From Goddess to God: Elimination of the Feminine Divine

Karen L. Garst

May 14, 2017

Karen L. Garst will trace the female images and figurines of the Paleolithic through the Neolithic and examine the loss of the female deity in several cultures in the Middle East at about the same time in the Bronze Age. She will then contrast the memes of the goddess with the memes of the sole male deity that develops into monotheism in Judaism and eventually Christianity and Islam. Finally, she will show the impact religion has on the rights of women in the United States compared to less religious countries.

Karen L. Garst has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, and is the former executive director of the Oregon State Bar. She has a blog at www.faithlessfeminist.com, a Facebook Page, a YouTube channel, and is on Twitter (@karen_garst). She is also the author of “Women Beyond Belief: Discovering Life without Religion” (2016). She obtained book blurbs for the book from Richard Dawkins, Valerie Tarico, Peter Boghossian, Rebecca Hale, John Loftus, Sikivu Hutchinson and others. The book will be available for purchase at the Forum.