Solidarity and Sustainability
A Newsletter on the Socio-Ecological Impacts of Religious Patriarchy

Volume 1 - Number 2 - June 2005
Luis T. Gutierrez

The primary goal of this research is to facilitate progress in the path from patriarchy to solidarity, sustainability, and sustainable human development. This journey attempts to understand how to mitigate all manner of patriarchal and misogynic barriers to human development and, in particular, how to overcome the enormous obstacles caused by religious patriarchy. There is no pressumption of new discoveries. Rather, it is a matter of integrating existing knowledge (including empirical evidence) to show that true religion should never be an obstacle to human development. The United Nations "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) are used as point of reference.

THE PHALLOCENTRIC SYNDROME

Volume 1 Number 1 was focused on cross-gender solidarity. This is the most basic and universal expression of human solidarity. It is also the first one destroyed by patriarchal systems, both secular and religious.

Patriarchy, secular or religious, is a phallocentric mindset that has three fundamental forms of expression: love of wealth, love of power, and love of honors. Love of wealth starts with possessing women. Indeed, since time immemorial, women have been regarded as the possession of their husbands. In some cultures, they still are. Love of power starts with the domination of women. This is already documented in ancient documents such as the Book of Genesis. In some cultures, the mindset that women need guidance and governance from men still prevails. Love of honor starts with the a priori assumption that men are superior to women. Thus the father is the head of the family, only males can have roles of religious authority, etc. For example, there are still cultures in which the wife must walk behind her husband.

Is secular patriarchy the cause of religious patriarchy, or the other way around? Scholars cannot agree on the answer. We really don't know. It seems reasonable to conjecture that secular forms of patriarchy were already normative and were uncritically adopted by most religious traditions since their inception. Actually, the question is academic for us today. The fact is that, at this point in human history, secular institutions seem to be more willing to reconsider issues of gender equity than religious institutions. Why? This is the critical question, here and now. As long as gender solidarity is suppressed, can there be further progress in other forms of human solidarity? Isn't the intransigent masculocentrism of religious institutions an obstacle to further progress toward human solidarity and sustainable human development?

These are the questions to be considered in this issue. Why is the phallocentric mindset so pervasive? What is the ethiology of this malignancy? How does it harm human relations? What are the obstacles it creates to solidarity, sustainability, and human development?

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS PATRIARCHY

 TRUTH, FREEDOM, AND CARE

 OBSTACLES TO SOLIDARITY

 OBSTACLES TO SUSTAINABILITY

 OBSTACLES TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

 AN APPEAL TO SECULAR AUTHORITIES

 REFERENCES AND NOTES

SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS PATRIARCHY

Volume 1 Number 1 provided definitions of patriarchy, solidarity, and sustainability. This issue will elaborate on the proposition that, if secular patriarchy is bad, religious patriarchy is even worst.

Secular patriarchy is like a global cancer whereby love of money, love of power, and love of honors grow at the expense of peace and justice at all levels: local, national, international. Such accumulation of wealth, power, and honors have their religious counterparts: the monopolization of "truth," the elaboration of canonical means of control (physical and/or psychological), and overwhelming displays of religious pomp and circumstance. Religious patriarchy is even more malignant than secular patriarchy, because the cancer grows at a deeper level in the fabric of individuals and communities; and because it grows at the expense of our relationship of friendship with God.

What is the ethiology of this malignancy? All patriarchies are rooted in a phallocentric mindset. What is the origin of this masculocentrism? It cannot possibly be God, since God transcends gender and never intends to harm humanity in any way. Undoubtely, the origin is human and predates the beginning of recorded history and the inception of the major religious traditions. Anthropologists have discovered some exceptions: matriarchies in the dawn of history, most of them gradually replaced by patriarchies, a few others still alive today. But matriarchy is as bad as patriarchy, and the symptoms (wealth, domination, honors) are basically the same.

Actually, the question is academic for us today. The fact is that, at this point in human history, secular institutions seem to be more willing to reconsider issues of gender equity than religious institutions. Why? This is the critical question, here and now. As long as gender solidarity is suppressed, can there be further progress in other forms of human solidarity? Isn't the intransigent masculocentrism of religious institutions an obstacle to further progress toward human solidarity and sustainable human development?

Let us reconsider the process model introduced in Volume 1 Number 1:


Patriarchal Hegemony has a
Negative Influence on Solidarity
(i.e., as patriarchy increases, solidarity decreases)
⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒(-)
Sustainable Human Development has a
Negative Influence on Patriarchy
(i.e., as human integral development increases, patriarchy decreases)
(-)
⇑
⇑
⇑
⇑
⇑
⇑
⇑
Patriarchy
Mindset
Solidarity
Ethos
Sustainable
Human
Development
Sustainability
Ethos
⇓
⇓
⇓
⇓
⇓
⇓
⇓
(+)
Solidarity has a Positive Influence on Sustainability
(i.e., as solidarity increases, sustainability increases)
(+)⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐
Sustainability has a
Positive Influence on Human Development
(i.e., as sustainability increases, human development increases)



Figure 1 - The patriarchy-solidarity-sustainability-human development process

Figure 1 attempts to "infer the best explanation" [01] of how patriarchy, solidarity, sustainability, and human development intersect and interact over time. Let us nor consider the nature, inner workings, and harmful effects of patriarchy. The data of history confirms that cross-gender solidarity (Volume 1 Number 1) is the first and most pervasive victimof patriarchy. Due to an a priori phallocentric prejudice, the entire human race is deeply wounded: 50% of humanity seeking to possess, dominate, and be honored by the other 50%. Phallocentirsm is ubiquitous since the beginning of recorded history in both the secular [02] and religious [03]dimensions of human life.

It is encouraging that scholars of most religious persuasions have already demolished the "God is male" and "man is a better image of God than woman" myths as being incompatible with the original intent of sacred scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Slowly, but irreversibly, religious people are becoming aware that religion per se is not the "opium of the people" [04]; institutionalized religious patriarchy is "the opium of the people". This newsletter cannot possibly do justice to the corpus of theological, social, historical, and feminist scholarship. An abundance of material is available online [05]. There are also a number of gateways to thousands of websites related to secular and religious patriarchy, gender studies, and related issues [06].

TRUTH, FREEDOM, AND CARE

Let us now focus on the inner structure and workings of the "Patriarchal Mindset" quadrant in Figure 1. Patriarchy, secular or religious, is the institutionalization of a phallocentric syndrome that has three fundamental forms of expression:

The first symptom is love of wealth
The second symptom is love of power
The third symptom is love of honors

Love of wealth starts with possessing women. Indeed, since time immemorial, women have been regarded as the possession of their husbands. In some cultures, they still are. Love of power starts with the domination of women. This is already documented in ancient documents such as the Book of Genesis. In some cultures, the mindset that women need guidance and governance from men still prevails. Love of honor starts with the a priori assumption that men are superior to women. Thus the father is the head of the family, only males can have roles of religious authority, etc. For example, there are still cultures in which the wife must walk behind her husband.

