Keeping the Faith

Abstract In many cultures, women are the “keepers of the faith,” despite the fact that masculine pronouns are often used to identify deity or deities in most of the world’s major religions. In addition, many foundational leaders of these faiths were male—Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammed, and Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha). This double issue of Religion and the Arts seeks to explore the ways in which contemporary artists who identify as women or are non-binary or third gender engage with spirituality, both in the context of different faith traditions and as unaffiliated spiritual seekers. The essays include: Scholarly explorations of contemporary artists’ engagement with religion and/or spirituality in the context of cultural roots; faith, religion and/or spirituality as a source of inspiration in art making for women artists, inclusive of trans and gender non-conforming people; relationships between religious traditions and gender fluidity as explored by contemporary artists; consideration of how women and gender non-conforming artists around the world are grappling with religiosity in their cultures and personal artistic practices; and the role of contemporary art made by women and/or gender-fluid artists in encouraging dialogue around religious belief.