Does God Hate Women? - by Ophelia Benson & Jeremy Stangroom (Hardcover)

About the Book

The new book from the authors of the hugely successful Why Truth Matters, exploring a topical and controversial religious and cultural issue. >

Book Synopsis

An exploration of the role that religion and culture play in the oppression of women

Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom, philosophers and authors, ask probing questions about the way that religion shields the oppression of women from criticism and why many Western liberals, leftists, and feminists have remained largely silent on the subject. Throughout the world, a great many women lead lives of misery and sometimes plain horror. They are often considered and treated as the property of men and have few, if any, rights. Such treatment is generally sustained and protected by a combination of religion and culture. Does God Hate Women? explores instances of the oppression of women in the name of religious and cultural norms and how these issues play out both in the community and in the political arena. Drawing on philosophical concerns such as truth, relativism, knowledge, and ethics, Benson and Stangroom assess the current situation and provide a rallying call for a progressive politics that is committed to universal values.
An exploration of the role that religion and culture play in the oppression of women

Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom, philosophers and authors, ask probing questions about the way that religion shields the oppression of women from criticism and why many Western liberals, leftists, and feminists have remained largely silent on the subject. Throughout the world, a great many women lead lives of misery and sometimes plain horror. They are often considered and treated as the property of men and have few, if any, rights. Such treatment is generally sustained and protected by a combination of religion and culture. Does God Hate Women? explores instances of the oppression of women in the name of religious and cultural norms and how these issues play out both in the community and in the political arena. Drawing on philosophical concerns such as truth, relativism, knowledge, and ethics, Benson and Stangroom assess the current situation and provide a rallying call for a progressive politics that is committed to universal values.

Review Quotes

"As I read "Does God Hate Women, "I was impressed by the many probing questions that the writers focused on in the three great monotheistic religions."Network, February 2010

'At a time when too many people bendover backwards to avoid offending the sensibilities of those with a belief inthe supernatural, Benson and Stangroom provide a breath of fresh air. Theysubject the core beliefs of the world's leading faiths to the rigorous analysisthey sometimes escape out of a misplaced fear of giving offence ... All this desperately needs to besaid ... As this book remindsus, religion brings with it patriarchal ideas about gender difference whichclaim to honour women but almost always give men power over them.' - Joan Smith, The Independent

'At a time when too many people bend over backwards to avoid offending the sensibilities of those with a belief in the supernatural, Benson and Stangroom provide a breath of fresh air. They subject the core beliefs of the world's leading faiths to the rigorous analysis they sometimes escape out of a misplaced fear of giving offence ... All this desperately needs to be said ... As this book reminds us, religion brings with it patriarchal ideas about gender difference which claim to honour women but almost always give men power over them.' - Joan Smith, The Independent

'Fans of Richard Dawkins will love it' - Sholto Byrnes, Independent on Sunday

'Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom are the editors of Butterflies and Wheels, the best atheist site on the web. In Does God Hate Women? they forensically dismantle the last respectable misogyny ... By the end of this book-length blast, Benson and Stangroom have left religious hatred of women in rubble. Anybody not addled by superstition will have to conclude that such bigotry deserves neither respect nor deference.' - Johann Hari, New Statesman

'The predecessors of today's critics would have hailed [this book] as a feminist classic.' - Standpoint

'We may want to react to the title of this book with a defensive "No, of course not." It will be more useful to acknowledge the challenge posed by the authors' refusal to avoid awk-ward questions. We should consider the extent to which the way, we think, we are presenting our faith matches what those out-side the Church actually perceive.' - Church Times

"As I read "Does GodHate Women, "I was impressed by the many probing questions that the writersfocused on in the three great monotheistic religions."Network, February 2010

Article on book by Madeleine Bunting, Guardian, 16 June 2009.

Article on book in Muslim Weekly, 5 June 2009.

Author article (topic of book), book mention, The Observer. 31 May 2009.

Author Q & A and title mention in New Statesman.

Discussion of book, contents and potential impact (no review) concerning book's thoughts on Muslim female abuse and Mohammad's 'Child Bride', timesonline.co.uk. 31 May 2009.

Reviewd in Morning Star, August 2009. http: //www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/culture/books/non_fiction/does_god_hate_women

Reviewed in The Observer, July 2009.

Title and The Times article discussed in Private Eye, June 2009.

About the Author

Ophelia Benson is editor of www.butterfliesandwheels.com, deputy editor of The Philosophers' Magazine and co-author, with Jeremy Stangroom, of Why Truth Matters. She is also a frequent contributor to Free Inquiry. Jeremy Stangroom is co-editor, with Julian Baggini, of The Philosophers' Magazine and co-author of Do You Think What You Think You Think? (Granta, 2006), What Philosophers Think and Great Thinkers A-Z. He and Ophelia Benson are co-authors of Why Truth Matters and The Dictionary of Fashionable Nonsense (Souvenir, 2004).