In order to illustrate how the phallocentric syndrome influences the mindset, or ethos, of individuals and communities, we postulate the following as required for a civilized person to have a meaningful life:

To seek the truth about everything, specially self-knowledge
To act both freely and responsibly, according to conscience
To care for both personal needs and the common good of humanity

The following table attempts to capture how the patriarchal addictions to wealth, power, and honors intersect with seeking truth, freedom, and care:

Note: Each entry should be read, "Phallocentrism ...."

Personal & Institutional Ethos Patriarchal Addiction to Wealth Patriarchal Addiction to Power Patriarchal Addiction to Honors
Truth reinforces poverty and the feminization of poverty (MDG1)

reinforces the idea that wives are the "possession" of their husbands, who are the "heads" of their families

reinforces the propensity not to send girls to school (MDG2)

prevents women from contributing their feminine gifts to governance

reinforces false assumption about men being superior to women

reinforces gender inequality as the "natural order of things" (MDG3)

reinforces the bad mental habit of regarding women as sex objects

legitimates the utterly false idea that only men can be "imago Dei"

perpetuates ignorance about woman in man (anima) and man in woman (animus)

Freedom perpetuates slavery even today (traffic of women and children)

devalues human dignity as secondary to literalist interpretations of sacred scriptures (inquisition, slavery)

provides incentive to do what is economically expedient, not what is right

reserves significant roles of authority to men alone

slows down human development by all manner of coercion to fabricate truth

provides incentive to do what is "politically correct," not what is right

motivates institutions to do what enhances their image, not what is right

recognizes that the greatest honor is to serve, but reserves this honor for men alone when the service to be rendered is to be a bridge between God and human persons

makes institutions averse to admitting that they have been wrong (Galileo, Darwin)

Care indoctrinates people to max personal gain regardless of the common good (MDG7)

allows people to disregard stewardship of natural resources as a moral issue

gives low priority to issues of child mortality, maternal healh, and other health problems that make life miserable for poor people (MDG4, MDG5, MDG6)

foster hostility between men and women by failing to teach the falsity of both "penis envy" and "vagina envy" (Jung, Bettelheim, many others)

may be a model for benign patriarchies, but not very often (sexual promiscuity, domestic violence, rape, abortion decisions due to absent fathers; and on a larger scale, war, torture, genocide, terrorism)

makes it impossible to achieve a global partnership for development (MDG8)

still tries to deprive 50% of humanity any chance of contributing their unique gifts for secular governance at all levels: local, national, international

deprives humanity of the most important form of care (spiritual care, or "cure of souls" by religious authorities) by reserving roles of religious authority to men alone, even though many women are fully qualified to provide such service

perpetuates old lies rooted in primitive thinking, such as "menstruation is dirty and defiling"


Table 1 - Symptoms of the Phallocentric-Patriarchal Syndrome

Note that the entries in each cell follow a crescendo, from bad to worst: the effects of secular phallocentrism, the effects of religious phallocentrism, and the joint effects of secular and religious phallocentrism. The reader is encouraged to give some thought to the general patterns (dominat modes of behavior, rather than exceptions) that emerge, and perhaps build other similar syntheses. It is hard to find reliable numerical data for these patterns. This is especially the case for trend ("behavior over time") data. For instance, consider the following graphs:

[figure2a]
Figure 2a - Illiterate Men and Women Worldwide,
1970-2000 Counts
Data Source: UNESCO, 2002

[figure2b]
Figure 2b - Illiterate Men and Women Worldwide,
1970-2000 Counts and 2005-2015 Estimates
Data Source: UNESCO, 2002

This is the best data available, but the technical notes [07] are indicative of the difficulties in collecting and interpreting the data. It seems clear however, that 2/3 of illiterate people in the world are women, and it is difficult to discern any trend to bridge the gap. Bridging the gap will take time, because the gap is due to many girls not being sent to school. Poverty may be the apparent reason, but phallocentrism is the root cause of both poverty, the feminization of poverty, and millions of girls not being sent to school. The reader is invited to download these data from the UNESCO website, and analyze it in the aggregate, or by regions, or by individual countries. When this is done, it is clear that the gap narrows (in some cases, it vanishes) for the developed nations, remains wide for the developing nation. It is also clear that it remains wide in regions/nations where certain phallocentric religions are influential.

OBSTACLES TO SOLIDARITY

The wealth-power-honors/truth-freedom-care analysis provides the basis for an "inference to the best explanation" [01] as to why patriarchy is an obstacle to solidarity.

Patriarchy-driven wealth accumulation, beyond a certain point, makes people hostile and unhappy. Hostile and unhappy people are seldom interested in issues of human solidarity and global stewardship. The recent report of the United Nations [08], Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being, United Nations, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board Report, May 2005, is rather conclusive:

"The overriding conclusion of this assessment is that it lies within the power of human societies to ease the strains we are putting on the nature services of the planet, while continuing to use them to bring better living standards to all . . . Achieving this, however, will require radical changes in the way nature is treated at every level of decision-making and new ways of cooperation between government, business and civil society. The warning signs are there for all of us to see. The future now lies in our hands."

A recent book by Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Harper Collins, 2004 [09], provides objective evidence that too much affluence leads to a decline in human well-being. There is a book review (available online) that provides an excellent summary [10]: Book Review of "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less," by Barry Schwarts, Paul C. Stern, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 9, Number 1-2, pp. 293-295, 2005. This gets to the heart of the matter:

"This small, easy-to-red volume uses social observation and voluminous evidence from psychological research to support Schwartz's thesis that as people are offered more and more life choices in societies that enshrine freedom and individual responsibility, human happiness and well-being inevitably decline .... Ultimately, the psychological evidence seems to say, the utilitarian arguments for and against more stringent environmental protection should weigh less than they now do, and the moral and esthetic arguments more." Paul C. Stern, National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC, USA.

Betsy Taylor, in a recent article on Consumption: It is Time for Economists and Scientists to Talk [11], offers a hopeful perspective that the transition to a new mindset of consumption moderation is already underway:

"Although economists, elected officials, and far too many traditional environmentalists refuse to examine the inexorable links between consumption and ecological problems, an economic and cultural transformation in consumption and production has already begun. ... A new economic model is emerging, but it could be sped on by academics doing holistic research projects with greater practical application. The new path must be supported by elected officials, economists, and private sector leaders willing to face the conundrum of our times: that increased consumption is literally bringing our biological home into ruin and yet, without consumption, millions fear for their security. It is time for economists and scientists to talk. Fortunately, despite the taboo on dialogue about a revamped economy, there are many business leaders, local elected officials, consumer activists, and others quietly modeling and championing the new way."

