Women Role in Christianity and Islam

Professor of religious studies Karen Armstrong finds in the early Christian Church examples of hostility toward women and fear of their sexual power, which she contends led to the eventual exclusion of women from full participation in a male-dominated church.

Since the Christian religion was a large and prominent force in the everyday life in the average person in the 17th and 18th century, the Bible was a large influence in how the woman was seen in society as it says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church…” (Ephesians 5:22-23, 33). The Bible is that the woman was ruled by her husband, that she didn’t even have her own head, and cannot think for herself because it was expected by the very faith that she must submit to her husband. The Holy Book also says that the woman was created from the rib of the man, which it is known now as completely preposterous, so it implies that the woman is inferior to man because she was created from man, because heaven forbid that any evidence point towards that it is man that came from a woman.

More women joined the Christian Church than men because Christianity was more appealing to women than any other religion or paganism. Christian women enjoyed much higher status than the Greco-Roman women. They

In America, a Christian woman was one who embraced and promoted the virtues of true womanhood. Welter (1996) describes the four cardinal virtues a “true” woman should entail: piety, to be devoted to their religion acting as Eve working with God. Purity, to abstain from sexual activity and remain celibate until marriage. Female purity was a powerful thing that was used to keep men in control of their sexual needs and desires. Women who engaged in sexual activities prior to marriage were referred to as ʺfallen women”, unworthy of love, marriage, or motherhood. Submissiveness, to allow themselves to be dominated by their partner and actively responsive to their demands. “A really sensible woman feels her dependence. She does what she can, but she is conscious of her inferiority and therefore grateful for support” (Lavender, 1988). This implies

Women in this time had to be more religious than men. They were religious because being religious was easy for woman because it helped them stay in their domain which was their home. The woman can pray and speak of Christ without ever leaving their home or going to church. As well as teaching themselves about God's work, they were also entitled to teach those who lied in the house as well. They

Thousands of years ago, the Goddess was viewed as an autonomous entity worthy of respect from men and women alike. Because of societal changes caused by Eastern influence, a patriarchical system conquered all aspects of life including religion. Today, the loss of a strong female presence in Judeo-Christian beliefs has prompted believers to look to other sources that celebrate the role of women. Goddess religion and feminist spirituality have increasingly been embraced by men and women as an alternative to the patriarchy found in traditional biblical religion.

All throughout history, women have been perceived as the lesser, gentler, more emotional, and the inferior gender. This thinking, of course, has been a brainwashed ideology by men. During the Renaissance and Reformation throughout Europe, the lives of women were and subject to limitations and change for various different classes, locations, and religious basis. Catholicism was the core of every European during this period. The Pope had everyone under his control, and the doctrines were knitted tightly in their everyday lives.

•Christianity: Views of women differed greatly among Christian faith, ranging from traditionalist views "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord {Ephesians 5:22}," to a more modern view, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. {Galatians 3:28}." To summarize, males and females are equal spiritually, as they are in God's eyes. Socially, they are treated differently due to different genetic and biological factors. ​

How do you define women? The perspectives from the past are way different from what we think nowadays. Although there may have some religious and cultures degrade women, the social status of women is becoming higher and higher. Back to the past, the social status of women was very low. They could not even go to school or work outside. According to “Images of Women in Early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism”, Karen Christina Lang uses many Buddhist and Gnostic scriptures to examine how people see women in the past. Moreover, Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Gospel uses gospels to express the relationship between Jesus, the Mother and Father of Jesus and also the definition of God. These two articles have different sources and titles, but they

Christianity began to challenge these social normalities for women and allowed more freedom for them in its earliest days. In the early days of christianity, we begin to see a breakthrough for women, specifically in the roles of wives and widows. The view of women, along with their roles and expectations when it comes to religion, can be traced throughout different books in the Bible. In the past women were not encouraged to think or speak on their own; in fact, women were supposed to let their husbands handle everything political, or anything that involved a voice. But we see in First Corinthians 14: 35 that “If [Women] want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church”.

Their first changes in gender ideology came with the Christian missionaries. Before this arrival, women were able to take on leadership roles in their spirituality. In Christianity, there is a male dominated “authority, not just in religion but in all areas of life. ”(85) Man dominated the new and booming fur trade.

In Luke 8, he began mentioning that the twelve disciples were with Jesus traveling between cities, “as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities…” (Lk 8:02). This is yet again another example where a group of women is not only mentioned, but specified in such a way that deems them equal to their counter-parts. In Luke 10:38, Jesus told Martha, a woman upon visiting, that she should be listening to him instead of being distracted with her work. He also taught Mary several things, whom was the sister of Martha. During that time period women were not allowed to be educated and were confined in their homes. Luke portrays Jesus as a man who valued women and their faith to him. In a century where women were minimized, Luke didn’t fail to mention the women followers and what Jesus told them. ““Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed”” (Lk 23:28-30). Here Jesus understands the importance of bearing children and how in doing so women play a significant role in the ministry of Jesus. He warns the daughters of a day and age when failure to do these things will be praised by

Women are more on the caring and loving side, which is better for the needs of children. God has given women ability to communicate better on the level of a child. Teaching is position within the church that a woman is qualified to fulfill.

Gender roles, and the mere existence of a gender binary, has been a recent topic of conversation for many churches, theologians, and individual believers. As the cultural pressure to remove gender-specific limitations builds, many of those aforementioned have turned to scripture for answers. Seldom are women’s roles in the Old Testament characterized by decision making or personal merits. Rather, a woman’s capacity to produce an heir for their husband complements his dominance and responsible faithfulness and allows God’s plan to be fulfilled through their combined efforts. In the New Testament, through the transformative power of Christ, prominent women became less of an anomaly, but were still held to a different set of standards and expectations than men and were usually still praised according to their actions and their faith. The Pauline epistles, written in the context in which the Church still exists today: the age to come, provide a basis for today’s understanding of women’s roles in marriage and in church leadership. Although there are many instances of women fulfilling God’s plans and proving their worth among the community of Christians, the biblically normative role of women is to avoid authoritative church leadership positions and remain submissive in situations of teaching and interpreting the Word.

Until recently, women were not allowed to preach or even speak in the Christian Church, but in modern times women are beginning to play a more significant. While sects of Christianity still hold the traditional teachings about women, others have given them equal status within the church, an increasingly accepted interpretation.