Is Religion Oppressive To Women Research Paper

Some Feminists argue that religion is still oppressive due to fundamentalism. Religious fundamentalism is usually against the increased autonomy of women because it violates ancient religious teachings and arguable male dominance of women. USA anti abortionist’s pro-life groups opposed women’s right to choose beliefs and this has resulted in some extremists blowing up abortion clinics and murdering doctors involved in the abortions. Cohen and Kennedy say fundamentalist reforms are born out of fear of women’s liberation undermining religion and the foundations of society. This illustrates how women are still oppressed by religion because they’re choices are being limited.

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

Feminists see religion as an instrument of patriarchy which means that society is based around male domination; they believe that this is a set of beliefs and practices responsible for women’s subordination. However functionalists believe otherwise and argue that its function is not to oppress women but to keep society stable whilst Marxists believe that religion oppresses the working class not females.

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 recent years, America’s attention has been gripped by stories of women who have escaped from the Middle East. Each has a unique story, but they all have the same themes of oppression, abuse, and domination. Americans rushed onto the scene ready to “save” Middle Eastern women and many of the activists are now been highly praised for the influence they made in the region. Others, however, have come to question whether the Muslim women in the Middle East really needed the U.S. to rescue them from Islam. *Insert Thesis*

Religion has existed for as long as man has. Both men, and women believed in a

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).

As I thought about all the topics we have read and studied in this class there was one topic that I really did enjoy and changed the way I thought about the topic and gave me a whole new perspective on how I look at religion now. I chose the topic of feminism and Christianity and how the authority of the women gender role in religion has been a struggle for many years. I think Lynn Japinga did a very good job in writing about this topic in her book, “Feminism and Christianity: An Essential Guide”. Japinga includes in her book the use of the male dominated language in the Bible, the blame for the original sin, and the lack of women gender clerical role authority within the religion world.

I believe gender and religion is a very interesting topic because there are many ways these two topics intermingle and affect each other. There are many ways that one could go about analyzing the complex and ever-changing relationship between religion and gender. It is important to look at the higher spiritual being or beings that are worshiped, the religious leader such as a priest or rabbi, and also the members of a certain religion and asses how gender affects it.

Now I want you to realise that the head of every man is Christ, and

Christianity and Islam are two of the world’s largest and most recognized religions. They are both religions believing in one God and each has a holy book, the Qur’an and the Bible. Both books encourage belief in God and teach patience and honesty. They both also forbid lying and stealing and believe in some type of Heaven and Hell. So, if they have so much in common, why is there so much conflict between the two? This question is the exact reason why I chose to take World Religion. I thought it was important to learn and understand the beliefs of other religions so that I could better understand the issues affecting our society today. But that is easier said than done. It is hard to separate the actual religion from the outside

Some say that the role of women in Judaism has been misrepresented and misunderstood. Today when people think of women's role in Judaism, they think of them as being of very low importance. Yet, threw the Halakha (Jewish laws) we are able to see how significant the role of women is in Judaism. There are many Jewish feminist leaders in today's society. This is because throughout the years of education and study of Judaism, the women learned that everyone must be respected. Within Judaism the women are considered to be on a separate level. They are on the world for one reason, and the men for another. Yet, within the religion they are considered as equals.

Gender segregation is still common in the Middle East and both genders are expected to fulfill their designated roles within society. There is a lot of pressure for both genders to marry and to not do so is considered “social disaster”. Arranged marriages are not uncommon, especially among the more traditional families (Whitaker) and in this relationship, men are generally considered the “active” partners while their wives are the “passive” partners (Tolino 5). These ideas are prominent throughout society in the Middle East and create problems for individuals who do not conform to their assigned roles, specifically members of the LGBT community. LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, although all gender and “sexual minorities” are considered part of this community (Human Rights Watch 69). LGBT individuals face struggles all around the world, but their problems are more pronounced in the Middle East, where the concept of homosexuality is vastly different than in the West. People in the Middle East generally view homosexuality as a “Western invention” and there is no clear distinction between “sex” and “gender”. The classification of an individual as “gay” does not always relate to “a physical act with someone of the same gender”. A male could be considered “gay” simply for not conforming to gender roles or acting feminine (Simmons 1). In the Middle East, members of the LGBT community face extreme inequality, primarily in the form of homophobic laws with

Women's Status in Islam In Islam, women and men are equal in terms of their relationship with Allah. It can be clearly seen that Allah has created men and women differently, this is so that they may fulfil different purposes in life. It is not a question of the superiority of one gender over another, rather it is a matter of role differentiation. Islam teaches that men and women complement one another and are both equally important.