The number of scholars who have written about the link between patriarchy (as accumulation of wealth) and solidarity is legion. To mention just a few: Karen Armstrong [12], Maria Mies [13], Robert McElvaine [14], Kris Inwood [15], Yoshie Furuhashi [16], Joan Chittister [17], Riane Eisler [18], and Ieva Cepulkauskaite [19].

OBSTACLES TO SUSTAINABILITY

The wealth-power-honors/truth-freedom-care analysis provides the basis for an "inference to the best explanation" [01] as to why patriarchy is an obstacle to sustainability.

Patriarchy-driven power accumulation corrupts people and institutions. Lord Acton's dictum applies: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." It is noteworthy that, when making this statement, Lord Acton was referring to the Pope of Rome. [20]. Jennifer Olmsted, however, in several thoroughly researched publications [21], has recommended caution in making making generalizations that dissolve in concrete situations.

"In an article published in Economic Development and Cultural Change, Shoshona Grossbard-Shechtman and Shoshona Neuman "offer clues on how religion affects women's value of time in marriage." Using data from Israel, they argue that they are able to measure differences in the value of women's time in marriage among Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Unfortunately their article contains a number of erroneous statements concerning the three religions on which they focus. They provide little scriptural support for their conclusions, and ignore the particularities of the local religious practices in Israel. As such, their theoretical argument is flawed. In addition, their interpretation of their results and their treatment of religion as a dummy variable are rather problematic. In this comment I challenge their discussion of how both scripture and local practice define the three religions, as well as problematizing and reinterpreting the authors' empirical results.

[....]

One of the more disturbing and unsubstantiated claims the authors make is that Islam condones domestic violence, more than Christianity or Judaism. They state that "domestic violence against women . . . [is] more common among Moslems" (p. 501), yet nowhere do the authors provide scriptural or empirical evidence to support these claims. Both Muslim and Jewish law contain references condoning husbands’ use of violence against their wives. As Barbara Swirski (1991: 320) points out, "Jewish religious law has always given a husband the right to 'moderately chastise his wife' for misconduct." Swirski further argues that "Jewish religious authorities generally differentiated between 'justified' and 'unjustified' beatings," suggesting that domestic violence has been tolerated within Judaism historically. The same argument can be made for Islam, with certain passages in the Quran historically being interpreted as allowing men to strike their wives, although contemporary feminist scholars have begun challenging historical interpretations in both Judaism and Islam.

Professor Olmsted is right in cautioning against speculative generalizations. However, it is impossible to ignore that abuses of power have been tolerated (if not actually promoted) by many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Religious authorities have often failed to preach against domestic violence and other forms of violence at all levels: local, national, international. In many predominantly Christian countries, "machismo" is alive and well as we begin the third millennium CE. This "machismo" is manifested not only in the relations between men and women, but also in the relations between humanity and nature. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was silenced by the Jesuit order when he wrote about the convergence of faith and science, and our duty to be good stewards of natural resources [22]:

"By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us, penetrates us and moulds us. We imagined it as distant and inaccessible, whereas in fact we live steeped in its burning layers. In eo vivimus. As Jacob said, awakening from his dream, the world, this palpable world, which we were wont to treat with the boredom and disrespect with which we habitually regard places with no sacred association for us, is in truth a holy place, and we did not know it. Venite, adoremus."

A large number of scholars have since written about the link between patriarchy (as abuse of power) and sustainability. To mention just a few: Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether, [23], Bron Taylor [24], Jim Motavalli [25], Claudio Naranjo [26], Virginia Postrel [27], Rachel Carson [28], and Ken Bausch [29].

OBSTACLES TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

The wealth-power-honors/truth-freedom-care analysis provides the basis for an "inference to the best explanation" [01] as to why patriarchy is an obstacle to sustainable human development.

Patriarchy-driven accumulation of honors leads to the creation of human idols, prisoners of overweening pride. In the words of St. Ignatius Loyola [30]:

"The first step, then, will be riches, the second honor, the third pride. From these three steps the evil one leads to all other vices."

In terms of our terminology, "riches" correlate with wealth, "honor" correlates with power, and "pride" correlates with honors. This is just a conjecture, but St. Ignatius' avoidance of the term "power" may have had something to do with him having had problems with judges of the inquisition.

Phallocentrism tends to honor men as superior to women. Patriarchies are institutional expressions of phallocentrism. Feminism is the struggle for all forms of gender inequality. It does not matter whether the inequality is in favor of men or women, though usually it is in favor of men. What really matters is that men and women developing to their full potential requires that they relate as equal partners. It also requires that men recognize the feminine within, and women recognize the men within [31]:

"The most important contribution [Carl] Jung makes in his concepts of the anima and animus is to give us an idea of the polarity that exists within each of us. We are not homogeneous units of psychic life, but contain an inevitable opposition withinh us, call them what we like -- masculine and feminine, anima and animus, Yin and Yang -- and these are ternally in tension and are eternally seeking to unite. The human soul if a great arena in which the Active and the Receptive, the Light and the Dark, the Yang and the Yin, seek to come together and forge within us an indescribable unity of personality. To achieve this union of the opposites within ourselves may very well be the task of life, requiring the utmosy perseverance and assiduous awareness. Usually men need women for this to come about, and women need men. And yet, ultimately the union of the opposites does not occur between a man who plays out the masculine and a women who plays out the feminine, but within the being of each man and each woman in whom the opposites are finally conjoined."

It follows that the phallocentric mindset is an obstacle (perhaps the biggest obstacle) to human development. By honoring masculinity, and dishonoring femininity, it constrains people to psychological and spiritual underdevelopment. This is even more so when gynophobia (fear of women) is an added ingredient of the phallocentric syndrome.

Many scholars have written about the link between patriarchy (as the pursuit of honors) and sustainable human development. Especially recommended: Carl Jung [32], Bruno Bettelheim [33], Judith Lorber [34], Sudhir Anand and Amartya K. Sen [35], Santi Theresa Rosario [36], Kalpana Sharma [37], Walter Leal Filho [38], Kudakwashe Chirambwi [39], Marie M. Fortune [40], Dennis and Donella Meadows [41], Nirmala Nair [42], Jeffrey Sachs [43], and David Suzuki [44].

It seems fitting to close this section with the following insight [45]:

"Bahá'ís believe that the achievement of full equality between the sexes is essential to human progress and the transformation of society. Inequality retards not only the advancement of women but the progress of civilization itself."

