Gender, Race, Religion

The ESWTR conference in Leuven in 2019 dealt with the intersection of gender, race, and religion and asked for the de-/construction of regimes of visibility and invisibility. By discussing these three concepts in relationship to each other, underlying patterns of privilege and oppression in a society can be uncovered. The concepts "gender, race, and religion" are not static ideas, but processes in society. They are constructed in social interaction, through discourses and practices-what implies that their meaning can also be deconstructed. The construction is the result of power processes. These create what is considered an appropriate way to express one's religion, what should be visible and what not, although very often the processes of "religionization" and "racialization" remain hidden, sometimes concealed by so-called good intentions. What is made visible and invisible is the result of choices that serve particular interests. In malestream theology this is a blind spot. However, there are many theological themes at stake here. The question is how theologians can help to make the underlying patterns and processes of "genderisation," and "religionization" (more) visible in order to contribute to the flourishing of everyone and to more justice in society. This is what the contributions of this volume try to do, in their analysis of the intersection of gender and religion (and race) in different contexts.