Gender & Religion

• a majority of feminists believe that most of mainstream religions are patriarchal and uphold male domination over women
• some religious ideas tend to ove—emphasise once-traditional roles, like the idea that women should be relegated to the subordinate, expressive role, as a way of controlling women’s sexuality
• Liberal feminists aim to break the glass ceiling in religious organisations that prevent women from accessing well-respected positions of authority within the Church hierarchy, such as priests, religious teachers and leaders
• marxist feminists focus on the marxist view that religion acts as “the opium of the people”, in the sense that it acts as a compensator and alleviates the double oppression faced by w/c women through their status of being both w/c and women
• Gender inequality in religion

  • Aldridge highlights that in the Qu’ran, women were legally inferior to men, as they lacked the same rights as their husbands, who they are to submit to
  • Eve being formed from Adam’s rib perpetuates the underlying message that women are secondary to men
  • De Beauvoir argues that most scriptures in religions suggest that “man is master by divine right”, implying that it is in God’s will for a man to assume an assertive position