AN APPEAL TO SECULAR AUTHORITIES

Table 1 is my own synthesis, and there is no presumption that I have captured a consensus of all the scholars. The synthesis that emerges is the urgency of making progress toward:

This synthesis is, of course, nothing new [46]:
"If powerful men and women
could remain centered in the Tao,
all things would be in harmony.
The world would become a paradise.
All people would be at peace,
and the law would be written in their hearts.

"If powerful men and women
could venter themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, in its natural rhythms.
People would be content
with their simple, everyday lives,
in harmony, and free of desire."

Tao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (The Way of Life), chapters 32, 37 -- circa 500 BCE

Given the current knowledge and resources of human civilization, the transition from "homo economicus" to "homo solidarius" is now feasible. Not easy, but feasible.

An urgent appeal is hereby made to secular authorities. Be aware, that perpetuating the patriarchal mindset (including accumulation of wealth, power, and honors) is an obstacle to human development in both family and society. Specifically, be aware that religious patriarchy is an obstacle to human solidarity and sustainable development, and therefore cannot possibly be the will of God.

Let us be good stewards of our time and resources. Do not support patriarchal religious structures by subsidies or any other form of financial assistance. In particular, do not support religious institutions that exclude women from roles of religious authority. This appeal extend to parents, and to citizens in general. Do not send your children to schools that (by example, if not by words) pollute their minds with the prejudice of male superiority and women inferiority. Do not vote for candidates to public office, or support governments, that discriminate against women. Do not give financial support to religious institutions that exclude women from roles of religious authority.

It is a moral issue: gender equity is good, and gender inequity is bad, in all dimensions of human and social life. Let us use our time and resources to promote what is good and let go of what is bad.

REFERENCES AND NOTES

Below is a selected list of references. This is not intended as a comprehensive bibliography. Care has been taken to include references that reflect opposite viewpoints in some controversial issues. Some references are supplemented by relevant quotations as well as brief comments relevant to solidarity, sustainability, and patriarchy issues.

[01] Lipton, Peter, Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE), 2nd edition, Routledge, 2004, 219pp. An excellent review is available online: Peter Lipton, Inference to the Best Explanation, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2004, reviewed by Lefteris Farmakis, London School of Economics and Stephan Hartmann, London School of Economics, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 6 June 2005. For a more concise discussion of IBE, see Samir Okasha, Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 29-33, 63, 125.

[02] Selected quotes on secular patriarchy:

"The woman who refuses to do her conyugal duty must be thrown to the river." Sumerian Constitution, Mesopotamia, circa 2000 BCE.

"When a woman misbehaves and fails to do her duties at home, the husband is entitled to submit her to slavery. This service may be done at the home of anyone designated by the husband and, while it lasts, it is licit for the husband to marry another woman." Hamurabi Code, Babylon, circa 1700 BCE.

"Even if the behavior of the husband is reprehensible, and even if he has affairs wuith other women, the virtuous woman must revere her husband like a God. During infancy, a woman must obey her father. In marriage, she must obey her husband. After her husband dies, she must obey her sons. A woman should never govern herself. Laws of Manu, India, 1500 BCE.

"Men are superior to women because Allah gave men supremacy over women. Therefore, men receive from Allah twice as much as women. Husbands who are disobeyed by their wives can punish them, confine them to bed and even beat them. Women are the greatest calamity men received fro Allah." Quran, written by disciples of Mohammed, Arabia, circa 700 BCE.

"A woman should venerate her husband like a God. Every day in the morning, nine consecutive times, she must postrate at the feet of her husband and ask, 'My lord, what do you want me to do?'" Zaratustra, Persian philosopher, circa 600 BCE.

"Women, slaves, and foreigners are not citizens." Pericles, Greece, circa 500 BCE.

"Women are the most corrupted and corruptible beings alive in the world." Confucius, circa 500 BCE.

"Nature makes women when it cannot make men. Women are, therefore, inferior men." Aristotle, Greece, circa 400 BCE.

"Women are enemies of peace, sources of anxiety, the cause of fights that destroy all tranquility. Women are like the devil." Petrarca, Italy, circa 1400 CE.

"The worst thing a woman can do is to pretend to be wise." Martin Luther, Germany, circa 1500 CE.

"Children, idiots, the mentally disturbed, and women, do not have the capacity to transact business." Henry VIII, England, circa 1500 CE.

"As long as there are intelligent men on Earth, well read women will die single." Jean-Jacques Rousseau, France, 1700s CE.

"Women can be sent to school, but her minds are not adequate for the higher sciences such as philosophy." Friederich Hegel, Germany, 1800s BCE.

"Anatomy is destiny." Sigmung Freud, Austria, early 1900s CE.

"Men are social, women are sexual." Attributed to a distinguished psychiatrist, Cuba, 1950s CE.

[03] Selected quotes on religious patriarchy:

"Do not covet your neighbor's wife. Do not covet your neighbor's house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns." Deuteronomy 5:21, circa 620 BCE [Note: according to this biblical text, a woman is the property of her husband].

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Genesis 3:16, circa 440 BCE [Note: the woman is blamed for disobeying God and tempting her husband].

"No wickedness comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman.....Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die", Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24, circa 180–175 BCE

"The man, indeed, ought not to cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man." Attributed to St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 11:7, late first century CE (the author may have been a disciple of St. Paul; cf. Galatians 3:28).

"The woman, says the law, is in all things inferior to the man." Josephus, Against Apion, II, 201. First century CE.

"Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life." Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven." Apocriphal Gospel of Thomas, 114, first or second Century CE [saying may have been added to the original collection at a later date].

"The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives on even in our times and so it is necessary that the guilt should live on, also. You are the one who opened the door to the Devil, you are the one who first plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree, you are the first who deserted the divine law; you are the one who persuaded him whom the Devil was not strong enough to attack. All too easily you destroyed the image of God, man. Because of your desert, that is, death, even the Son of God had to die. And you still think of putting adornments over the skins of animals that cover you?" Tertullian, The Apparel of Women, 197 CE

"It is not permitted for a woman to speak in the church [1 Cor 14:34-35], but neither [is it permitted her] . . . to offer, nor to claim to herself a lot in any manly function, not to say sacerdotal office" The Veiling of Virgins 9, 206 CE

"For it is not to teach that you women . . . are appointed . . . . For he, God the Lord, Jesus Christ our Teacher, sent us, the Twelve, out to teach the [chosen] people and the pagans. But there were female disciples among us: Mary of Magdala, Mary the daughter of Jacob, and the other Mary; he did not, however, send them out with us to teach the people. For, if it had been necessary that women should teach, then our Teacher would have directed them to instruct along with us" Didascalia 3:6:1-2, 225 CE

"What have rouge and white lead to do on a Christian woman? ... They are fires to inflame young men, stimulants of lustful desire, plain evidence of an unchaste mind. How can a woman weep for her sins when tears lay her sikin bare and make furrows on her face? Such adorning is not of the Lord, it is the mask of Antichrist." St. Jerome, Letter 1iv, third century CE.

