Rita Gross
American Buddhist feminist scholar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rita M. Gross (July 6, 1943 – November 11, 2015) was an American Buddhist feminist scholar of religions and author.[3] Before retiring, she was Professor of Comparative Studies in Religion at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.[4][5]
Rita Gross | |
|---|---|
Speaking at an international conference in Germany | |
| Born | July 6, 1943[1][2] |
| Died | November 11, 2015 (aged 72) Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Chicago (PhD) |
| Subject | Theology |
In 1974 Gross was named the head of Women and Religion, a newly created section of the American Academy of Religion.[6] She earned her PhD in 1975 from the University of Chicago in History of Religions, with the dissertation "Exclusion and Participation: The Role of Women in Aboriginal Australian Religion."[7][8] This was the first dissertation ever on women's studies in religion.[6] In 1976 she published the article "Female God Language in a Jewish Context" (Davka Magazine 17), which Jewish scholar and feminist Judith Plaskow considers "probably the first article to deal theoretically with the issue of female God-language in a Jewish context".[9][10] Gross was herself born Lutheran before converting to Judaism in her twenties.[11]
In 1977 Gross took refuge with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, becoming a Tibetan Buddhist.[12][13] In 2005 she was made a lopön (Tibetan (Wylie): slob dpon; Sanskrit (IAST): ācārya, "senior teacher") by Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, and taught at Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche's Lotus Garden Center, located in the United States.[4][14]
Gross grew up on a dairy farm in the Rhinelander, Wisconsin area.[15] Gross died, of a stroke, on November 11, 2015, at her home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.[16]
Books written by Gross
- Buddhism beyond Gender: Liberation from Attachment to Identity, Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2018.
- Religious Diversity: What's the Problem? Buddhist Advice for Flourishing with Religious Diversity, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014.
- A Garland of Feminist Reflections: Forty Years of Religious Reflection, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009.
- Religious Feminism and the Future of the Planet: A Buddhist-Christian-Feminist Conversation (with Rosemary Radford Ruether), New York: Continuum, 2001.
- Soaring and Settling: Buddhist Perspectives on Contemporary Social and Religious Issues, New York: Continuum, 1998.
- Feminism and Religion: An Introduction; Boston: Beacon Press, 1996; Korean translation, 1999; Chapter One “Defining Feminism, Religion, and the Study of Religion” reprinted in Theory and Method in the Study of Religion, ed. by Carl Olson (Belmont, CA:Wadsworth, 2004), pp. 511–520
- Buddhism After Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism; Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1993; Spanish translation, Editorial Trotta, Madrid, Spain, 2005.[17]
Books edited by Gross
- Editor (with Terry Muck): Christians Talk About Buddhist Meditation: Buddhists Talk About Christian Prayer; New York: Continuum, 2003.
- Editor (with Terry Muck): Buddhists Talk About Jesus: Christians Talk About the Buddha; New York: Continuum, 2000.
- Editor (with Nancy A. Falk): Unspoken Worlds: Women's Religious Lives; Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press, 1989; Third Edition, Wadsworth Press, 2001; Translated into French as La Religion Par Les Femmes, Edition Labor et Fides, 1993.
- Editor (with Nancy A. Falk): Unspoken Worlds: Women's Religious Lives in Non-Western Cultures; San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1980;
- Editor: Beyond Androcentrism: New Essays on Women and Religion; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1977[17]