Feminism - Religion as Oppressive Flashcards
1
Q
Patriarchy
A
- Radical and Marxist feminists argue that religion maintains patriarchy.
e. g. Hindu women obey fathers when unmarried, then their husbands and also their sons. They see this as ideal, the traditional ideal woman is subordinate and inferior to men.
e. g. in Islam, divorce laws favour men. A man can divorce his wife by saying it three times in front of witnesses. Women have to go to court to prove serious misconduct.
2
Q
Gender Paradox
A
- Women are the main consumers of religion but are marginalised by it.
e. g. Hinduism, women cannot go near family shrines when they are menstruating because they are seen as dirty and polluting.
e. g. Buddhist male monks are a higher status than female monks.
3
Q
Stained Glass Ceiling
A
- An invisible barrier to achieve leadership positions in religion.
- Women are unable to break through the glass ceiling.
EXAMPLES:
- Islam… women are generally not able to become imams
- Orthodox Judaism… women cannot become rabbis
- Roman Catholic Church… women cannot be priests.
4
Q
Sexual Apartheid
A
- Religion encourages the segregation of men and women.
e. g. in Orthodox Judaism women sit separately to the men in the balconies at the back or behind screens.
5
Q
Daly
A
- Focuses on the misogyny in the Roman Catholic Church.
- The story of Adam and Eve in the bible reinforces the social inferiority of women.
- God created Adam in his own likeness and then created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs.
- In the church a man’s mission is to preach whilst it is the woman’s mission to listen.
- This is applied to everyday life, where women are made to follow men’s requests.
6
Q
De Beauvoir
A
- Religion is oppressive of women.
- Religion is used to control women and then compensates women for their lower status.
- De Beauvoir points out that in many religions a man is a master of some kind of Divine Right and that women are compensated for their suffering on earth through the promise of equality in heaven.
