Feminism

• Armstrong 1993 - exclusion from priesthood evidence of women’s marginalisation
• Holm 2001 - menstruating women unable to touch Qur’an evidence of devaluation of women in religion
• Sacred texts don’t pass the Bechdel test
• Armstrong 1993: early religions often placed women in the centre
• Rise of monotheistic religions led to the erasure of women in religion
• Saadawi 1980: religion oppresses women but this is not the direct cause of their oppression. Instead, results of patriarchal forms coming to existence. Monotheism acts a legitimising power for the oppression of women
• Woodhead 2009: there are ‘religious forms of feminism’.
• Gilliat-Ray 2010: for some muslim women, the hijab acts as a symbol of liberation that allows them to enter the public sphere without condemnation for being immodest.
• Brusco 1995;2012: belonging to a pentecostal church can be empowering for some women. Pentecostals believe that men should respect women and refrain from ‘macho’ behaviour. ‘Pentecostal Gender Paradox’. 
• Rinaldo 2010: conservative ‘piety movements’ empower some women. However, most women who join ‘piety movements’ are already middle class and have the resources to reach their goals.
• The Church of England allowed Female Bishops in 2015 and ⅓ of priests are female.