Gurus, Priestesses, Saints, Mediums and Yoginis: Holy Women as Influencers in Hindu Culture

This Special Issue is entitled “Gurus, Priestesses, Saints, Mediums, and Yoginis: Holy Women as ‘Influencers’ in Hindu Culture” and features emerging research on holy women from different disciplinary perspectives. Applying the “influencer” concept to the study of religion, the volume explores the varieties of strategies that holy women use for gaining and expressing power in diverse roles. It examines different concepts of holiness and leadership for men and women, the role of charisma, and the arenas of activity and accomplishment for holy women in India and abroad. By relating a new idea—that of the ‘influencer’—to the study of women and religious authority, the Issue contributes fresh and refined analyses and explanatory models toward a greater understanding of women’s evolving relationship to the Hindu tradition. As the co-editors, we are grateful to our team of contributors, peer reviewers, and the Religions editorial staff for their collaboration and enthusiasm in bringing this volume to completion.