Kyriarchy

Kyriarchy is an interconnected system of domination in which people hold power through overlapping social hierarchies, including gender, race, class, and religion.

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Intersectionality: A framework for analyzing how social categories and systems of power interact to shape people’s experiences. It shows how overlapping hierarchies can compound or alter forms of domination.
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza: A feminist theologian known for historical and critical studies of early Christianity. She introduced kyriarchy as a framework for analyzing intersecting systems of domination.
Feminist sociology: Sociological analysis of how gendered power shapes institutions, relationships, and social change. It examines institutional patterns that can combine gender with other hierarchies.
Hegemony: The leadership or dominance of one group, often maintained through cultural influence and consent. Hegemony emphasizes cultural leadership, while kyriarchy maps overlapping social hierarchies.
Patriarchy: A social system in which men hold disproportionate power and authority. It is one hierarchy that can operate within a broader kyriarchal system.
Feminist theology: Theological inquiry that examines gender, power, and religious traditions from feminist perspectives. Kyriarchy arose in feminist theological analysis of authority and social hierarchy.
Critical race theory: A legal and scholarly framework analyzing how racism is embedded in laws and institutions. Its institutional focus helps trace racial domination within intersecting power systems.
Domination: The exercise of power that subjects people or groups to another’s control. Kyriarchy is a particular account of how domination is organized across social divisions.
Social stratification: The structured ranking of people into social layers with unequal access to resources and status. Kyriarchy describes domination across several forms of social ranking.
In Memory of Her: Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza’s 1983 book reinterpreting early Christian origins through feminist analysis. The book develops the historical and theological context in which she formulated kyriarchy.