Christians say that God is not to be described in terms of sex, yet they use a variety of masculine terms to describe God (Pagels). The Mother Mary is recognized for being the mother of Jesus Christ. However she is not believed to be divine in her own right (Pagels). It is almost as if Mary was important because she carried the son of God, but less important than God or Jesus due to the fact that she is still a women. Orthodox Christians of the time viewed women in a primitive manner.
This example can be seen by feminists as maintaining patriarchy in society so that women have less or different rights to men, meaning that men have more freedom to do what they want, while women are observed much more closely. Another example from De Beauvior (1953) argues that most scriptures in most religions suggest that 'man is master by divine right', if man is master by diving right, then what does this mean for women who practise religion is society? According to the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian Church, women are excluded from priesthood. In 1992 the Church of England decided that women were able to become priests, although this has brought up bitter controversy, and only came about after very long and difficult campaigns. In Buddhism for example, female nuns are given less status than male monks, and even in Sikhism, where religious offices are in theory equal for men and women, only a small minority of women take on important positions.
“Mary was the closest Catholic claimant to the English throne and Elizabeth knew some of her subjects were not above hoping she could be deposed and Mary made queen of both Scotland and England” (English history, 6). Because she was Catholic, Mary, had many Catholic followers, who wanted her on the throne of England instead of Elizabeth I. “In fact, Mary had been a tolerant leader in Scottish religious matters. But such was the extreme religious upheaval of the time, that tolerance was a sign of weakness” (Scotlass, 1). Therefore, the pressure from her followers led Mary to make decision to plot against Elizabeth, during her capture and imprisonment against her will.
Critically examine the relationship between gender, religious participation and religious organisations. (40) Many feminist sociologists argue that religious institutions and beliefs help legitimise gender inequality. Like Marxists, feminists argue that religion is a source of domination and oppression. However, unlike Marxism, they see religion as a product of patriarchy, rather than capitalism. They argue that religion is patriarchal in that women are exploited by men and seen as subordinate.
Abortion is interpreted in many different ways by various people. Every religion has their own views on the concept of abortion. For example, in Christianity abortion is considered a bad omen, and is not accepted by God. Many people believe that all Christians are pro-life, which isn’t true. There are among several Christians, as well as churches out there, who are pro-choice.
Report on "Why Women Need the Goddess" "Why Women Need the Goddess" is an article written by Carol P. Christ. It explores the recent worship for female divinity among groups of women in different parts of the world. It discusses the effects of the Goddess worship and the implication of Goddess symbol. The author believes that there are both political and psychological influences of Goddess worship. Religious symbols and rituals play a significant role in human life.
She went on later in the same address, “By the f-word, feminism, I mean a theoretical perspective and world-wide radical democratic movement that is inspired by the conviction that wo/men are people, fully entitled and responsible citizens in society and religion” (Fiorenza “Catholic New Times”). In the 1970’s, she was able to move to the United States and accepted a full-time position at the graduate level, which was uncommon among married women at the time but was granted upon her request. She battled prejudices and stereotypes that women were not capable of disciplined and logical intellectual work. She even found that many women accused her of male scholarship because of the logical-linear style in which she wrote the book In Memory of Her, although she only did so to prove women are capable of thinking and writing in such terms as our male
Despite the previous public activity of Christian women, the majority of Christian churches in the second century went with the majority of the middle class in opposing the move toward equality, which found its support primarily in the rich or bohemian circles (Pagels, 63). Gnostic Christians correlate their description of God in both masculine and feminine terms with a complementary description of human nature. Most often they refer to the creation account of Genesis, which suggests an equal or androgynous human creation. Gnostic Christians often take the principle of equality between men and women into the social and political structures of their communities. The orthodox
Many Christian women are not considering these virtues so important thus, there are hullabaloos, commotions, and separations. Gbadero opined that: “twenty first century Christian family structure has faced the challenges of materialism; women who are working in various offices apart from home apparently increase in secularization”1.The contemporary Christian family is passing through trend of secularization where governmental orders in the family are retched.The family as an entity was facing serious challenges from the seventeenth to the twentieth centurybecause the role of its individual members changed dramatically. Primarily in response to the Industrial Revolution, the family experienced fragmentation of time and space2 This paper evaluates the virtuous woman in the book of proverbs 31 as the basic groundwork for Christian family. Therefore, the pries of this paper is to unfold some ethical virtues in the life of the virtuous woman in the book of proverbs 31 as a biblical example to be exhibits in the contemporary Christian family. The work geared toward enriching marriage and family life.
They rarely addressed themselves to national issues. 4. In the era of personal monarchy, the characteristics of the individual king or queen were bound to have an impact on the workings of politics. As a woman in a mans world, Elizabeth learned to use her gender to good effect. She countered the problems of her questionable legitimacy, England’s weak international standing and the need to re-establish a Protestant church in a Catholic land.