Beliefs and values that have held sway for thousands of years will be questioned as never before.

In Goddess religion death is not feared, but is understood to be a part of life, followed by birth and renewal.

Subversive language, however, must be constantly reinvented, because it is continually being co-opted by the powerful.

I first became interested in women and religion when I was one of the few women doing graduate work in Religious Studies at Yale University in the late 1960's.

Why does everyone cling to the masculine imagery and pronouns even though they are a mere linguistic device that has never meant that God is male?

Beliefs and values that have held sway for thousands of years will be questioned as never before.

If we do no mean that God is male when we use masculine pronouns and imagery, then why should there be any objections to using female imagery and pronouns as well?

Throughout the years, many Christian women have told me of their great respect for the bravery and courage evident in my work, perhaps even gesturing to their own Isis earrings or a Nile River Goddess pendants.

The mother must socialize her daughter to become subordinate to men, and if her daughter challenges patriarchal norms, the mother is likely to defend the patriarchal structures against her own daughters.

In my book I specifically discussed the structural nature of injustice and offered Nine Touchstones of Goddess ethics as an alternative to the Ten Commandments of Biblical religion.

Women must be the spokesmen for a new humanity arising out of the reconciliation of spirit and body.

Because religion has such a compelling hold on the deep psyches of so many people, feminists cannot afford to leave it in the hands of the fathers.

The women's movement will present a growing threat to patriarchal religion less by attacking it than by simply leaving it behind.

Our great symbol for the Goddess is the moon, whose three aspects reflect the three stages in women's lives and whose cycles of waxing and waning coincide with women's menstrual cycles.

The Goddess of Old Europe and Ancient Crete represented the unity of life in nature, delight in the diversity of form, the powers of birth, death and regeneration.

In Old Europe and Ancient Crete, women were respected for their roles in the discovery of agriculture and for inventing the arts of weaving and pottery making.

The simplest and most basic meaning of the symbol of the Goddess is the acknowledgment of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficent and independent power.

At first the ancient images of the Goddess did not interest me.

Watching birds has become part of my daily meditation affirming my connection to the earth body.

The often cruel behavior of Christians toward unbelievers and even toward dissenters among themselves is shocking evidence of the function of that image in relation to values and behavior.

After much diligent research, aided by other women, I gradually came to understand that beneath the familiar Goddesses of the patriarchy, there is a much more ancient Goddess.

The simple act of telling a woman's story from a woman's point of view is a revolutionary act: it never has been done before.

The simplest and most basic meaning of the symbol of the Goddess is the acknowledgment of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficent and independent power

The Goddess of Old Europe and Ancient Crete represented the unity of life in nature delight in the diversity of form the powers of birth death and regeneration.

Our great symbol for the Goddess is the moon whose three aspects reflect the three stages in womens lives and whose cycles of waxing and waning coincide with womens menstrual cycles.

Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen... yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.

It takes a lot more energy to fail than to succeed, since it takes a lot of concentrated energy to hold on to beliefs that don't work.

When you are getting ready to become a mom, being in love with someone just isn't enough. You need to think about whether he would be a good parent and raise your children with similar beliefs.

Superstitions are habits rather than beliefs.

Change can either challenge or threaten us. Your beliefs pave your way to success or block you.

Broad tolerance in the matter of beliefs is necessarily a part of the new ethics.

We're very open and outspoken about our faith and our beliefs. We also talk about our doubts, our moments of insecurities. We talk about it all day, how we're inspired by God. We recognize little miracles every day, and that's how we're raising our daughter.

Customs form us all, our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed beliefs; are consequences of our place of birth.

Quotations are useful in periods of ignorance or obscurantist beliefs.

It remains to consider what attitude thoughtful men and Christian believers should take respecting them, and how they stand related to beliefs of another order.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you have to agree with people and their beliefs to defend them from injustice.

But there's no reason why we should abdicate our foundational principles because certain groups don't believe in them. You know, no majority should surrender its deeply held beliefs to those who don't believe in anything.

If you develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then you can get yourself to accomplish virtually anything, including those things that other people are certain are impossible.

You always really have to remain consistent in your beliefs and philosophy.

The domination of western values, beliefs and way of life has angered many from the east and in developing countries.

I am proud to be an American, and proud that such beliefs are at the core of our country and its citizens.

Sometimes all it takes to change a life is to decide which beliefs do not serve you and to literally change your mind about those beliefs.

I consider myself a non-denominational Christian. I grew up in a Bible church and still hold those beliefs very close to me.

Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.

It is curious to reflect, for example, upon the remarkable legend of the Philosopher's Stone, one of the oldest and most universal beliefs, the origin of which, however far back we penetrate into the records of the past, we do not probably trace its real source.

The basic fault lines today are not between people with different beliefs but between people who hold these beliefs with an element of uncertainty and people who hold these beliefs with a pretense of certitude.

Do not try to approach God with your thinking mind. It may only stimulate your intellectual ideas, activities, and beliefs. Try to approach God with your crying heart. It will awaken your soulful, spiritual consciousness.

It's an indulgence to sit in a room and discuss your beliefs as if they were a juicy piece of gossip.

God help us from those who believe that they are the sole possessors of truth. How we manage at times to agree willingly to become prisoners within our own minds and souls of beliefs and ideas on which we can never be flexible.