Feminist view on religion

• Religion and patriachy

  Femnist theories ague that religion can be an instrument for opression and domination of women.

  Religion can be seen as a patriacrhal insistution that peptuates gender inequality over time
• Relgion and patriarch (evidence) - Sacred texts

  • Give women subordinate roles
  • Most stories reflect anti-female sterotypes

  ↳ Eve in judaeo-christian story caused humans fall from grace aand expulsion from garden of eden

  ↳ Pandora opened the box and released evil into the world
• Relgion and patriarch (evidence) - Religious organsiations

  • Most religions heirarchal in their structure and male dominated in their leadership
  • Women continue to be exclued from postitons of power in many relgions

  ↳ The C OF E only allowed female bishops in 2014

  ↳ In hinduism only men can become brahmic preists

  → Karen armstrong sees womens exclusion as an example of women marginlisation

  → Woodhead agues that the exclusion of women from the catholic preisthood shows the deep unease of the chuches view on the emansipation of women
• Religion and patriarchy - Laws and customs

  • Women have fewer rights than men in most religion
  • Catholic churches have strict rules on abortations and contraception
  • Women have fewer rights regarding divorce and are subject to more rules about what is appropiate to dress while praying
  • Where cultral norms are influenced by religion women are more likley to treated unequally

  ↳ Islam women are stoned to death for adultary whereas men are only whipped
• Religion and Patriarchy - Places of worship

  • Some places of worship segregate men and women
  • Women second class status is related to female sexuality

  ↳ Muslim women are not allowed to touch the Quran, go into a mosque or pray during menstation or while pregnant as they are seen as impure

  → Holm 'Menstruation and childbirth are almost universally regarded as polluting.In many traditions women are forbidden to enter sacred places or touch sacred objects during menstral period
• Radical femnist - Simone De Beauvoir (Female oppression within religion)

  • Argues relgion acts for women as Marx argues it does for the oppressed classes
  • Oppressors (men) use religion to control the oppressed (women)
  • Relgion serves as a way of compensating for their second class status
  • Men use divine authority to support their dominace. The fear of God serves to keep women in a subordinate position
  • Relgion gives women the false belief that they will be compensated for their sufferings - helps maintain status quo which men and women are unequal
• Radical femnists - Godess Relgion and femnist spituality

  • Karen Armstrong argues that in early history women were at the center of spituality
  • In the middle East,Asia and Europe archelogists have uncovered numerous symbols of Great Mother Godess

  ↳ Mother Godess - pictures a naked pregnant women to represent mysteries of fertlilty of life

  • Few effigies of men
  • As society devolped religious beliefs developed there are many Gods and Godesses, The Great Mother still played a crutial part
  • The acceptance of monotheism (belief in one male god) saw the diserpearnce of The Great Mother Godess
• Radical femnist - Mary Daly: Godess relgion

  • Accepts religion is partiarchal but doesnt belive that relgion should be abolished but replaced with a femnism relgion - Godess relgion
  • She argued that existing religions are based on 'inadequate God' and women are suppressed in several ways

  ↳ Relgion proclaim women subordination is God will

  ↳ God is potrayed as a man a father. One sex symbolism alienated women and puts them in a inferior position

  • Daly argued for new femnist religion the sense of spituality need to come within women themselves which can lead to the overthrow of male Gods
• Radical femnist - Godess relgion

  • Woodhead describes Godess religion as seeking to honor the 'divine femnin' in their own lives and society
• Critisms of Mary Daly

  • Critics argue Daly generalised
  • Lacked evidence to support claims
• Evalualtion of Radical Femnists

  1. Critise argue that its too genrelised not all relgions are patriarchal - e,g Quakerism
  2. Radical femnist ignore progress has been made and aspects of patriarchal ideolgy has been changed
  3. Radical femnist haven't backed up their views with detailed research or the validity and represantiveness of their research is open to question
  4. Radical femnists sensitive to the ways in which women find space with or use pariarchal relgion to fit their own spituality