Gender research has now become more gender-inclusive rather than just women-centred, a change of great theoretical significance. The Religion and Gender Series is dedicated to publishing books which reflect that change. It will feature innovative, original research which moves away from predominantly western to global perspectives, including comparative and interdisciplinary approaches where appropriate. Firmly grounded in religious studies, books in this series will draw on a wide range of disciplines, including gender studies, philosophy, theology, sociology, history, anthropology, as well as women's and men's studies in religion. By recognizing the limitations of previous, exclusively androcentric approaches to the study of religions, this series will help overcome earlier deficiencies in scholarship about religion and open new intellectual horizons in the field.

Although a relatively new area of enquiry, the materials relevant to the study of religion and gender are as old as humanity. They include the roles, lives, and experiences of women and men, as shaped by diverse gender norms, stereotypes and symbols prevalent in different religious, cultural and historical contexts. Issues of gender - what it means to be male or female, and ultimately what it means to be human - are central to social, philosophical, doctrinal, ethical and practical questions in every religion, and gender symbolism is of great significance in all religious worship, spirituality, and doctrine. The Religion and Gender Series publishes new research on these and all other aspects of gender and religion.