Tuesday 5 May 2026 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Faculty of Divinity Lightfoot Room
Faculty of Divinity, Sidgwick Site, off West Road, Cambridge CB3 9BSIt’s often assumed that in conservative religious groups men hold ultimate religious authority, with women expected to follow their instructions. The lived realities of women’s religious experience suggest things may be much more complex and nuanced. An inter-religious research seminar.
Measuring tape (original image by Ann H via pexels.com, 2022).
About
“One size doesn’t fit all”: Women’s contestation of authority in Jewish and Muslim communities in the UK
It’s often assumed that in conservative religious groups men hold ultimate religious authority, with women expected to follow their instructions. However, the lived realities of women’s religious experience suggest that things may be much more complex and nuanced.
Our presenters will explore examples of this in their research on Salafi Muslim and Orthodox Jewish women, examining how the contestation of agency appears in unexpected places, sometimes openly and sometimes in a less obvious way. They will also consider the factors behind such resistance to male authority, such as the conflict with women’s lived realities, the influence of a mimetic style of religious learning, and family networks.
About the speakers
Dr Iman Dawood is a Fellow in Qualitative Methods at the Department of Methodology at LSE. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the Department of Government at LSE. She was previously a Research and Outreach Associate at the Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge. Her research employs ethnographic methods to study transnational Islamic movements and Islamic activism in the UK.
Dr Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz is a Teaching Associate at the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge. She received her doctorate from UCL in 2016, and published her first book, Challenge and Conformity: The Religious Lives of Orthodox Jewish Women, with the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in 2021. Her second book, currently in progress, will document the history, development, and impact of Limmud, the cross-communal Jewish conference founded in 1980.
The Inter-Religious Research seminar
Running in a Tuesday lunchtime slot for 2025–2026, the Inter-Religious Research seminar series is convened by Professor Esra Özyürek, Sultan Qaboos Professor of Abrahamic Faiths and Shared Values.
Through the presentation of academic papers and discussion, the seminar creates a space to share innovative learning among and by scholars who take religion seriously.
The IRR seminar is part of the Faculty of Divinity and is normally held in the Lightfoot Room on the First Floor. Guests welcome.