| The theoretical perspectives that this dissertation is based on draw primarily from Sahlin's (1976) criticisms of Marxism, Hays' (1994) explanation of the relationship between culture and structure, Weber's (1993) concept of elective affinity, Thomas' (1989) theory of social change, Geertz's (1973) conceptualization of culture, and Blumberg's (1978, 1984) theory of gender stratification. I theorize that kinship systems represent the actual relations of people (a system of relations) and religion the ideal relations of people (a system of meaning). By looking at religion as the embodiment of kinship and gender ideals, I can contribute to the current sociological understanding of one of the mechanisms by which religion (as a system of meaning) contributes to the construction of a system of gender stratification. In order to understand the nature of religion's effect and the strength of its effect on gender stratification, we must consider religion's level of congruence with other institutions, degree of legitimacy and centrality in the society, and extent of overlap with other societal realms.; These theoretical tenets are discussed in the context of three widely triangulated examples. The argument consists of a multi-part, multi-method effort to illuminate the way that religion and religious ideology, in their relation to kinship systems, impact systems of gender stratification. Three examples in various time periods involving three geographic areas and different levels of societal aggregation are studied: (1) Neolithic Eurasia, (2) the adoption of Islam in Southeast and South Asia over the last 700 years, and (3) Christian fundamentalism in the modern United States. Each part of this argument shares a common goal: to explore how the ideal kinship/gender arrangements represented in religious systems and the actual kinship systems work in societal contexts to create particular gender stratification outcomes. |
