Woman in New Religious Movements

It is known that some of the New Religious Movements (NRMs), which have accepted in various segments of the society by arising with different beliefs and rituals, different lifestyles and different values, emerged in the periods when normative gender roles were questioned. Thus, "women's rights movement" which occurred in mid-nineteenth century and struggled in order that women achieved civil and political rights, contributed directly or indirectly to emergence of some NRMs. Additionally it is a fact that some NRMs, which promoted the women's rights and the social reforms and even offered the leadership opportunity for them, attracted women who suffered oppression and placed in a secondary positions. In this paper which focuses on the relationship between New Religious Movements and women, it is examined the basic matters such as the effect of gender on participation in NRMs, the status and roles of women and men in NRMs, the issue of women's leadership and whether the women are abused by NRMs.