint Macrina the Younger was born at Caesarea, Cappadocia. Her parents were Basil the Elder and Emmelia, and her grandmother was Saint Macrina the Elder. Among her nine siblings were two of the three Cappadocian Fathers, her younger brothers Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nyssa, as well as...

—sister and influence upon Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nyssa
St. Clare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi , born Chiara Offreduccio, is an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi...

—founded the Poor Clares
Order of Poor Ladies
The Poor Clares also known as the Order of Saint Clare, the Order of Poor Ladies, the Poor Clare Sisters, the Clarisse, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, and the Second Order of St. Francis, , comprise several orders of nuns in the Catholic Church...
St. Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich is regarded as one of the most important English mystics. She is venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran churches, but has never been canonized, or officially beatified, by the Catholic Church, probably because so little is known of her life aside from her writings, including the...

(1342-c.1416)
St. Scholastica
Scholastica
Scholastica is a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. Born in Italy, she was the twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia....

—twin sister of Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia
Saint Benedict of Nursia is a Christian saint, honored by the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, about to the east of Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. There is no...

Women prominent in the Catholic church (Post-Reformation)

Mme Guyon was influential in Quietism (Christian philosophy)
Quietism (Christian philosophy)
Quietism is a Christian philosophy that swept through France, Italy and Spain during the 17th century, but it had much earlier origins. The mystics known as Quietists insist, with more or less emphasis, on intellectual stillness and interior passivity as essential conditions of perfection...
Mother Cabrini
Mother Cabrini
Saint Francesca Xavier Cabrini, M.S.C., , also called Mother Cabrini, was the first citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.-Early life:...

—missionary to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

and first canonized US citizen
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...

—founder of the Missionaries of Charity
Missionaries of Charity
Missionaries of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in 1950 by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, which consists of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries...

in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church . She established Catholic communities in Emmitsburg, Maryland....

—founded the Sisters of Charity
Sisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....
St. Faustina Kowalska—promoted devotion to Divine Mercy
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion based on the visions of Jesus reported by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska , known as "the Apostle of Mercy." She was a Polish sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and canonized as a Catholic saint in 2000.Faustina...
St. Katharine Drexel
Katharine Drexel
Saint Katharine Drexel, S.B.S., was an American Religious Sister, heiress, philanthropist and educator, later canonized as a Roman Catholic saint.-Life and religious work:...

—founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was founded in 1891 by Saint Katharine Drexel. Originally called the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, the religious order is commonly known today as the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.-History:The Third Plenary Council of...

, which performed charitable works for Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

s
St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
Rose Philippine Duchesne
Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, R.S.C.J., was a Catholic Religious Sister and French-American saint. She spent the last half of her life teaching and serving the people of the Midwestern United States....

—co-founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart
Society of the Sacred Heart
The Society of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in France by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. It has presence in 45 countries. Membership to the Society is restricted to women only. Its members do many works, but focus on education, particularly girls'...
St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...

a mystic

In 1970 three women were declared Doctor of the Church

St. Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor...
St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Feliksa Kozlowska

Feliksa Kozlowska was a Polish religious mystic and visionary who founded what eventually became the Old Catholic Mariavite Church, and, by implication, a dissident group which split from it in 1935, the Catholic Mariavite Church...

was involved in the establishment of the Mariavite Church

Mariavite Church

The Mariavite Church is an independent Christian church that emerged from the Catholic Church of Poland at the turn of the 20th century. Initially, it was an internal movement leading to a reform of the Polish clergy. After a conflict with Polish bishops, it became a separate and independent...

, a Catholic-based church one part of which accepts women priests and bishops.

