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Using material from this ppt and your books
Assess the view that the role of religion is to promote patriarchal ideology and
maintain the oppression of women
Arguments and evidence that
religion maintains the oppression
of women
Arguments and evidence against the
idea that religion maintains the
oppression of women
(+ weaknesses)
FEMINIST
THEORIES
OF RELIGION
Deakin (2010)
According to feminists there are many examples of patriarchy and where
religion has been used to control and oppress women…
•Within religious organisations
•Places of worship
•Sacred texts
•Religious laws and customs
•Regarding sexuality
1. Religious Organisations
• Mainly male dominated even though women participate more in religion
than men.
• Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests.
• Karen Armstrong – sees the exclusion of women from the priesthood as
evidence of their marginalisation.
2. Places of Worship
• Segregation and marginalisation of women in places of worship.
• Women seated behind screens while men occupy the central, more
sacred spaces.
• Women’s participation may be restricted – not allowed to preach or read
from sacred texts.
• Taboos surround menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth – they are seen
as polluting.
• In Islam, women menstruating are not allowed to touch the Qur’an.
• Holm (1994) – describes this as the devaluation of women in religion.
3. Sacred Texts
• Largely feature the doings of male gods, prophets – usually written and
interpreted by men.
• Stories often reflect anti-female stereotypes (ie, Eve/Delilah) and
reinforce perceptions of women’s character.
4. Religious laws and customs
• Women tend to have fewer rights than men, ie) in divorce – access to
divorce, how many times they can marry, dress codes etc
• Religion also has an influence on cultural norms that lead to unequal
treatment, ie) genital mutilation or punishments for adultery.
• Many religions legitimate and regulate women’s traditional domestic and
reproductive role, ie) Catholic Church bans abortion, artificial conception.
• Woodhead (2002) – the exclusion of women from priesthood is evidence
of the Catholic Church’s unease about the emancipation of women
generally.
Religion is patriarchal
Daly (1978)
•
Christianity is a ‘patriarchal myth’. It eliminates other ‘Goddess religions’.
Christianity is rooted in male ‘sado-rituals’ with its ‘torture cross’ symbol. It
embodies women hating!
Simone de Beauvoir (1953)
•
Religion is oppressive to women. Used by men to control women.
•
Religion compensates women for their second class status. They get a false
belief that they will be rewarded in heaven and gain equality there.
•
“religion gives her the guide, father, lover, divine guardian she longs for
nostalgically; it feeds her daydreams; it fills her empty hours. But, above all, it
confirms the social order, it justifies her resignation by giving hope of a better
future in a sexless heaven”
El Sadawi (1980)
•
Religion isn’t oppressive itself. It’s the male domination of religion that is the
problem. This is due to the rise of monotheistic religions which are male
dominated and where scriptures are interpreted/written by men ie) herbal
medicine and witchcraft case study.
Religion is not always patriarchal
Woodhead (2002)
•
There are forms of ‘religious feminism’ – where women use religion to gain
freedom and respect
a) Hijab/veil
•
it can be a symbol against oppression.
•
It is far from the ‘mobile prison’ (Burchill)
•
A means to escape confines of home and enter education/employment. This
allows women to enter ‘public sphere’ (escape home/liberation) without losing
cultural identity.
•
Watson (1994) – interviewed 3 women about what the veil meant to them.
Different views but generally positive..liberating/avoid lecherous stares.
Religion is not always patriarchal (ctd)
Woodhead (2002)
b) Respect for roles in the home
• being an evangelical/fundamentalist Christian can be empowering.
• They are linked to strong traditional gender roles but they also give women more
power and influence.
•
Men must respect (and care) for women. Women have power to influence men
and ensure that they ‘do their bit’ for them and their family.
•
Such women also get support from their churches.
Other points
• Gender-neutral language has been introduced in many hymns/prayers
• No longer have ‘obey’ in wedding service
• Women rabbis in Judaism since 1972
• Women played a significant role in sects, ie) Quakerism
• Sikhism has always shown respect to women. Gurus pleaded for the liberation of
women (Kaur Singh, 1994)
• Gross (1994) – NAMs are very female-friendly in their message and organisation
• Leila Badawi (1994) – Islam and benefits for women. Eg) maintaining maiden
name when married/veiling as being assertive (Leila Ahmed, 1992)
APPLICATION TASK – lets focus on a question
“it has been suggested that the role of religion is to
promote patriarchal ideology and maintain the
oppression of women”
To what extent do sociological theories and evidence
support this view. Illustrate with examples from
contemporary societies.
Feminism initially emerged from a Marxist framework, and
soon developed towards more radical theories concerning the
inequalities that exist in the treatment of women in society.
According to feminist sociologists there are many examples of
patriarchy within religion and how religious values and beliefs
have been used to control and oppress women, both
throughout history and still present within today’s
contemporary society. Feminists take a conflict approach to
sociology in which they argue institutions such as religion
produce divisions between different social groups, in this case
men and women, but other examples include Marxist thinkers
who believe there is a divide between the social classes. This is
in comparison to other sociological key thinkers including
Functionalists, who take a consensus perspective to society in
which they suggest institutions help bring social groups
together and unite people.
It has also been argued by feminists that religious laws and customs also
help to promote a patriarchal system. For example women tend to have
fewer rights than that of men, such as in access to divorce as well as in
dress codes, as Julie Birchall (2000) suggests by describing the veil, which
Muslim women have to wear, as ‘a mobile prison’. Another example of
how religious laws and customs can produce a patriarchal system is by the
way in which many religious organisations legitimate and regulate
women’s traditional domestic and reproductive role, such as in the case of
the Roman Catholic Church which bans abortion and artificial
contraception, this limiting the choices women can make concerning
their lifestyles. Women’s bodies and sexuality are also felt to be dangerous
by many religions. Due to the fact that women menstruate and give birth,
they are considered to have a greater capacity to ‘pollute’ religious rituals.
In addition, their presence may distract the men from their more
important roles involving worship. Bird (1999) points out that sexuality is
an important issue in many religions. Roman Catholic priests are
expected to be celibate, while some interpretations of Christianity and
Islam are opposed to homosexuality