Women Beyond Belief

Discovering Life Without Religion

By: Karen L. Garst

Narrated by: Melissa Reizian Frank

Women have made great strides toward equal rights over the past 100 years, especially in the West. But when considering the ongoing fight over reproductive rights and equal pay - and the prevalence of sexual violence and domestic abuse - it is clear that a significant gap still exists. With scripture often cited as justification for the marginalization of women, it is time to acknowledge that one of the final barriers to full equality for women is religion.

Much has been written about the great strides humankind has made in knocking down many long-held religious beliefs, whether related to the age of the earth or the origin of the species. But religion's negative impact on women has been less studied and discussed. This book is a step toward changing that.

Twenty-two women from a variety of backgrounds and Judeo-Christian traditions share their personal stories about how they came to abandon organized religion, and how they discovered life after moving away from religious and supernatural beliefs. Their words serve both as a celebration of all who have taken similar steps under the weight of thousands of years of religious history - and as a source of inspiration for those individuals, especially women, who have deep doubts about their own belief traditions but who don't yet know how to embrace life without falling back on religion.

©2016 Karen L. Garst (P)2017 Pitchstone Publishing

Very enjoyable hearing other women’s stories!

I love this book and have recommended it many times! Very well written life experiences.

Thoroughly enjoyable book

Hearing the stories of women who found their way out of religion was inspiring. I also found myself reflecting on my own journey. Every woman should read this book.

Wonderful stories, but a little disappointing

What an important topic. Women have been ( and frankly, still are) so marginalized, historically, that stories of women who have been able to break free from the cultural manacles of conformity/subservience, and especially the patriarchal religiosity, are all the more poignant. I also love how they've managed to capture stories from women with a broad swathe of religious backgrounds from evangelical, catholic, mormon, jewish, and more. Of course, just writing that made me realize how narrow that list of religions actually is, which I suppose betrays a US-centric perspective--but I promise I hate all organized religions equally... :) Regardless, there really are a diverse menagerie of stories, so it doesn't seem too repetitive.

The stories are, in many cases, demoralizing--but also inspiring. But story after story, filled with horrific experiences, I was continually left unfulfilled as the women, in the end, almost uniformly embrace a weak form of "agnosticism", with conciliatory murmurs towards organized religion instead of what it deserves from them--outright disgust and rage. Some of the later stories seem to be a little "stronger", but I can't help feeling that some of these women are still a little trapped in the social construct of the traditional woman--where they seem hesitant to have definitive opinions, and definitely can't say something that might offend someone else! Yes, yes, everyone has their own personal journey, but for me, it felt like some of the women were purposefully maintaining that last little bit of intellectual obfuscation, to avoid uncomfortable conclusions... Still, a very strong effort overall, and well worth a listen!

On a side note, the narrator sounds just like Wendie Malick (Young Sheldon cast--the head of the University he goes to). Not sure why I found this to be such a positive thing, but I did. And in any case, I really enjoyed the narration. She was articulate and easy to listen to.