Women prominent in Protestant Churches

Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

—influenced religious development in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

indirectly by leading Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

to divorce Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...

and break from the Catholic Church

There have been a number of hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

s written by women, and also psalms, from the pen of Fanny Crosby

Fanny Crosby

Frances Jane Crosby , usually known as Fanny Crosby in the United States and by her married name, Frances van Alstyne, in the United Kingdom, was an American Methodist rescue mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer. During her lifetime, she was well-known throughout the United States...

and Emily Gosse

Philip Henry Gosse

Philip Henry Gosse was an English naturalist and popularizer of natural science, virtually the inventor of the seawater aquarium, and a painstaking innovator in the study of marine biology...

, for example.

Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson , also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles, California evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s. She founded the Foursquare Church...

("Sister Aimee") an early 20th century evangelist and founder of the Foursquare Church
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination. As of 2000 it had a worldwide membership of over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries. In 2006, membership in the United States...
Ann Wardley—contributed to the development of the Shakers
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
Catherine Booth
Catherine Booth
Catherine Booth was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Army Mother'....

—cofounder of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry , née Gurney, was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist...

—Quaker and prison reformer
Ellen G. White
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...

—co-founder and prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
Evangeline Booth
Evangeline Booth
General Evangeline Cory Booth was the 4th General of the Salvation Army from 1934 to 1939. She was its first female General.-Early life:...

—fourth General of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
Hannah Whitall Smith
Hannah Whitall Smith
Hannah Tatum Whitall Smith was a lay speaker and author in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

—prominent leader in the Holiness movement
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
Joanna Southcott
Joanna Southcott
Joanna Southcott , was a self-described religious prophetess. She was born at Gittisham in Devon, England.-Self-revelation:...

—an 18th Century self-described religious prophetess and founder of Southcottians
Li Tim-Oi
Li Tim-Oi
Florence Li Tim-Oi was the first woman to be ordained to the priesthood in the Anglican Communion. Already appointed as a deacon to serve in the colony of Macau at the Macau Protestant Chapel, she was ordained priest on 25 January 1944, by Ronald Hall, Bishop of Victoria, in response to the crisis...

The first female priest to be ordained in the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
Louisa Maria Hubbard (1836–1906)—involved in the deaconess
Deaconess
Deaconess is a non-clerical order in some Christian denominations which sees to the care of women in the community. That word comes from a Greek word diakonos as well as deacon, which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible. Deaconesses trace...

movement and published in 1871 a pamphlet: Anglican Deaconesses: is there No Place for Women in the System?
Mother Ann Lee
Ann Lee
Mother Ann Lee was the leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, or Shakers....

—leader of the Shakers in America
Phoebe Palmer
Phoebe Palmer
Phoebe Palmer was an evangelist and writer who promoted the doctrine of Christian perfection. She is considered one of the founders of the Holiness movement in the United States of America and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom.- Early life :Palmer was born Phoebe Worrall in New York...

—prominent leader in the Holiness movement
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon—was involved with Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

and there was a group called the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...

—founded Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
Jackie Pullinger
Jackie Pullinger
Jackie Pullinger MBE is a British Protestant Christian charismatic missionary to Hong Kong and founder of the St Stephen's Society. She has been ministering in Hong Kong since 1966. Her work has resulted in at least 1000 drug addicts being saved from their drug addictions...

MBE - contemporary missionary working with inner city gangs, and founder of St Stephen's Society in Hong Kong.

Hinduism

Recognition of the feminine aspect of God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

during the last century by Tantric

Tantra

Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....

and Shakti

Shakti

Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...

religious leaders, has led to the legitimization of the female teachers and female guru

Guru

A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

s in Hinduism. A notable example was Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...

, who worshiped his wife as the embodiment of the divine feminine.

Gangaji
Gangaji
Gangaji is an American born spiritual teacher and author. She currently lives in Ashland, Oregon with her husband, fellow spiritual teacher Eli Jaxon-Bear.-Early life:...

aka Antoinette Roberson Varner
Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
Gurumayi Chidvilasananda is the commonly used name of Malti Shetty , who is the current guru of the Siddha Yoga lineage. She is formally known as Swami Chidvilasananda or more casually as Gurumayi...