"For those things which I have already mentioned might easily be performed by many even of those who are under authority, women as well as men; but when one is required to preside over the Church, and to be entrusted with the care of so many souls, the whole female sex must retire before the magnitude of the task, and the majority of men also...." St. John Chrysostom, Treatise on the Priesthood, Book 1, p. 2, third century CE.

"For the female sex is easily seduced, weak, and without much understanding. The devil seeks to vomit out his disorder through women.... We wish to apply masculine reasoning and destroy the folly of these women." St. Epiphanius, Adversus Collyridianos, in Migne, Patrologia Graeca, vol. 42, cols. 740f., third century CE.

"It is still Eve the Temptress that we must beware of in any woman." St. Augustine, Letter 243,10, 5th century CE.

"When a woman has given birth ... she should abstain [from entering a church] for 33 days if she had a boy, 66 if she had a girl." He also wrote, "As for the man who sleeps with his wife, he should not enter a church without washing." Pope Gregory I, circa 600 CE.

"And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice between them, then marry only one or what your right hands possess: this is more proper that you may not deviate from the right course." Quran 4.3, Arabia, circa 650-660 CE [the Quran was compiled by disciples of the prophet Muhammad after his death in 632 CE].

"Women are naturally, morally and religiously defective." Muhammad Ibn Ismail Bukhary, Uzbekistan, 9th century CE.

"As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of women comes from a defect in the active force or from some material indisposition, or even from some external influence ... Since women's state of subjection makes it impossible for the female sex to signify any eminence of rank, women are incapable of receiving the sacrament of Order". St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica IV Part I, Quaest. XCII, art 1,2, 13th century CE.

"...since women's state of subjection makes it impossible for the female sex to signify any eminence of rank, women are incapable of receiving the sacrament of Order". St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Supp., q.xxxix; 1c., 13th century CE.

"The enemy conducts himself as a woman. He is a weakling before a show of strength, and a tyrant if he has his will. It is characteristic of a woman in a quarrel with a man to lose courage and take to flight if the man shows that he is determined and fearless. However, if the man loses courage and begins to flee, the anger, vindictiveness, and rage of the woman surge up and know no bounds. In the same way, the enemy becomes weak, loses courage, and turns to flight with his seductions as soon as one leading a spiritual life faces his temptations boldly, and does exactly the opposite of what he suggests. However, if one begins to be afraid and to lose courage in temptations, no wild animal on earth can be more fierce than the enemy of our human nature. He will carry out his perverse intentions with consummate malice." St. Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises 325, 16th century CE.

"The husband is ruler of the family and the head of the wife; the woman as flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone is to be subordinate and obedient to the husband, not, however, as a hand-maid but as a companion of such a kind that the obedience given is as honourable as dignified. As, however, the husband ruling represents the image of Christ and the wife obedient the image of the Church, Divine love should at all times set the standard of duty". Pope Leo XIII, encyclical Arcanum, 10 Feb 1880.

"God will take me at an age (24) when I will not have had the time to become a priest ... If I could have been a priest, it would have been at this ordination that I would have received Holy Orders. Well, so that I would regret nothing, God is allowing me to be ill ... and I shall die before I have exercised my ministry." St. Thérese of Lisieux, 1897

"The female sex is in some respects inferior to the male sex, both as regards body and soul." Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913

"In church the women should be separated from the men." Roman Code of Canon Law #1262, 1917.

"A female person may not minister. An exception is allowed only if no male person can be had and there is good reason. But female persons may in no case come up to the altar, and may only give responses from afar." Roman Code of Canon Law, 1917

"Co-education (male and female together) is erroneous and pernicious, and is often based on a naturalism that denies original sin. Nature itself, which makes the two sexes different in organism, inclinations and attitudes, provides no argument for mixing them promiscuously, much less educating them together." Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Divini Illius Magistri, 1931

"Jesus Christ did not call any women to become part of the Twelve. If he acted in this way, it was not in order to conform to the customs of his time, for his attitude towards women was quite different from that of his millieu, and he deliberately and courageously broke with it." Inter Insigniores, Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1976

"Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." Roman Code of Canon Law #1024, 1983 (same as canon 968.1 of the 1917 code)

"Since Christ, in instituting the Eucharist, linked it in such an explicit way to the priestly service of the Apostles, it is legitimate to conclude that he thereby wished to express the relationship between man and woman, between what is "feminine" and what is "masculine." It is a relationship willed by God both in the mystery of creation and in the mystery of Redemption. It is the Eucharist above all that expresses the redemptive act of Christ the Bridegroom towards the Church the Bride. This is clear and unambiguous when the sacramental ministry of the Eucharist, in which the priest acts "in persona Christi," is performed by a man. This explanation confirms the teaching of the Declaration Inter Insigniores, published at the behest of Paul VI in response to the question concerning the admission of women to the ministerial priesthood." Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mulieres Dignitatem, 15 August 1988, 26.

"Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination" (CIC 1024). The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ's return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible." Catechism of the Catholic Church #1577, 1992

"The Church confers the sacrament of Holy Orders only on baptized men (viri), whose suitability for the exercise of the ministry has been duly recognized. Church authority alone has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders." Catechism of the Catholic Church #1598, 1992

"Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II, 22 May 1994

"Blessed be God King of the universe that Thou has not made me a woman." Ancient Jewish prayer, still recited today by orthodox Jewish men in their daily morning prayer.

"Esto vir" (in English, "Be a male"). Motto of several religious institutions. The "be a male" motto probably originated in countries where religion was regarded as a "women weakness," but its continued use today is indicative of the sexist mentality that persists in many religious institutions.

[04] Marx, Karl, Toward the Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right, 1844. For more information on Karl Marx and his ideas about philosophy, politics, economics, and religion, see Karl Marx in Wikipedia. Excerpts:

Wikipedia: "Karl Marx (May 5, 1818 Trier, Germany – March 14, 1883 London, UK) was an influential German philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary organizer of the International Workingmen's Association. While Marx addressed a wide range of issues, he is most famous for his analysis of history in terms of class struggle, summed up in the famous line from the introduction to the Communist Manifesto: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle".

Karl Marx on religion: "Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." Toward the Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right, 1844.

Wikipedia: "Whereas his Gymnasium senior thesis argued that the primary social function of religion was to promote solidarity, here Marx sees the social function as a way of expressing and coping with social inequality, thereby maintaining the status quo."

