Women and African Traditional Religion Itohan Mercy Idumwonyi and Osamamen Oba Eduviere Contents Introduction ....................................................................................... 2 Throwing Out the Baby with the Bath Water: Evaluating the Influence of Terminologies .... 4 African Worldview, African Traditional Religion, and Its Features: The Context ............. 6 Women in ATR ................................................................................... 7 The Construction of Gender Politics in ATR .................................................... 8 The Masculinization of ATR ..................................................................... 11 Politicizing the Ritual Practices and Space: Beyond Performance? ............................ 13 Conclusion ........................................................................................ 16 References ........................................................................................ 17 Abstract Studies reveal that religions with the image of a male god give its male members the cultural-religious currency of power. African Traditional Religions (ATR) may have female goddesses, but it is patterned after the male image of the Supreme Being. ATR, like Abrahamic religions, is a masculine-based and patri- archal religion, promoting subordination in ways that women mostly play periph- eral roles in religious spheres. Although women perform religious duties as diviners, herbal doctors, priests, and mystics, they, however, do so in lesser degrees compared to the men. Also, spirit possession is common for women because of their relegated status. ATR’ s key players sanction relegation for females and female worshippers. What factors enable gender politics? Besides, what are the attendant implications of gender exclusion in ATR? This chapter draws inference on gender, religious studies, and anthropological theories, with particular reference to gender politics. It focuses on women and advances an argument against the masculinization at play in ATR. It argues that ATR’ s I. M. Idumwonyi (*) Religious Studies Department, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, USA e-mail: idumwonyi@gonzaga.edu © This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply 2020 O. Yacob-Haliso, T. Falola (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_23-1 1