Goddess Theology, Goddess Worship, and The Faith We Sing

by Dean McIntyre, Director of Music Resources, The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship

Some people have charged that some of the texts in The Faith We Sing are a subtle or cloaked attempt to introduce something called "goddess theology" or "goddess worship" into unsuspecting United Methodist congregations as they sing and worship. Although goddesses have been commonly worshiped in some religions from ancient times right up to the present — particularly in India and ancient Greece and continuing today in the religions of Hinduism and Jainism, and to a lesser extent Buddhism — there is nothing comparable to goddess worship at any time in the histories of the three great western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Feminine deities were commonly worshiped in the Indus Valley from around 2500 B.C., with their earliest mention in sacred writings in the Rig Veda (1500-900 B.C.). Since the sixth century, goddesses have been worshiped as world protectors, saviors, and creators of the cosmic order. Today the majority of Hindus continue to worship goddesses throughout India.

Hindu goddesses have connections with agriculture, fertility, and vegetative life, as well as with the earth, rain, and the provider of wealth and abundance. There are other associations with the rising sun, time, and the night. Other aspects of human life and nature that have been associated with goddesses include human speech, wisdom, knowledge, education, truth, sexuality and eroticism, good luck, imagination, and inspiration. These goddesses may be seen in human form or spirit. They may inhabit a particular location, such as a forest, a farmer's field, a lake, or a valley or mountain.

Of the hundreds of local goddesses worshiped in India today, one of the most popular is associated with snakes. Devotees seek her blessing to avoid the consequences of snakebite. Another favorite goddess is understood to have the power when she is angry to cause smallpox; and when she is happy, to cure it.

Although such an understanding of the divine may be a tremendously important and common element in Hinduism and other religions of ancient and modern India, there simply is no counterpart in Christianity. At the very least, one should ask for evidence that the hymn writers and editors of The Faith We Sing are seeking to introduce goddess worship into United Methodist worship. What uninformed critics are calling "goddess worship" is actually the use of poetic and literary devices of symbolism, simile, and metaphor in both traditional and modern hymn texts. (See interpretive articles on The Faith We Sing hymns on this web site.)

(This article makes use of material from the entry titled "Goddess" by D. R. Kinsley in Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, Keith Crim, general editor [Nashville: Abingdon, 1981), pp. 278-282.)

Additional Recommended Sources:
N. N. Bhattacharyya, History of Sakta Religion (1974)
S. B. Dasgupta, "Evolution of Mother Worship," Aspects of Indian Religious Thought (1975), pp. 42-106

E. A. Payne, The Saktat (1933).

Copyright © 2001 The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003. Worship Web Site: http://www.umcworship.org. This article may be printed, copied, distributed, reprinted in church bulletins or newsletters, or otherwise used for nonprofit local church worship or education with the inclusion of the copyright citation and General Board of Discipleship Worship Web Site as its source. It may not be used for profit or republication without prior permission.

Posted 8-28-01