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Man enjoys the great advantage of having a god endorse the code he writes and since man exercises a sovereign authority over women it is especially fortunate that this authority has been vested in him by the Supreme Being. For the Jews, Mohammedans and Christians among others, man is master by divine right the fear of God will therefore repress any impulse towards revolt in the downtrodden female. Simone de Beauvoir The study of women in world religions radically alters our under- standing of religion: not only our understanding of who participates in religion, but also our understanding of what constitutes religious actions and how we read religious texts. Serinity Young RELIGION: THE “BIGGEST PROBLEM” FACING FEMINISM TODAY? Speaking at the Makers Conference in February 2014, Gloria Steinem stated that religion is the “biggest problem” facing feminism today. According to Steinem: “What we don’t talk about enough is religion. I think that spiritu- ality is one thing. But religion is just politics in the sky. I think we really have to talk about it. Because it gains power from silence” (quoted in Calloway-Hanauer, 2014). Introduction Michele A. Paludi