[05] Selected resources for further study of various religious traditions. The Wikipedia and Religious Tolerance articles are the minimum recommended. The others are for your review as time permits. Some basic information about the major religious traditions is indispensable to understand the socio-ecological impacts of religious patriarchies.

LINKS TO BUDDHISM

Wikipedia Article on Buddhism
Teligious Tolerance Article on Buddhism
Five-Minute Introduction to Buddhism
The ABCs of Buddhism
The Organization of Buddhism
Buddhism Depot
Sacred Texts of Buddhism
BuddhaNet Directory
Tricyle: American Buddhist Journal

LINKS TO CHRISTIANITY

Wikipedia Article on Christianity
Religious Tolerance Article on Christianity
Religious Tolerance Article on Several Christian Traditions
The Bible (Several Translations, Search Engine)
The New Testament Gateway
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Non-Canonical Scriptures (Apocryphal)
Non-Canonical Scripture (Gnostic)
Guide to Early Church Documents
Christian History Search Engine
Church History Resources

LINKS TO HINDUISM

Wikipedia Article on Hinduism
Religious Tolerance Article on Hinduism
Introduction to Hinduism
Questions about Hinduism
Hindu Sacred Texts
Hymns from the Rig-Veda
The Upanishads
The Bhagavad-Gita
Hindu Mythology
HinduNet Directory
Hindu Resources Online

LINKS TO ISLAM

Wikipedia Article on Islam
Religious Tolerance Article on Islam
Islam Helpful Websites
Muslim Sacred Texts and Literature
Posters about Islam
Qur'an and Hadith Database
Concordance to the Qur'an
Islam Online
Islamicity
Islam for Today
Learning How to Pray
Islamic Information and Products)
Women in Islam

LINKS TO JUDAISM

Wikipedia Article on Judaism
Religious Tolerance Article on Judaism
The Jewish Net Directory
Torah Net
A Guide to Jewish Studies
Judaism 101
Archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls
WebShas Talmud Concordance
The Various Branches of Judaism
The Website on All Things Kosher

LINKS TO SIKHISM

Wikipedia Article on Sikhism
Religious Tolerance Article on Sikhism
Sikhism Web Directory
Sikh Network Worldwide Directory
Sikhism - thy name is Love and Sacrifice
Gateway to Sikhism
Sikhism Web Guide For Finding Anything Sikh

[06] Gateways to secular and religious patriarchy, gender studies, and related issues:

WomanSource Catalog of Links to Women Resources (Fixed 3 July 05)
Global List of Women's Organisations
Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
Women in Development in Europe (WIDE)
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
Challenging Fundamentalisms: Resources for Women's Human Rights
Gender Equality Links
Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership
Women and Gender Studies Programs Worldwide
GenderLink Network for Social Research
Women's Ordination WorldWide (WOW).
Note: The Second International Ecumenical Conference of WOW will take place July 22-24, 2005, at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
Christians for Biblical Equality
Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Women and Gender Resources on the Web
International Gender Organization (GenderWatch)
Feminist Internet Gateway
Patriarchy Website
The Domain of Patriarchy on the Internet
Search Directory for Women Online
Jewish Women International
Arab Women's Solidarity Association (AWSA)
Asian Women's Resource Exchange (AWORC)
Association for Women In Development (AWID)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
The National Association for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS)
Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
Association of Independent Women's Organizations (AIWO)

[07] These data are available online free of charge. In order to access the database and download data, navigate to the United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, Literacy and Non Formal Education Sector, Paris, 2002. For the data plotted in Figures 2a and 2b, the following technical notes are provided to explain the data sources and reliability:

Definition: "The number of illiterate men is defined as the population of women aged 15 years and over who cannot both read and write with understanding a short, simple statement on their everyday life. This indicator can be used to measure gender parity in education, the achievement of literacy programs and the effectiveness of primary education. According to UNESCO, "Literacy represents a potential for further intellectual growth and contribution to economic-socio-cultural development of society." Adult literacy correlates with GNP per capita, life expectancy, fertility rates, infant mortality, and urbanization."

Years Covered and Frequency of Update: "Data are available in ten-year intervals from 1970 to 1990 and in five-year intervals from 1990 to 2015. UNESCO updates the data regularly as new estimates are made available. The most recent updates were in December, 2002."

Methodology: "Most literacy data are collected during national population censuses. Typically, censuses are held only once in a decade, so UNESCO supplements these data with household surveys, labor force surveys, employment surveys, industry surveys, and agricultural surveys when they are available."

"UNESCO graphs a logistic regression model from census and survey data to create an annualized time series that interpolates between data points and projects future literacy rates. The model is based on observed literacy by age group for each country and fits empirical observations that 1) literacy levels of persons over 20 years of age tend to remain stable over time, and 2) for most countries, these rates seem to follow the shape of a clear-cut logistic distribution, or S-curve. Male and female literacy rates are modeled separately."

"When census and survey data are not available, literacy rates for a specific country are estimated based on neighboring countries with similar characteristics, including life expectancy at birth, enrollment ratio in secondary education, and fertility rate."

"Once the literacy rate is determined, the number of illiterates is calculated based on population data by age group from the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revision. For a thorough description of these data and the associated collection methodologies, please refer to the UN Population Division's Website."

Data Reliability: "The availability and quality of national statistics on literacy varies widely, particularly for developing countries. When census and survey data are not available for a particular country, estimates need to be made based on neighboring countries. Even when census and survey data are available they are typically collected only once every decade. In addition, many industrialized countries have stopped collecting literacy data in recent years, based on the sometimes incorrect assumption that universal primary education means universal literacy."

"Even though UNESCO has applied the same methodology to analyze all of the country data, actual definitions of adult literacy are not strictly comparable among countries. Some countries equate persons with no schooling for illiterates, or change definitions between censuses. In addition, UNESCO's definition of literacy does not include people who, though familiar with the basics of reading and writing, do not have the skills to function at a reasonable level in their own society. Practices for identifying literates and illiterates during actual census enumeration may also vary, and errors in literacy self-declaration can affect data reliability."

[08] Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being, United Nations, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board Report, May 2005.

[09] Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Harper Collins, 2004.

[10] Paul C. Stern, Book Review of "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less," by Barry Schwarts, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 9, Number 1-2, pp. 293-295, 2005.

[11] Betsy Taylor, Consumption: It is Time for Economists and Scientists to Talk, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 9, Number 1-2, pp. 14-17, 2005.

[12] Karen Armstrong, A History of God, Ballantine, 1993, and In the Beginning, Ballantine, 1996.

[13] Maria Mies, Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale, Zed Books, 1998.

[14] Robert S. McElvaine, Eve's Seed: Biology, the Sexes, and the Course of History, McGraw-Hill, 2001.

