Feminism on beliefs in society Flashcards
What is the feminists view on religion?
Radical feminists believe that society is patriarchal and that religion exists for the benefit of men
Liberal feminists believe that society is becoming more gender equal and that changes in religion reflects this.
How does religion reinforce patriarchy according to radical feminists?
Patriarchy is reinforced through religious scripture.
How does scripture reinforce patriarchy?
By marginalising women and portraying them in negative/stereotypical ways.
What are the main points of Mary Daley’s arguments?
Daley argued that
- catholic churches eliminated religions that celebrated ‘the feminine’
- disregarded the role of women in christianity and viewed them as submissive/housewives.
How does Jesus and his disciples support Daley’s arguments?
All of Jesus’ disciples were men, reflects a patriarchal society and shows women are less important as they were not selected by Jesus.
How does Adam and Eve support Daley’s argument?
Eve was made from Adam - reflects that a woman is nothing without a man.
Eve gave in to temptation- shows that women are weak.
Also reflects that it is important for a woman to be led by a man, reflects importance of patriarchy.
What are the evaluations of the radical feminist view that scripture reinforces patriarchy?
-Neglects secularisation, patriarchal scriptures no longer have a major impact on women in society.
What is another radical feminist view of how religion reinforces patriarchy?
Religious organisations reinforce patriarchy through institutional sexism of the stained glass ceiling.
What is the stained glass ceiling in religious organisations?
This is the invisible barrier of discrimination that prevents women from achieving senior roles in religious organisations.
What evidence is there to support the ‘stained glass ceiling?’
In Buddhism, female monks are given lower status than male monks.
What are the evaluations of the radical feminist view that religion reinforces a ‘stained glass ceiling?’
- Liberal feminists , argue that the stained glass ceiling neglects the rise in feminism of gender equality in religious organisations
e. g. Sarah Mullally- female bishop and 5 others
What is the Marxist feminist view on religion?
Simone de Beauvoir argues that men use religion to control and oppress women, similar to how it oppresses the proletariats in Marxist theory.
How does religion control and oppress women according to Beauvoir?
Religion treats women as the second sex through:
- Religious laws and customs, giving women fewer rights
- Religion portrays women’s bodies as taboo or polluting.
What examples are there that reflect religious laws giving women fewer rights or being a taboo?
Menstruation- a punishment for women due to the mistake Eve made all women were punished.
-in islam women cannot sleep in the bed with their husband when menstruating.
Childbirth- women experience pain due to Eve
How does religion perform ideological functions according to Beauvoir?
Religion manipulates women to accept their inferior position by :
- emphasising women’s traditional role as wives or mothers, by presenting this role as divine/holy
- decieves women into thinking their exploitation is ‘Gods’ plan’
