The concept of religion in terms of women and their involvement is a double edged sword. Nearly every religion seems to be naturally oppressive towards woman; Catholicism, Islam, and Buddhism all show signs of valuing men as being more important than women. From the lack of powerful female leaders, to the oppressive and problematic religious texts, there doesn’t seem to be any room for woman in religion. On the other hand, religion can act as an outlet for many woman and has been an escape for people for as long as humans have been around. Religion offers women a positive social environment, an escape, and a source of female empowerment, but at the same time it 's naturally oppressive to women and encourages a male dominated world. There’s …show more content…
Syncletica broke all societal norms when she left everything (her family, inheritance, social status, etc.) behind to wander out into the wilderness in the name of God. Most women of her time would’ve been terrified to do this. For Syncletica to dedicate her life to God and spread his teachings in a time where that was unheard of for a woman to do is incredible. Joan of Arc’s story is fairly similar. Joan went against societal norms of her time and led the French army to victory. This would’ve been such a huge accomplishment for any man but for it to have been a woman is even more incredible. These religious figures allow for women, who may feel trapped by societal and gender norms, to gain confidence and achieve what they want to …show more content…
From the very beginning of the Christian Bible there are some problematic writings. The two stories of creation, the Elohist and the Yahwist. The former states that God created man and woman at the same time and in his own image. The latter suggests that God created woman from man’s rib. This Yahwist creation story forces women into a role subordinate of man. Elizabeth Cady Stanton discussed this in her book The Woman’s Bible. She also says that “[t]he bible cannot be accepted or rejected as a whole, its teachings are varied and its lessons differ widely from each other” which explains why it’s virtually impossible to get people to disregard the misogynistic second story (Stanton 13). People take the bible so literally and often seem blind to contradictions in the stories which can be very dangerous such as in this
B. Joan of Arc women, but have you ever read about a female general who led her troops against the enem and won? There are not many of them, and in medieval Europe there was only one loan of Arc, who was she? And how did it happen that a young girl who never learned to read and write became a general? At that time there were many wars between England and France to decide who should rule France. In i428 the English had almost won and there seemed to be no hope for the French. Then something strange happened. A 17-year-old girl came to the French King Charles VII and told him that she had been sent by God to drive the English out of France and to see him crowned. The girl was loan of Arc Joan of Arc is one of the most romantic figures
The stories about women in the bible illustrate the importance of their role and contribution to society. Women were slaves, concubines, and child bearers; they were also wives, matriarchs, and prophets. Although, some women had less important titles than others each served a purpose. Even if the Bible does not explain God’s relationship with women as with Moses and other prophets, it illustrates the love and dedication women had for Him. The scriptures describe brave, nurturing, and God fearing women whose decisions impacted the existence of the Israelites.
The issue of religion in women's horror is much like the issue of class. In most major organized religions there is a definite patriarchal structure of male dominance. The Father, the Son, the Pope, bishops and priests are all part of this structure that mostly lack woman influences. The religious structure reflects the male dominated society as a whole. As one would expect, women are frightful and perhaps horrified at this exclusionary system and in women's horror the idea of a woman Christ figure has been brought forth. Perhaps women are in touch with the idea of the Christ-like figure, one that is nurturing and motherly and by using a woman with Christ-like attributes, the structure of religion is commented on and destructured. Men's horror, however, works in the opposite direction by struggling to maintain the structure as it stands. While women battle to overthrow the ideas of a patriarchal religion, men battle to keep this disturbance in check and find comfort in the reassurance from male horror in the reassertion of male dominance.
Through all the hardships and blood, Joan of Arc was a fierce warrior and led the French to complete victory. Starting out in a maiden village, and more of a shock for being a woman, Joan completely transform herself and France. Advancing in a year and a month, crowned a reluctant king, rallied broken people, reversed the course of a great war, and shoved history into a new path (Richey 1); Joan made a name for herself. No one can ever suppress what she achieved at such a young age.
Joan of Arc lived for a very short time, but was involved in so much of the middle ages of Europe. She motivated the French army, when at their lowest to aggressively attack the English with spiritual words and actions. She was captured and tried for a false crime by a corrupt jurisdiction and put to death. Following she would be burned alive and forever remembered as a Patron Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. She is and has been an inspiration to both men and women for almost 600 years and stories will be told about her for another 600 more.
It is interesting to me that a girl of just sixteen could have such an enormous impact. Her patriotism to her country and her unbelievable deep faith is something to be admired. I feel Joan of Arc was a true Saint sent by God to save France from England. God used a child to do his will because of her pure heart. Her victories stand out more to me because of her age and she was a woman. These two elements combined would have made it impossible for France to listen to her, but by God’s will she was able to accomplish much for her country.
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.
In scripture it is seen that God’s intention was for equality “…And the man said: This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh! She is to be called Woman.” (Gen.2:23) Woman and Man was given a body, mind and soul. Each had a personality and capable of exercising dominion. (Gen 1: 28-29) (Genderstanding Jesus)
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.
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 show 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 Christianity is a religion which promotes for the love and care of all people, no matter their status. The interpretation of God from these times clash severely with my notions of what is now considered to be an all-loving entity. Women of these times were obviously not equal to their male counterparts. In modern days however, women are thought of as equals in society. The problem is that they are still not being treated as equals in a religious aspect as well as many other aspects.
( Legends): Based on history (Myths): Based on religions, and (Fairy Tales): Fiction/ false/unreal Each of them have been passed down through the years and have had changes made to them to make them more interesting.
Today, women share the same equal rights and opportunities as men; nevertheless, that has not invariably been the case. Before the Jazz Age era, gender discrimination between men and women in society was considerably popular. Women were seen as inferior to men. Their jobs were to care for the home, children, and other domesticated duties while men were able to work, get an education, and become doctors or lawyers. Many women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth, Zora Hurston, to mention a few, seen the unfairness in women's rights and fought for equal rights for women through different movements, efforts, protests, and even marches to abolish women’s rights. As a consequence, women now pursue not only higher education and higher paid jobs/ businesses, but their rights. One of the world’s most controversial issues among churches of today is the role of a woman. Many people are confused about the duty of a woman and how she is supposed to serve God because of history. History taught us to never deny someone of gender, race, or even diversity since he or she has human rights. However, this issue should not be viewed as men versus women because this is not a political issue; instead, it should be viewed as the structural of a church. Women should not be priests, pastors, or even rabbis for God condone women for being priests, pastors, and rabbis as well as proscribed.
The depreciation of women and their overall inferior position in society can be attributed to the androcentric interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, especially the story of Adam and Eve. Throughout history, the story of Adam and Eve has been used by men to point out the inherent evil in women by pinning the eventual expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven on the neck of Eve. Eve has long been blamed for the expulsion from Heaven and in effect, women, even up until today, are portrayed as the “gateway to sin.”
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)
There are many examples of woman’s negative influence in the Old Testament. In Genesis 19:30-36, Lot's two daughters made their father drunk with wine on two successive nights. Each daughter committed incest with her father, and became pregnant.8 This is illogical, if Lot was so drunk he probably could not have performed physically and it occurred over two separate nights. He could have been unwitting the first night but not the second. Again in Judges 16, Delilah seduced Sampson in order to find out the secret of his great strength. This ultimately led to Samson's death.8 1 Kings 11 describes how Solomon's many foreign wives and concubines convinced him to worship other gods and build Pagan temples. This led to his downfall.8 The moral to these stories seem to be that women are responsible for the mistakes and men are easily corruptible by women.