Rita Gross | |
---|---|
Born | July 6, 1943 [1] [2] |
Died | November 11, 2015 Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S. | (aged 72)
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Chicago ( PhD) |
Subject | Theology |
Rita M. Gross (July 6, 1943 – November 11, 2015) was an American Buddhist feminist scholar of religions and author. [3] Before retiring, she was Professor of Comparative Studies in Religion at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. [4] [5]
In 1974 Gross was named the head of Women and Religion, a newly created section of the American Academy of Religion. [6] She earned her PhD in 1975 from the University of Chicago in History of Religions, with the dissertation "Exclusion and Participation: The Role of Women in Aboriginal Australian Religion." [7] [8] This was the first dissertation ever on women's studies in religion. [6] In 1976 she published the article "Female God Language in a Jewish Context" (Davka Magazine 17), which Jewish scholar and feminist Judith Plaskow considers "probably the first article to deal theoretically with the issue of female God-language in a Jewish context". [9] [10] Gross was herself born Lutheran before converting to Judaism in her twenties. [11]
In 1977 Gross took refuge with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, becoming a Tibetan Buddhist. [12] [13] In 2005 she was made a lopön (Tibetan ( Wylie): slob dpon; Sanskrit ( IAST): ācārya, "senior teacher") by Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, and taught at Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche's Lotus Garden Center, located in the United States. [4] [14]
Gross grew up on a dairy farm in the Rhinelander, Wisconsin area. [15] Gross died, of a stroke, on November 11, 2015, at her home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. [16]
Rita Gross | |
---|---|
Born | July 6, 1943 [1] [2] |
Died | November 11, 2015 Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S. | (aged 72)
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Chicago ( PhD) |
Subject | Theology |
Rita M. Gross (July 6, 1943 – November 11, 2015) was an American Buddhist feminist scholar of religions and author. [3] Before retiring, she was Professor of Comparative Studies in Religion at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. [4] [5]
In 1974 Gross was named the head of Women and Religion, a newly created section of the American Academy of Religion. [6] She earned her PhD in 1975 from the University of Chicago in History of Religions, with the dissertation "Exclusion and Participation: The Role of Women in Aboriginal Australian Religion." [7] [8] This was the first dissertation ever on women's studies in religion. [6] In 1976 she published the article "Female God Language in a Jewish Context" (Davka Magazine 17), which Jewish scholar and feminist Judith Plaskow considers "probably the first article to deal theoretically with the issue of female God-language in a Jewish context". [9] [10] Gross was herself born Lutheran before converting to Judaism in her twenties. [11]
In 1977 Gross took refuge with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, becoming a Tibetan Buddhist. [12] [13] In 2005 she was made a lopön (Tibetan ( Wylie): slob dpon; Sanskrit ( IAST): ācārya, "senior teacher") by Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, and taught at Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche's Lotus Garden Center, located in the United States. [4] [14]
Gross grew up on a dairy farm in the Rhinelander, Wisconsin area. [15] Gross died, of a stroke, on November 11, 2015, at her home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. [16]