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Amara Grajewski

In what ways can gendered symbolism in religion empower women? In its most general form, religion evokes attitudes and feelings through symbols. On the personal level, religious symbols and rhetoric often structure people’s core identities (Christ 1978). Religious symbols may also shape the social lenses through which people perceive others. One of the groups subject to intense religious scrutiny is women. Thus, the proposed research will explore the ways religious symbolism may alter internal and external understandings of gender. This information will then to be analyze understandings of cross-cultural social justice. The proposed research focuses on Roman Catholicism in Italy, and Buddhism/Shintoism in Japan and aims to understand how religious symbols affect social perspectives and treatment of women. The work completed during the proposed Carroll and Adelaide Johnson Scholarship will be divided into two stages: (1): ethnographic fieldwork in Rome and Osaka during the 2024-25 academic year followed by (2): analysis of my research findings for my senior thesis.

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