A matriarchal religion is a religion that emphasizes a goddess or multiple goddesses as central figures of worship and spiritual authority. The term is most often used to refer to theories of prehistoric matriarchal religions that were proposed by scholars such as Johann Jakob Bachofen, Jane Ellen Harrison, and Marija Gimbutas, and later popularized by second-wave feminism. These scholars speculated that early human societies may have been organized around female deities and matrilineal social structures. In the 20th century, a movement to revive these practices resulted in the Goddess movement.
The Minoan snake goddess figurines, though an almost unique find, feature frequently in literature postulating matriarchal religion
Verbotenes Land ("Forbidden Land"), 1936
Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and authority are primarily held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, definitions specific to anthropology and feminism differ in some respects. Most anthropologists hold that there are no known societies that are unambiguously matriarchal.
Nampeyo, of the Hopi-Tewa People, in 1901; with her mother, White Corn; her eldest daughter, Annie Healing holding her granddaughter, Rachel
Margot Adler (2004)
Venus von Willendorf, a Venus figurine
Mosuo woman