[15] Kris Inwood, Economic Growth and Global Inequality in Long Run Perspective, Review of Income and Wealth, Vol. 48, pp. 581-593, 2002.

[16] Yoshie Furuhashi, Sexism and science: The history of female orgasm, Seven Oaks Magazine, 14 June 2005

[17] Joan Chittister, The Thinkers: A life dedicated to her faith, and to questioning its policies, with Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 27 June 2005

Joan Chittister has published thirty-two books as author and editor, including:
The Way We Were: A Story of Conversion and Renewal (2005)
Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir (2004, 1st place award in spirituality, Catholic Press Association)
Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope (2003, best general interest award, Association of Theological Booksellers)
The Story of Ruth: Twelve Moments in Every Woman's Life (2000)
Passion for Life: Fragments of the Face of God (1996, 1st place award, Catholic Press Association)
There Is a Season (1995, 1st place award, Catholic Press Association).
Heart of Flesh: A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men (1998). Excerpt: "The models of power that arise out of the narrow perspective of a patriarchal worldview reek with danger. In systems in which power is more a commodity than an instrument for good, getting power and keeping it become the overriding functions of every decision. The need to keep control leads to secrecy, to manipulation, to tokenism, to ruthless disregard for others, to the carving out of unreal worlds. Patriarchal power keeps information to itself so that others have no material out of which to fashion alternative decisions. Skewing of information, disinformation, manipulation of data, spin-doctoring become the bedrock of communication in a system that assumes itself to be the first and last word on every decision."

[18] Riane Eisler, The Chalice and The Blade: Our History, Our Future, Center for Partnership Studies, Harper, 1988.

[19] Ieva Cepulkauskaite, Women and religion - Part One: Women in Traditional Religions, Sciumas Internet Magazine, Lithuania, May 1999, and Women and religion - Part Two: Challenges to Traditional Patterns, Sciumas Internet Magazine, Lithuania, June 1999.

[20] Lord Acton, 1834-1902. See sources in the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. Another jewel by Lord Acton: "History is a great innovator and breaker of idols."

[21] Olmsted, Jennifer C., Assessing the Impact of Religion on Gender Status, Feminist Economics 8(3), 2002, pp. 99-111. This essay is a Comment on The Extra Burden of Moslem Wives: Clues from Israeli Women’s Labor Supply, by Shoshona Grossbard-Shechtman and Shoshona Neuman, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol. 46, No. 3, April 1998. She references Barbara Swirski, Jews Don’t Batter Their Wives: Another Myth Bites the Dust, in Barbara Swirski and Marilyn Safir (eds.), Calling the Equality Bluff: Women in Israel, Pergamon Press, New York, 1991, pp. 319–27. See also Olmsted, Jennifer C., Orientalism and economic methods: (Re)reading feminist economic discussions of Islam, Chapter 7 (pp. 165-182) of Postcolonialism Meets Economics (Economics As Socialtheory), Eiman O. Zein-Elabdin and S. Charusheela (Editors), Routledge, 2004.

[22] Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu: An Essay on the Interior Life, Harper and Row, New York, 1968, p. 112.

[23] Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether, eds., Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2000.

[24] Bron Taylor, The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, Continuum International, 2005.

[25] Jim Motavalli, Stewards of the Earth: the religious mission to protect the environment is growing rapidly to encompass the world’s major faiths, E/The Environmental Magazine, Volume XIII, Number 6, November-December 2002

[26] Caludio Naranjo, The End of Patriarchy, Amber Lotus, 1994

[27] Virginia Postrel, The Future and its Enemies, The Free Press, New York, 1998.

[28] Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1962.

[29] Ken Bausch, Hegemony in Two Paradigms, World Futures, 60:37-49, 2004.

[30] St. Ignatius Loyola, A Meditation on Two Standards, Spiritual Exercises, 142.

[31] John A. Sanford, The Invisible Partners: How the Male and Female in each of Us Affects our Relationships, Paulist Press, 1980

[32] Carl Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul, Harvest, 1955

[33] Bruno Bettelheim, Symbolic Wounds: Puberty Rites and The Envious Male Revised Edition, Collier Books, New York, 1968

[34] Judith Lorber, Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics, Roxbury, 2005.

[35] Sudhir Anand and Amartya K. Sen, Human Development and Economic Sustainability, World Development, Volume 28, Issue 12, Pages 2029-2049, December 2000.

[36] Santi Theresa Rosario, Building Solidarity Against Patriarchy, Rural Livelihood Program, CARE Bangladesh, 2004.

[37] Kalpana Sharma and Ammu Joseph, Editors, Terror, Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out, Zed Books, 2003.

[38] Walter Leal Filho, Editor, Handbook of Sustainability Research, Volume 20: Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Peter Lang, Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt, 2005.

[39] Kudakwashe Chirambwi, Church Should Welcome Women Into Leadership, The Herald, Harare, Zimbabwe, 5 November 2004

[40] Marie M. Fortune, Is Nothing Sacred? The Story of a Pastor, the Women he Sexually Abused, and the Congregation he Nearly Destroyed, United Church Press, 1999

"Religious institutions have spent too much time and money protecting the institution from its people instead of protecting the people from their institution. What is needed is for them to take up the task of protecting their people, even when that means admitting they have failed them."

[41] Dennis and Donella Meadows, The Limits to Growth, Universe Books, 1972; Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future, Context Institute, 1992; The Global Citizen, Island Press, 2001.

[42] Nirmala Nair, The Myth of Sustainable Development, The Berkana Institute, September 2004.

[43] Jeffrey Sachs, Investing in Development, United Nations Millennium Report, January 2005.

[44] David Suzuki, The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our Place in Nature, Allen & Unwin, Melbourne, 1997

[45] Bahá’ís of the United States, Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men, Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 1998.

[46] Tao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching: The Way of Life, chapters 32 and 37, circa 500 BCE. Available online: Translation by S. Mitchell, CUNY at Brooklyn, 1995

"Nothing in life is to be feared.
It is only to be understood."
Marie Curie, 1867-1934

LET ME KNOW YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Luis T. Gutierrez

EDITOR: solidarity-sustainability-owner@googlegroups.com
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Copyright © 2005 by Luis T. Gutierrez

From Patriarchy to Solidarity and Sustainability
in both Religion
and Society

Let us take another look at Rublev's Trinity Icon, circa 1422 (Eastern Orthodox Tradition).

Is this an image of a patriarchal God? No, it is an image of a God who is both male and female, and more. Now, let's consider the following images:

Orthodox Jewish Patriarchy

Western Christian Patriarchy

Eastern Christian Patriarchy

Islamic Patriarchy

Hindu Patriarchy

Buddhist Patriarchy

Sikh Patriarchy

Is God exclusively male? Where is the "divine feminine"? Are religious patriarchies made by divine hands ... or by human hands?