, latest teacher in the lineage of teachers of Siddha Yoga
Siddha Yoga
Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path based on the Hindu spiritual traditions of Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism. The Siddha Yoga path was founded by Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa . The present spiritual head of the Siddha Yoga path is Gurumayi Chidvilasananda...

(as of 2011).
Mata Amritanandamayi
Mata Amritanandamayi
Mātā Amṛtānandamayī Devī , primarily known simply as Amma ["Mother"], is a Hindu spiritual leader and guru, who is revered as a saint by her followers. She is widely respected for her humanitarian activities...
Mother Meera
Mother Meera
Mother Meera, born Kamala Reddy is believed by her devotees to be an embodiment of the Divine Mother .-Life account:...

referred to as a "female guru" by author Karen Pechilis

Islam

Aisha bint Talha—Eminent scholar
A'isha—Wife of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

and the narrator of largest number of hadith
Maryam-mother of Isa
Isa (name)
Isa is an Arabic name corresponding to Jesus in English. It is a common male given name for Arabs and Muslims.Arabic-speaking Muslims refer to Jesus as Isa, while Arabic-speaking Christians refer to Jesus as Yasu...

(Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

)
Amara bin Al-Rahman—Exemplary woman jurist
Asma bint Abu Bakr—Narrator of Hadith
Asiya
Asiya
Asiya, wife of the Pharaoh , also known as Asiya bint Muzahim, is revered by Muslims as one of the greatest women of all time. She was the wife of "Fir'awn," the Pharaoh who reigned during Moses's time...

- Wife of the Pharaoh, Foster mother of Mosa (Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

)
Sara
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...

- Wife of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

)
Bilqis—Queen of Sheba
Fatima Zahra—the youngest daughter of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

and Khadijah.
Fatimah bint Qays—Famous scholar
Khadijah—First convert to Islam, first wife of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
Nusaibah bint Ka'b al-Ansariyah—Famous warrior
Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya—Important figure in the development of Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
Rabia
Rabia al-Adawiyya
Rābiʻa al-ʻAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya or simply Rābiʿah al-Baṣrī was a female Muslim saint and Sufi mystic.-Life:She was born between 95 and 99 Hijri in Basra, Iraq. Much of her early life is narrated by Farid al-Din Attar, a later Sufi Saint and poet, who used earlier sources...

—Most important of the early Sufi poets
Sayyida Nafisa—Scholar
Sumayyah bint Khabbab—First martyr of Islam, seventh convert to it
Ukhtul Mazni—Highly placed scholar of Islamic jurisprudence
Umm Ad Darda—Expert theologian
Umm 'Atiyyah—Scholar of Islamic jurisprudence
Umm Salamah—Narrator of Hadith
Umm Salim—Famous scholar
Umrah Bint Abdu Rahman—Eminent theologian and famous scholar
Yochebed - Mother of Musa (Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

)
Tynetta Muhammad
Tynetta Muhammad
Tynetta Muhammad is a longtime member and columnist for the Nation of Islam . Known as Tynetta Muhammad, she writes the weekly column, Unveiling the Number 19 in the NOIs official newspaper The Final Call. She was a speaker at the Million Man March in October 1995 in Washington, DC. A former NOI...

- theologian of the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...

Jainism

The status of women in Jainism differs between the two main sects, Digambara and Svetambara

Svetambara

The Śvētāmbara is one of the two main sects of Jainism, the other being the Digambar. Śvētāmbara "white-clad" is a term describing its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara "sky-clad" Jainas, whose ascetic practitioners go naked...

. Jainism prohibits women from appearing naked; because of this, Digambaras, who consider renunciation of clothes essential to moksha

Moksa (Jainism)

' or Mokkha means liberation, salvation or emancipation of soul. It is a blissful state of existence of a soul, completely free from the karmic bondage, free from samsara, the cycle of birth and death. A liberated soul is said to have attained its true and pristine nature of infinite bliss,...

