The Christian Tradition is one that has gained and lost respect and value for women in many ways as it has travelled across the globe and crept its way into new cultures and sustained itself through different historical circumstances. From the fetishization of motherhood to the persecution of witches to the rise of female leaders in the church, Christianity has shape-shifted in rituals, imagery and interpretation of the scriptures. Rosemary Radford Ruether, a feminist theologian who writes on the importance of female imagery and language to represent the divine argues: “women no longer stand in direct relation to God; they are connected to God secondarily through a male” (Ruether 151). The tradition has internally contested the correct role of women in the world, the family and the church since its inception. But while women were often condemned or essentialized through the interpretation of Biblical texts (not to mention the selection of those texts), these texts could also serve as a tool for social change. Ruether offers a message of hope for women looking to find a place within the Christian tradition by highlighting the fact that “the New Testament contains a renewal and radicalization of prophetic consciousness, now applied to marginalized groups in universal, non tribal contexts” (Ruether 156). Through Ruether’s analysis and primary texts throughout the history of Christianity, we see that the textual representations of women and interpretations of those texts serve as a vehicle of oppression by setting up dichotomies on women’s behavior, but that interpretation can also be used by women as a means of religious resistance.
One of the women in the Christian Tradition that fought for social justice at the onset of the Jesus...
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...ures that control religion and spirituality, but instead on each other. Women must learn to reconcile their beliefs and critiques, all the while navigating the dichotomy of reformer/revolutionary
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Women were the subject of marginalization ever since the very beginning of Christianity. They were viewed as a “second Eve” (92) who did not deserve the same attention as men. Women were treated as second class citizens. They were willfully ignored by members of the Christianity
Warner's book details the special importance of the Virgin Mary throughout Christianity and explores her religious and secular meaning. She discusses such things as the Church's attitude toward virginity, the role model of the Virgin martyr, the Virgin's relics, and her role as an intercessor with God.
Looking back through many historical time periods, people are able to observe the fact that women were generally discriminated against and oppressed in almost any society. However, these periods also came with women that defied the stereotype of their sex. They spoke out against this discrimination with a great amount of intelligence and strength with almost no fear of the harsh consequences that could be laid out by the men of their time. During the Medieval era, religion played a major role in the shaping of this pessimistic viewpoint about women. The common belief of the patriarchal-based society was that women were direct descendants of Eve from The Bible; therefore, they were responsible for the fall of mankind. All of Eve’s characteristics from the biblical story were believed to be the same traits of medieval women. Of course, this did not come without argument. Two medieval women worked to defy the female stereotype, the first being the fictional character called The Wife of Bath from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The second woman, named Margery Kempe, was a real human being with the first English autobiography written about her called The Book of Margery Kempe. In these two texts, The Wife of Bath and Margery Kempe choose to act uniquely compared to other Christians in the medieval time period because of the way religion is interpreted by them. As a result, the women view themselves as having power and qualities that normal women of their society did not.
Provost, William. "Margery Kempe: The English Religious Enthusiast." Medieval Women Writers. Katharina M. Wilson, ed. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1984. Pp. 297-319.
Ruether, Rosemary Radford. “The Normalization of Goddess Religion.” Feminist Theology: The Journal of the Britain & Ireland School of Feminist Theology 13.2 (2005): 151-157. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
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Joletha Cobb, a minister and an NCCA licensed clinical pastoral counselor, explained the expectations of genders in accordance with past centuries with an emphasis on the bible. Women “were expected to bear children, stay home, cook and clean, and take care of the children” (Cobb 29). They were expected to be weak, timid, domestic, emotional,...
...tudy with both an understanding of contemporary beliefs and practices as well as historic norms and doctrines among these two religious communities will adequately portray how religion impacts the assigning of gender roles and the extent to which they might have changed or grown over time. With an understanding of this relationship between religion, society, and culture, I will be able to answer questions I have had about the role of women in religion and the extent to which these female gender roles might be evolving.
Waxman, Ruth. "Women as Prayer Leaders and Their Role in in Communal Prayer." Judaism 42.4 (1993): Print.
In her article, “Feminist Hermeneutics and Biblical Studies”, Phyllis Trible discusses the issues centered toward women in the bible (Trible). She addresses issues not just concerning equality, but also how men viewed women in biblical times. Trible examines the role of women in the bible, and the misconception they carry, that leads many into harms way.
I have been taught that Christianity is a loving religion that cares for all, But this is not always the case. Upon reading, among other theological works, “Quest for the Living God” by Elizabeth A. Johnson, it becomes apparent that Christianity has been used to systematically marginalize women throughout history despite the teachings of the Bible. While it might not be intentional, the negative treatment of Women has been ingrained into Christian teachings over hundreds of years.
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.
Corinthians 14:34 states, “Let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law” (Holy Bible, King James Edition). Edith Hamilton, "recognized as the greatest woman Classicist", says that the Bible is the only book before our century that looked to women as human beings, no better nor worse than men (Tanner). However, it cannot be said that this book was consistently favorable to women. Maybe not absolutely, but conditionally in personal opinion, the Bible shows numerous examples of a woman’s inferiority to men, an assessment that has been translated into the cultures of generations. In this essay I will address briefly instances in the bible pertaining to women, and continue on with thoughts on how I believe these notions have been interpreted into society.
“Today I appeal to the whole Church community to be willing to foster feminine participation in every way in its internal life. This is certainly not a new commitment, since it is inspired by the example of Christ himself….nevertheless, he also involved women in the cause of his kingdom; indeed he wanted them to be the first witnesses and heralds of his resurrection. In fact, there are many women who have distinguished themselves in the Church’s history by their holiness and hardworking ingenuity.”