How Does Power Get Distributed Within Religion?

Throughout my selected text, Johnson focuses on the church along with the subsequent androcentric image of God, and how it impacts woman around the world. She explains that throughout history, with the help of the church’s patriarchal nature and society’s values as a whole, woman have been seen “as a ‘defective male’…that must live in obedience to her [male counterpart,]…[ and who are often also referred to as the] ‘second sex’” (Johnson 92). This

Throughout most of documented history women of all cultures and civilizations have lived under patriarchal circumstances. In almost every religion and civilization women's status was not equal to that of a man's. Women in most cultures are looked at as subservient, obedient creatures that were put on this world for very few reasons, mainly to bear children and do what their husbands require of them. In fact, religions are a big part of the reason of this oppression due to the religion's reinforcement and justification of patriarchal conditions. In this week's selected readings from different aspects of Islamic, Byzantine Christian, and Western Christian cultures, it is very apparent as to how these three religions did reinforce and

Two forces which gathered strength in the last half of the twentieth century now dominate the world religions at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The first is the globalization of religions and their resulting encounter with each other, and the second is the need to redefine attitudes toward gender as women have stepped forward to insist that their full humanity be acknowledged in the religious as well as the social realm.

In his book, A Critical Introduction to the Study of World Religions, Craig Martin aims to introduce undergraduate students to a socio-functional approach in exposing the methods in which religion disrupts class equality. He succeeds by using intelligible explanations, arguments, and examples to skeptically understand how man is shaped by religion.

In all areas of life and society the treatment and well being of women have always been challenged. In many religions the role and status of its women are usually overwhelmed by the actions and roles of its men this inequality of religions between male and female allows these feelings and ideology of which sex is superior or inferior to bleed into a society’s culture thus shaping their treatment of their men and women.

Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, forsake them in beds apart, and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. (64)

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. - Matthew 6:9. The idea of “God the father” is one that is rooted deep in our society predominantly the ways in which it rejoices men. The almighty all and powerful God is outlined as a male figure in the bible, constructed using almost entirely masculine language. This simple fact has provoked men to assume the position of authority, to oversee over his family. This simple fact leads to an imbalance of power between men and women subconsciously oppressing women within our society. In Mary Daly’s “After the Death of God the Father,” Mary explains how the Judeo-Christian culture has served to bring structure to a sexually imbalanced man driven culture." This male-controlled society has its establishments in the most discernible parts of Christianity.” Mary’s work is a continuation of what is known as “The women's liberation movement” furthering the conversation of societies hold on a woman and bringing change. In this critical evaluation of Mary Daly's work, I will discuss the thesis and argument of the reading, along with an analysis of its assumptions and implications.

To start with, androcentric was born when women started demanding more rights for power because of the fact that they did not have many rights. It is one of the many different types of biases along with ethnocentrism, racism, biases from methodology, heterosexism, ageism and classicism. An androcentric man treats women in a very inferior way. Men are considered to be more confident than women, but women show less pride when compared to men (Tavris, 1991). Even psychologist can be very androcentric. One example is Lawrence Kohlberg whose research is essential when it comes to the

A wife is a woman joined in a marriage to a man, a woman considered in relation to her husband. The first duty of a woman is to her husband, is to submit to her husband, help him in and out of the house. This should be one of the first things a woman should do to have her husband around the house, Proverbs 31-13:4, gathering wool and flax, she makes it service with her hands. She is like a ship training from a distant, so she processes her livelihood. Ephesian 5:22 – 28 – 31, wives submit yourselves unto your husband as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives, be to their own husbands in

Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13).

When She exclaims this she shows that men are rulers over their wives, who might as well be slaves. In the Roman culture, Women still have to serve their husbands, except she doesn’t contain the role of a slave. However in the Chinese culture the wife is almost a slave to her husband. These passages show that the duty of marriage is to be a servant to your

When talking about religion and gender, sociologists are interested in how the roles of both men and women differ from one another across many different religions. As with many aspects of the world, women generally are at a disadvantage, especially in the religious realm. Sex segregation plays a role in religion and gender. Women and men often hold positions of very different amounts of power.

Elizabeth Johnston writing on feminist Christology looks at the oppression that women can seen in a world and religion that can be perceived as male dominant. Legitimizing patriarchy means that all power is put into the hands of dominant men and that women are only perceived by the men they affiliated with. Along with that Johnson uses the term androcentrism is a word used when saying that men are the norm in society and that women are considered secondary to men. Both legitimizing patriarchy and androcentrism, are not only seen in society but it is also seen through the church t. One way that this is seen in the church is how that Jesus maleness portrays that the proper way to represent God is a male appearance. Where as God is a spirit and

The Bible is controversial on the matter of gender equality. There are numerous contradictions about the status of women in Christian society. Historically, the most prominent interpretation has been rather negative toward women. The Christian Church, with principally male authority, emphasizes the idea that women are inferior to man. They focus on Eve’s sin leading to a punishment that “her husband will have authority over her.” (Drury, 34)

He stipulates that man must love give himself to his wife, as Jesus gave Himself to the Church.