, say that they cannot attain enlightenment in the same life. Svetambaras, who allow sadhu

Sadhu

In Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman...

s to wear clothes, believe that women can attain moksha. There are more Svetambara sadhvis than sadhus and women have always been influential in the Jain religion.

Mallinath
Mallinath
Mallinath was the nineteenth Tīrthaṅkara "Ford-Maker" of the present avasarpiṇī age in Jainism. According to Jain beliefs, Mallinath became a siddha - a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Śvētāmbara Jaina beliefs hold that Mallinath was female, making her the only woman to become...

, the 19th Tirthankara; she was female according to Svetambaras (but male according to Digambaras).
Marudevi, mother of Rishabha
Rishabha (Jain tirthankar)
In Jainism, R̥ṣabha or Ādinātha , also known as the "Lord of Kesariya") was the first of the 24 Tīrthaṅkaras. According to Jain beliefs, R̥ṣabha founded the Ikshvaku dynasty and was the first Tīrthaṅkara of the present age...
Trishala, the mother of Mahavira
Mahavira
Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...

Judaism

There are several prominent women in the Tanakh

Tanakh

The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...

Deborah
Deborah
Deborah was a prophetess of Yahweh the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, counselor, warrior, and the wife of Lapidoth according to the Book of Judges chapters 4 and 5....

, Hebrew prophetess, fourth judge
Esther
Esther
Esther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...

, Jewish heroine associated with the feast of Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
Huldah
Huldah
Huldah was a prophetess mentioned briefly in , and . After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King Josiah, Hilkiah together with Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah approach her to get the Lord's opinion....

, the prophetess who validated the scroll found in the Temple (thought by many to be the book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...

)
Miriam, Prophetess
Ruth
Ruth (biblical figure)
Ruth , is the main character in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible.-Biblical narrative:Ruth was a Moabitess, who married Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, but Elimelech and his two sons died...

, prosleyte par excellence - better than seven sons.
Leah
Leah
Leah , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is the first of the two concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and mother of six of sons whose descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel, along with at least one daughter, Dinah. She is the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, whom...

, beloved of God, matriach of some of the twelve tribes.
Rachel
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...

, matriach of some of the twelve tribes.

Sikhism

Bibi Bhani
Bibi Nanaki
Mai Bhago
Mai Bhago
Mai Bhago also Known as Mata Bhag Kaur was a Sikh woman who led Sikh soldiers against the Mughals in 1705. She killed several enemy soldiers on the battlefield, and is considered to be a saint by Sikhs...
Mata Gujri
Mata Gujri
Mata Gujri was the wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhism, and the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism...
Mata Jitoji
Mata Khivi
Mata Khivi
Mata Khivi came from the small town of Sanghar which is now located in the province of Sindh in Pakistan. She was married in 1519 at the age of 13. She was married to Lehna for 20 years before he became the second Guru of the Sikhs.She had 4 children,two boys and two girls. Their names were Bhai...
Mata Sahib Kaur
Mata Sahib Kaur
Mata Sahib Kaur was the third wife of the tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh. Born Sahib Devan, she was the daughter of Ramu of Rohtas. She did not have any child with Guru Gobind Singh, but she was declared as the mother of all the baptised Sikhs ....
Mata Sundri

Daoism

One of the Daoist

Taoism

Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...

Eight Immortals

The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary xian in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals" . Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang Dynasty or...

, Immortal Woman He

Immortal Woman He

Named Hé Qióng , Immortal Woman He or He Xiangu is the only female deity among the Eight Immortals...

