feminist theories of religion

Question 1

evidence of patriarchy:

religious organisations

Answer 1

mainly male dominated, despite the fact that women often participate more than men in these organisations

orthodox judaism and catholicism forbid women to become priests

armstrong - sees exclusion from the priesthood as evidence of women’s marginalisation

woodhead - the exclusion of women is evidence of the church’s deep unease about the emancipation of women generally

Question 2

evidence of patriarchy:

places of worship

Answer 2

often segregate the sexes and marginalise women - seating them behind screens while men occupy the more central spaces

women’s participation may be restricted - not allowed to preach or read from sacred texts

in islam, menstruating are not alloed to touch the qur’an

Question 3

evidence of patriarchy:

sacred texts

Answer 3

largely feature the doings of male gods and prophets, and are usually written/ interpreted by men

stories often reflect anti female stereotypes such as eve, who caused humanity’s fall from grace

Question 4

evidence of patriarchy:

religious laws and customs

Answer 4

may give women fewer rights than men, such as access to divorce, how many spouses they may marry, decision making and dress codes

religious influence of cultural norms may lead to unequal treatment such as genital mutilation or punishment for sexual transgressions

Question 5

evaluation of patriarchy

Answer 5

feminists argue that women have not always been subordinate to men

armstrong - early religions often placed women in the centre - early mother goddesses, fertility cults, and female priesthood were found throughout the middle east until about 6000 years ago

while religion may be used to oppress women, el saadawi argues that it is not the main cause of their subordination. instead , it is the result of patriarchal forms of society coming into existence in the last few thousand years, but once in existence, patriarchy began to influence and reshape religion

Question 6

religious forms of feminism

Answer 6

woodhead - criticises feminist explanations that simply equate religion with patriarchy and the oppression of women. there are ‘religious forms of feminism’ - ways in which women use religion to gain greater freedom and respect

while western feminists tend to see the hijab worn by many muslim women as a symbol of oppression, to the wearer it may be a means of liberation

gilliat ray - some young british muslim women choose to wear the hijab in order to gain parental approval to enter further education and employment

brusco - found that in colombia, belonging to a pentecostal group can be empowering for some women and enables them to use religion to increase their power. for example, a strongly held belief amongst pentecostals is that men should respect women, which gives women power to influence men’s behaviour by insisting they practice what they preach

Question 7

piety movements

Answer 7

rinaldo - sees this pattern as typical of piety movements - conservative movements that support traditional teachings about women’s roles, modest dress, prayer and bible study

even within conservative religions, women may find ways to further their own interests, however, rinaldo notes that it is middle class women who are more likely to join piety movements, likely to have other resources such as education and income

Question 8

liberal protestant organisations

Answer 8

quakers and unitarians are often committed to gender equality and women play leading roles

1/3 of unitarian ministers are female

1/3 of the church of england ‘s priests are female