Kaminer said the goal of putting women in office should be an end in itself and that supporters of programs like the White House Project continue to further the stereotype that ideology is determined by gender, she said.

At the conclusion of her talk, Kaminer opened the floor for discussion. Not all of the members of the audience, composed of other fellows and community members, shared Kaminer's views.

One critic said that Kaminer's views on the way to elect women to office failed to address the problems that rise when young girls grow up with the belief that they will never be able to hold high political office.

Kaminer responded by saying that the only way to combat such notions is to continue to fight for laws that offer greater equality to women both in education and the workplace.

Another audience member took issue with Kaminer's assertion s that voting trends cannot be observed among women. For example, women are much more likely than men to vote against military spending, the audience member said.

But Kaminer maintained her belief that women are less defined by gender in their political beliefs than by class or ethnic group.

"I think it is a real mistake to look at women as a voting block," Kaminer concluded. "It mostly furthers the careers of consultants like Naomi Woolf."

Kaminer's views on religion and politics will presented further in her forthcoming book, "Sleeping with Extraterrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety."