Classical civilization and systems borrowed from religious and cultural ideas as a way of legitimating gender and class inequality. During the classical ear of civilization, most of the cultural beliefs were inherent reflections of the religious beliefs enshrined in the doctrines of either Christianity or Islam (Strayer, 2012).
For instance, Christianity formed a basis of developing inherent beliefs during the antiquity, especially the period preceding the collapse of the Roman Empire. Christian beliefs always portrayed women as lesser mortals than men. This followed the infamous belief on mandatory subordination for women, especially after marriage. Christianity demands that women should respect, and remain subordinate to their husbands .
In fact, the Christina doctrine relates to the male as being a representative of God in households. By virtue of leading the family, then men act representatives of God. Therefore, classical civilization systems that borrowed from Christianity would restrict the roles of women. As such, gender inequality became justified through the Christian doctrines.
Similarly, the Islamic religion disempowers women by creating specific roles for them. Islam considers women as mere tools for propagation of life with the ability to bring forth a child being attributed to the man. Women were to swathe their heads as a means of subordination to the males. This brought about inferiority and superiority complex among women and men, with marginalization of women. Islamic regions, especially during the antiquity, restricted the roles of women to cooking and procreation. Men would assume leadership positions. The cultural beliefs became a mirror of the Islamic doctrines. Therefore, any person deviating from the be...
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...ss and gender inequality based on rationalism. For instance, Aristotle developed the infamous ideal that some human beings were slaves by default (Strayer, 2012). Therefore, it was in their best interest for them to be enslaved. This belief coupled with the ideal that women were a representation of infertile men led to inequalities in gender and class.
In conclusion, the classical civilization borrowed significantly from religion in developing cultural practices. As such, most Islamic and Christian regions often developed class and gender inequalities. In areas where religion had minimal influence, then culture was defined by philosophical ideals.
The Bible requires that women must remain subordinate to the man who is the head of the family.
Classical civilization was the period centered on the Mediterranean Sea, relevant to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
During the era known as the time of the classical civilizations, there were numerous noticeable changes occurring in many civilizations and city-states around the world. In India, China, and Persia in particular, one could see the influence of religion and philosophy on the political and social structure of the time.
I feel that this is wildly inappropriate behavior for modern times. However, throughout the history of Western Civilization, it has been largely a Patriarchal society. However, this is not exclusive to Christianity. It is for this reason that I do not see the historical situations of the marginalization of Women to be out of the ordinary. This is not to say that I agree with it, far from it, just that from a historical standpoint it seems to be normal. Despite the patriarchal society from the biblical days, God is taught as being just as much a Mother as God is a Father (102). The willful ignorance of religious scholars of the time just shows that they were making a conscious effort of trying to keep women from retaining any power that they had. This relegation of religious roles in an effort to keep Men in power is a poor example of how
Around the time of 500 B.C.E, cultural traditions began to spread widely. From Eurasia, to China, to the Middle East, and Greece. These religions-including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism-extremely shaped the values and outlooks of their ancestors whom resided there once before. Not only that, but the remarkable way in which they rose, simultaneously, also impacted the surrounding villages. Such cultural traditions also contain similar and contrasting qualities. They share those attributes in the way that they are all monistic, viewing beings as equals in value, adopting similar ideals from one another, and possessing some form of reincarnation. Despite the similarities, they differed in the way that they spread, the infrastructure of those religions, and the use of the caste system (whether they did or not). Furthermore, religions of Hinduism and Buddhism influenced the plurality of Southern Asia, while Daoism became an important fragment in Classical Chinese culture, not reaching much further than that.
Throughout most of early European history, women were viewed as inferior to men. Roman law described women as children, forever inferior to men. Christian theology continued to perpetuate these views over the centuries. In the 4th century St Jerome of the
...m played a role in ending practices such as human sacrifice, slavery, infanticide and adultery. Christianity in general affected the status of women by condemning infanticide, divorce, incest, polygamy, birth control, abortion and marital infidelity. While official Church teaching considers women and men to be equal and different, some modern activists of ordination of women and other feminists argue that the teachings by St. Paul, the Fathers of the Church and Scholastic theologians advanced the impression of a pleasingly ordained female subordination. Nevertheless, women have played prominent roles in Western history through the Catholic Church, particularly in education and healthcare, but also as influential theologians and mystics. The important status of the Virgin Mary gave views of maternal virtue and compassion a place at the heart of Western civilization.
The classical period was a time of major economic growth, and for the first time we saw a miniature type of globalization, at least in the eastern hemisphere. The expanding governments built farther and stronger roads to help develop long-distance trade. The merchants carrying the goods carried with them their religious background. They found converts of all types in all places, and spiritual thought became one of the most important themes of the time. These Religions would remain in place as powerful institutions, and the economic strategies developed would only be expanded on until this very present day.