, is a woman. Additionally, Sun Bu'er

Sun Bu'er

Sun Bu'er , one of the Taoist Seven Masters of Quanzhen lived c. 1119–1182 C.E. in the Shandong province of China. She was a beautiful, intelligent, wealthy woman, married with three children. Her family name was Sun and her first name was Fuchun, Bu'er being her name in religion. Her husband Ma Yu...

was a famous female Taoist master in the 12th Century. Her work "Secret Book on the Inner Elixir (as Transmitted by the Immortal Sun Bu'er)" discussed some of the particularities of female "Inner Elixir" (Neidan

Neidan

Neidan, or internal alchemy, spiritual alchemy is a concept in Taoist Chinese alchemy. It is a series of physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines intended to prolong the life of the body and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death.In Neidan the human body becomes a...

) cultivation. Daoist nuns usually have equal status with monks.

Wei Huacun
Wei Huacun
Wei Huacun , courtesy name Xianan , was a founder of the Shangqing sect of Daoism.-Overview:Wei was born in 252 in Jining, Shandong in the former county of Rencheng . Her father, Wei Shu , was a government official...

—A founder of the Shangqing School
Shangqing School
The Shangqing School or Supreme Clarity is a Daoist movement that began during the aristocracy of the Western Jin dynasty. Shangqing can be translated as either 'Supreme Clarity' or 'Highest Clarity.' The first leader of the school was Wei Huacun , but Tao Hongjing, who structured the theory and...

.

Other religions

Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...

—Theosophist
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...

influential in the Indian Independence Movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
Madame Blavatsky
Madame Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky , was a theosophist, writer and traveler. Between 1848 and 1875 Blavatsky had gone around the world three times. In 1875, Blavatsky together with Colonel H. S. Olcott established the Theosophical Society...

—contributed to the development and promotion of theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
Nakayama Miki
Nakayama Miki
was the Japanese foundress of Tenrikyo who is worshiped by that religion as the Shrine of God the Parent. Tenrikyo is, arguably, the largest current religion to have a woman founder. The official Tenrikyo biography states she was a holy woman born to a wealthy farming family in what is now Nara...

—founder of Tenrikyo
Tenrikyo
Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion originating in revelations to a 19th-century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known as Oyasama by followers...
Nirmala Srivastava
Nirmala Srivastava
Nirmala Srivastava was the founder of Sahaja Yoga, a new religious movement...

founder and self-proclaimed goddess of Sahaja Yoga
Sahaja Yoga
Sahaja Yoga is a new religious movement founded by Nirmala Srivastava, more widely known as 'Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi' and affectionately as 'Mother' by her followers . According to the movement, Sahaja Yoga is the state of self realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the...

Spiritual mediums

Helen Schucman
Helen Schucman
Helen Schucman was an American clinical and research psychologist from New York City. She was a professor of medical psychology at Columbia University in New York from 1958 until her retirement in 1976...

who claimed to have scribed A Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles is a self-study curriculum that aims to assist its readers in achieving spiritual transformation. The book describes a non-dualistic philosophy of forgiveness and includes what are meant to be practical lessons and applications for the practice of forgiveness in one's daily life...
Jane Roberts
Jane Roberts
Jane Roberts was an American author, poet, psychic and spirit medium, who said she had "channeled" a personality she called "Seth". Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the "Seth Material", established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena...

who claimed to have channeled Seth
Judy Z. Knight
JZ Knight
Judy Zebra Knight , usually known as JZ Knight, is an American mystic teacher and author...

(born Judith Darlene Hampton), who claims to have channeled Ramtha
Alice Auma
Alice Auma
Alice Auma was an Acholi spirit-medium who, as the head of the Holy Spirit Movement, led a millennial rebellion against the Ugandan government forces of President Yoweri Museveni from August 1986 until November 1987...

of the Holy Spirit Movement
Holy Spirit Movement
The Holy Spirit Movement was the Ugandan rebel group led by Alice Auma, a spirit-medium who claimed to receive direction from the spirit Lakwena. Alice, an ethnic Acholi, was purportedly directed to form the HSM by Lakwena in August 1986...