Intersektionalitet och religiös förändring

Categories frequently discussed in terms of intersectionality are gender, class, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. This article argues that, often, religion is also a relevant dimension in intersectional analyses. The concept "religious proximity" is therefore introduced as an analytical tool which will facilitate a more complex analysis of situations where a religious dimension interacts with the other dimensions. The closer to God, the religious centre, the divine will, or the like, a person or group is considered to be, from the viewpoint of a certain religious context, the more power and authority he or she has, formal or informal. The article thus proposes that we speak of degrees of religious proximity and shows by means of examples how situations can be given an intersectional analysis including an irreducible religious dimension. Focus in the examples is on the intersection of gender and religious proximity, especially in contexts where established religous centres are questioned or reinforced, and possible competing centres are present, generating new standards for religous proximity.