Dr. Burke earned a Doctorate in Literary Studies with a focus on ancient religion, psychoanalysis, and feminism, and a Master’s degree in Religion and Society, with a focus on Psychology. She has 10 years’ experience teaching Religion and Mythology as an adjunct professor at Montclair State University.

In addition to writing and teaching, Brigid is Psychology and Religion chair for the American Academy of Religion, Mid-Atlantic Region. She has presented several conference papers on this topic at the American Academy of Religion and Oxford University, and will be offering an in-depth exploration of the book’s themes in a podcast called Chthonia (chthonia.net, starting mid-May 2019).

This study considers how psychological ideas about "masculine" and "feminine" are related to mythical and religious ideas about death and the afterlife, including notions of the soul, immortality, and salvation. The change in focus from the...

This study considers how psychological ideas about "masculine" and "feminine" are related to mythical and religious ideas about death and the afterlife, including notions of the soul, immortality, and salvation. The change in focus from the collective nature of death described in Homer to the fate of the individual soul in Greek philosophy and later, in early Christianity, is concurrent with the devaluing of the feminine and its associations, particularly the earth and what lies under the earth. The idealization of spirit and the connection of spirit to the air and the sky creates a masculine, rationalized view of religious goals that treats matter, the earth, and sexuality as something corrupt, culminating in the Biblical view of women as destroyers of the human connection to God through lust. This has potential implications for the social view of feminine sexuality in Western culture as well as attitudes towards the earth and environmental issues. Dr. Burke shows how belief in an immortal soul and in salvation led to a paradoxically negative perception of the archetypal Feminine ; in myth, religious scripture and philosophy ; and this is demonstrated through the lens of depth psychology. Her book adds a layer of appreciation to our understanding of literature, legends, and religious and spiritual works, and it will appeal to researchers in religion and gender studies.

Introduction Chapter 1: Ancient Egypt: the Foundation of Western Ideas About Life After DeathIntroductory Comments Background Cosmology and Death Myths Geography of the Underworld Gods of the

Introduction Chapter 1: Ancient Egypt: the Foundation of Western Ideas About Life After DeathIntroductory Comments Background Cosmology and Death Myths Geography of the Underworld Gods of the Underworldx Death Rituals: The Opening of the Mouth Death Attitudes: Immortality, Salvation, Reward and Punishment Role of Magic The Feminine in Egyptian Mythology and Death Beliefs Analysis and Conclusion Chapter 2: Homer and Hesiod: Relationship to the "Other" in the Early Archaic Period The Feminine in Greek (and Babylonian) Religion and the Afterlife Chapter 3: Orpheus, Pythagoras, Zoroaster, and Plato: From Chthonic to Celestial in the Classical and Hellenistic Eras Orphism Pythagoras Heraclitusl Other Greek Philosophers Zoroaster, the Persians, and the Jews Reflections and Conclusions Chapter 4: The Movement West: the Rise of Rome and Collective Changes from the Archaic Period to the Beginning of the Empire Background Roman Language Religion The Second Punic War and Outside Influence Philosophy Greek, Asian, and Egyptian Influences Astrology and Magic Reflections Chapter 5: Splits and Reversals: Metaphysical Upheaval in the Roman Empire Foreign cults and Mithraism Middle Platonism Role Reversals of Deities Apocalyptic Judaism: Introduction Apocalyptic Judaism: Historical Background Jung and Theodicy in Judaism The Feminine and Evil in Judaism: Foreignness and Impurity Eve Lilith Sophia and Shekinah Judaism and the Graeco-Roman World Early Christianity The Early Church Fathers on Death and the Soul The Consequences of Salvation Gnosticism and the problem of evil Christianity and the Feminine The Edict of Milan and the Constantinian Shift Final Reflections and Conclusion Bibliography