Throughout Your Generations Forever: Sacrifice, Religion, and Paternity

by Nancy Jay

Overview

Why does sacrifice, more than any other major religious institution, depend on gender dichotomy? Why do so many societies oppose sacrifice to childbirth, and why are childbearing women so commonly excluded from sacrificial practices? In this feminist study of relations between sacrifice, gender, and social organization, Nancy Jay reveals sacrifice as a remedy for having been born of woman, and hence uniquely suited to establishing certain and enduring paternity. Drawing on examples of ancient and modern societies, Jay synthesizes sociology of religion, ethnography, biblical scholarship, church history, and classics to argue that sacrifice legitimates and maintains patriarchal structures that transcend men's dependence on women's reproductive powers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226395722
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	07/01/1992
Edition description:	1
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

At the time of her death in 1991, Nancy Jay was a lecturer in social sciences and religion at the Harvard Divinity School.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Social-Scientific Interpretation of Ritual
2. The Logic of Sacrifice
3. Sacrifice and Descent
4. Creating Descent through Fathers and Sons
5. Ashanti Sacrifice
6. Hawaiian Sacrifice
7. Sacrifice, Descent, and the Patriarchs
8. Sacrifice ans Social Structure in Christianity
9. Theories of Sacrifice
10. Conclusion
Appendix: Sacrificial Calendars
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

A feminist exploration of why sacrifice, of all religious rites, is so male oriented. Concludes that sacrifice is a remedy for having been born of women, by constructing a direct bond between males of succeeding generations. Tests the theory on ancient and modern religions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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