Gender Roles in Hinduism vs Christianity

750 Words3 Pages
When you take a look at the storied religions of Christianity and Hinduism, You will automatically see a ton of differences, as well as a lot of similarities. However, certain areas of each religion are not so cut-and-dry. The roles each gender play in their respective religions are similar upon first sight, yet when you delve deeper into both religions, you will start to see a lot of discrepancies. This comparison is rather intriguing, especially considering they are so far apart theologically, yet contain many of the same stances on gender roles. It is in my humble opinion that Christianity and Hinduism are ultimately not similar, and are actually considerably different from each other. Christianity emerged from patriarchal societies that placed men in positions of authority in marriage, society and government. Men were to be the sole breadwinners of their family, and were to start working as soon as they could. Men were to pray with their head uncovered, or he dishonors his “head”. Man is the image and glory of god. In reference to chapter 11, the book states that neither sex is independent, as man is born of a woman, yet woman came from man. . Women in Christianity played a monumental role. From the time of the early church, women were not ordained to the priesthood but as religious sisters and nuns, they came to play an important role in Christianity through convents and abbeys and have continued through history to be active - particularly in the establishment of schools, hospitals, nursing homes and monastic settlements. In some communities women were allowed to serve as priests and great power was attributed to the Virgin Mary. As stated in chapter 11, P. 9.14, Women were to pray with their head covered, or dishonor their “head”. Women were also allowed to be independent, and could move up and down classes as they pleased, due to the lack of caste system
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