Women and religious organization

Abstract

This paper uses the analogy of microbiological systems in the human body to argue that vertical structures of power are not the only systematic power at work within religious communities. The case study of Mormon women shows how even in highly hierarchical, centralized, patriarchal religious movements, the formal structures of power coexist alongside and even depend on other less immediately visible, but nevertheless powerful, systems within the religious community. This paper draws on a range of disciplinary perspectives to make the case that cultural, relational, and ontological systems within global Mormonism are areas within which women shape their own experiences and the experiences of others within their faith tradition.