Women denied status in religion

Question 1

Women have a secondary position in religion and this is a reflection of their secondary position in wider society

Answer 1

While women are more-likely than men to be involved in religious organisations, men tend to dominate the most significant positions in any religious organisation.

Feuerbach has argued that religion represents the values of society and, since men, as a social group, tend to be more socially-powerful than women in all societies, they tend to dominate in the religious sphere just as they dominate in the secular sphere. This domination reflects the patriarchal nature of society.

Question 2

Men have the positions of leadership and authority in religion

Answer 2

There is a very marked inequality between males and females in terms of positions of power and authority within religious organisations. Although some sects have allowed women to “preach and teach”, the majority of the world’s major religions have tended to relegate women to relatively minor roles ,considered in terms of their power, authority and influence, in their organisation which, once again, tends to mirror women’s experience in the social world generally.

Question 3

Holm’s study shows women’s secondary status in religion

Answer 3

Holm studied how women are subordinate and devalued in different religions:

In Buddhism, both men and women can have a religious role as monks and nuns, but all monks are in senior positions.
In Orthodox Judaism only men can take a full part in ceremonies.
The Islamic faith places women in a secondary position to that of men; women are not allowed to enter mosques for worship, and men have made all the legal rulings.

Question 4

A03

Answer 4

The decision, in 1992 (subsequently put into practice in 1994) by the Church of England to ordain women as priests is a significant development to note. This decision was not taken lightly and led to a great deal of conflict within the Church. A threatened schism (the threat of setting-up an alternative organisation by those opposed to the ordination of women) has not developed, but there have been instances whereby members of the Church of England have left and been accepted into Roman Catholicism. (Although it took another 20 years for the Church of England to vote for the ordination of women bishops in 2014)

Within New Age Cults, women tend to be afforded a much higher status than men. New Age gives women greater freedom and independence over their own actions and women often achieve positions of power and leadership In New Age Movements.