Women have not been treated equally in history. They were not given the same rights and opportunities as men. However, religion was a way the women could get an education and power in their spiritual lives. What was a choice women had to get educated or involved? Church, or convents being an only option for most women, it was the only possibility for them to have an education and control over their minds. I believe that there are a lot of authors that would agree that women turned to the church or religion frequently to escape home lives. In a lot of readings there are parents that give away their children to the churches early on because the parents think it is a better option for their child’s lives. Also if the parents did not have enough
I have always found the role of women in religion to be a fascinating and diverse subject, varying from community to community. Sometimes, the role of a woman in society is so closely linked to her religious role, that the two are indistinguishable. For example, why is it that some women are expected to upkeep the home and children without question? How are such gender roles assigned? Are these gender roles created by religion and upheld by culture or created by culture and upheld by religion? Where do such social expectations stem from? What does the daily life of a woman in religious groups that hold such expectations look like? And given these questions, is it possible for such roles to evolve? Has social change within gender roles occurred in the context of religion? In order to find the answers to these questions and questions like them, one must seek further insight of religion itself and the social context within which it exists.
Throughout almost every time period in history, and in nearly all world cultures women have always been thought of as being lower than men. Most societies are patriarchal and leave men as the powerful decision makers. This idea has only recently started to change more towards equality among the sexes in the last one hundred years or so. However, the religions of Islam, Western Christianity and Byzantine Christianity, although they all showed some semblance of wanting to help out women, all were really just reinforcing and justifying the patriarchal conditions of their cultures. They also went to further probe that different religions do make a difference for women.
...f women and responsibilities. Therefore, women should not be leaders in church. Historians, doctors, and other religious leader, may contribute their research, perspectives, beliefs, and thoughts, but that is nothing more than their opinions. The Bible, on the other hand, is the book of life and is the most reliable source of them all. It is the way God is speaking to his people directly. Many other religions like Judaism and Catholic shares the same characteristics mentioned here. The best way to view this issue is to not see it equally a political/economic standpoint but church structural. One thing for sure women cannot be priests, pastors, and rabbis. One can choose to listen and be doer of his word or one can procrastinate all his or her life and deny the truth. No matter how one might consider a woman’s role in the church, there is only one truth and one God.
The Torah, in general, does not exactly alleviate the situation of women. Many Jewish feminists argue that a big chunk of the misogynistic views of men stem from the exclusivity of God as male. Judith Plaskow says, “There is the fact that we address God as he. And it is not just that we use the masculine pronoun in the absence of neuter ones – we image him in male terms. Thus he is King, Lord, Shepard, Father, etc.” She goes on to mention the incredulous arguments against the ordainment of women. Arguments that stated things like because a Rabbi or Minister is in effect a Godly figure, and since God is used in exclusively male terms, it is not fitting that a woman should take a role in the clergy.
Elizabeth A. Johnson draws attention to how, despite being considered equal in Genesis, women had their worth ignored “Consistently subordinated and demeaned in the theories, symbols, rituals,
The role of women in religious scripture dictates an inferior position in society. Beginning with the creation of Adam and then Eve, as his helpmate. Her purpose was that Adam would not be lonely. This origin provides the ground work for inequality of genders on the basis of religious scripture. The roles prescribed determined that women should be in a subordinate position to man. The female role and relationship with God is defined by the various books of the Old and New Testaments, the reported actions of Jesus Christ, and finally the Qur'an.
Interpretations of the Bible are influential to our society because in the United States, approximately eighty-three percent of the population is Christian, according to a poll performed by ABC News. Perhaps the Bible is written with women subservient to men because the very story of creation is written as such. Genesis serves as the foundation of not only our universe, but also the religious text. In the biblical story of creation, Adam came first, then came the animals, and then last of all came Eve, putting the origin of women last. Then, it is Eve who is vulnerable enough for evil to deceive her into taking the apple and she who persuades Adam to follow her example. This sets up a basis that women are inherently weak and sinful for the rest of the faith to be built upon. (Stanton)
In an age where bustles, petticoats, and veils stifled women physically, it is not surprising that society imposed standards that stifled them mentally. Women were molded into an ideal form from birth, with direction as to how they should speak, act, dress, and marry. They lacked education, employable skills, and rights in any form. Every aspect of their life was controlled by a male authority figure starting with their father at birth and persisting through early womanhood into marriage where it was the husband who possessed control. Men believed that it was the law of the bible for one of the two parties to be superior and the other inferior. Women were ruled over as children and were to be seen, but not heard.