Rita Gross

Rita Gross
Rita Gross speaking
Speaking at an international conference in Germany
BornJuly 6, 1943[1][2]
DiedNovember 11, 2015(2015-11-11) (aged 72)
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Chicago (PhD)
SubjectTheology

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]

  1. ^ Robert S. Ellwood; Gregory D. Alles (2006). The encyclopedia of world religions. Infobase Publishing. p. 148. ISBN 9781438110387. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. ^ Mindrolling Lotus Gardens
  3. ^ E. J. van Wolde (2000). The Bright side of life. SCM Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780334030607. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  4. ^ a b Peter A. Huff, ed. (Spring 2011). "News of the Society". Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies Newsletter. 47. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  5. ^ Gross, Rita M. (2009). A garland of feminist reflections : forty years of religious exploration. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25585-2.
  6. ^ a b Lowe, Barbara J. (22 September 2006). Feminists who changed America, 1963-1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 526.
  7. ^ Rita M. Gross (1975). Exclusion and participation : the role of women in aboriginal Australian religion. University of Chicago. OCLC 1723873.
  8. ^ Arvind Sharma (1994). Today's Woman in World Religions. SUNY Press. p. 459. ISBN 9780791416877. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Jewish Feminist Theology: A Survey". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  10. ^ "Standing at Sinai". Dhushara.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  11. ^ Rosemary Radford Ruether, My Quest for Hope and Meaning - an Autobiography, 2013. p. 104. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  12. ^ Keller, Rosemary Skinner; Ruether, Rosemary Radford; Cantlon, Marie (2006). Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253346886. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  13. ^ "Something Important". Tricycle. 1999-02-22. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  14. ^ "Lopön Rita Gross". Lotusgardens.org. Archived from the original on 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  15. ^ Eau Claire Leader Telegram-obituaries-Rita Gross
  16. ^ Buddhist teacher and feminist Rita Gross dies following stroke