Feedback

Feedback from readers, subject to editing, will be included here, as well as responses from the editor if appropriate. Inflammatory feedback will be discarded.

Subscribers also can submit announcements (to be posted free of charge) consistent with the goal of this project. Announcements must be brief and provide a point of contact, including the person's name and email address.

Please send your inputs by email to: Editor

Feedback on V1 N1

A significant amount of feedback was generated in response to V1 N1 of the newsletter: mostly positive, some negative, very few flames. Some of the feedback was very informative and instructive. Space does not allow recognition of all the feedback emails received, but the following were specially significant.

Professor Jennifer Olmsted, Sonoma State University, wrote to express concern about perceptions of women under Islam, and provided valuable references (including data) to show that careful nuancing is required when comparing the subjugation of women under various religious traditions.

Professor Barbara Tedlock, SUNY at Buffalo, wrote about Shamanism as a way of reclaiming the feminine in religion and medicine. Her recently published book, The Woman in the Shaman's Body, is listed below under "New Resources."

Martha Moore Trescott, owner, T & L Enterprises, Dallas and retired professor, DeVry University, Dallas, wrote to inform about her latest book, New Images, New Paths: A History of Women in Engineering in the United States, 1850-1980, and recommend other information sources and points of contact.

David D. Diel, Ph.D. candidate at MIT, wrote to express his views, as follows:

"The God of Judaic religions is historically masculine, so those denominational branches which try to maternalize God are left disconnected from their historical foundations. Even if new gender-free writings and religious denominations become popular, a vast history of artifacts will still describe God as a father figure. Your article suggests that a view favorable to the "divine feminine" can emerge from existing religions. I would strongly disagree. Over and over again, followers who read the Old Testament of the Bible inevitably conclude that the paternal God has been around since the beginning of recorded history. Even more so, in the Quran, the masculinity of God is so revered that it would be hard to imagine a single Muslim who would consider any alternative view."

"I agree that the problem of misogyny exists, but the answer is not to revise history or bring-in female clergy. Historically, God has placed men in roles of authority. However, if you take in only one point from what I say, then let it be this: replacing males with females in positions of authority will not prevent the abuse of authority. Efforts to displace men will result in a lot of angry men, without solving the root problem. The sins of forceful subjugation and selfish consumption will continue to arise as long as people worship power instead of God himself."

Response: I believe that reducing God to any human attribute to the exclusion of others is like creating an idol. Therefore, on the issue of God's "masculinity," let's agree to disagree. I certainly agree that both men and women share the propensity to abuse authority, but that is not the point. The point is that excluding women from roles of religious authority is morally wrong, and 5000 years of a bad practice doesn't make it good.

Ken Bausch, Institute for 21st Century Agoras, wrote to share his research on hegemony paradigms and recommend some scholarly references. He and Aleco Christakis are about to publish a book, Human Science: Pragmatic Design Dialogue, Information Age Press.

I am grateful to all those who took the time to write.

Resources

The United Nations

The United Nations have an extensive network of websites, some of them including global databases. Some of the most useful are listed below. For an index of all the UN websites, go to the UN Website Locator.

UN Main Portal
UN Development Program
UN Environmental Program
UN Millennium Project
UN Statistical Division
UN University
UN WomenWatch

U.N. Millennium Development Goals
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

International

African Union
European Union
Global Community Foundation
International Data Base
International Monetary Fund
International Stds Org
SE Asian Nations Assoc
Union of International Assoc
World Bank
World Development
World Energy Council
World Environment Center
World Health Organization
World Labor Organization
World Trade Organization

United States

U.S. Government
Library of Congress
National Academies
Endowment for the Humanities
Federal Reserve
Environmental Protection
Energy Information
Bureau of Economic Statistics
Census Bureau
Geological Survey
Women's Bureau

Solidarity

International Solidarity
Europe Solidarity Forum
Amnesty International
Christian Solidarity
Religious Freedom Center
Women/Gender Resources
South Asian Network
OECD Gender Equity Links

Sustainability

Ecocosm Dynamics
Definitions of Sustainability
Intl Inst for Sust Dev
Sustainability Internetwork
Sustainability Now
Ecology and Society
Ecological Economics

Patriarchy

Patriarchy Website
Gender and Society
The Patriarchal Family
Domestic Violence
Gender Resources

Gender in Religion

Bahá'í
Buddhism
Eastern Orthodox
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Lutheran Federation
Quakers
Roman Catholic
Salvation Army
World Council of Churches

Web Research Tools

Search Engines Directory
ResourceShelf
ResearchBuzz
Deep Web Research
Research Discovery Network
Governments Worldwide
Universities Worldwide
Humanities
Social Sciences
Physical Sciences
Social Sciences
Life Sciences
Engineering
Environment
Gender Issues
Global Issues

New Resources

Recently published:

Women and Religion is a Globalized World
Center for Health and Social policy (CHSP), Chiang May, Thailand, March 2004.

Building Solidarity Against Patriarchy
By Santi Rozario, CARE Bangladesh, November 2004.

The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment -- Final Report
United Nations, May 2005.

Biodiversity and Human Well–being: A Synthesis Report for the Convention on Biological Diversity
United Nations, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, May 2005.

Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being
United Nations, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board Report, May 2005.

"The overriding conclusion of this assessment is that it lies within the power of human societies to ease the strains we are putting on the nature services of the planet, while continuing to use them to bring better living standards to all . . . Achieving this, however, will require radical changes in the way nature is treated at every level of decision-making and new ways of cooperation between government, business and civil society. The warning signs are there for all of us to see. The future now lies in our hands."

The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less,
By Barry Schwartz, Harper Collins, 2004.

Book Review of "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less," by Barry Schwarts
By Paul C. Stern, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 9, Number 1-2, pp. 293-295, 2005

"This small, easy-to-red volume uses social observation and voluminous evidence from psychological research to support Schwartz's thesis that as people are offered more and more life choices in societies that enshrine freedom and individual responsibility, human happiness and well-being inevitably decline .... Ultimately, the psychological evidence seems to say, the utilitarian arguments for and against more stringent environmental protection should weigh less than they now do, and the moral and esthetic arguments more." Paul C. Stern, National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC, USA.

Consumption: It is Time for Economists and Scientists to Talk
By Betsy Taylor, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 9, Number 1-2, pp. 14-17, 2005

The Woman in the Shaman's Body: Reclaiming the Feminine in Religion and Medicine,
By Barbara Tedlock, Bantam, 2005.

In this myth-shattering boiok, distinguished anthropologist and initiated shaman Barbara Tedlock reveals the long-hidden female roots of the world's oldest form of religion and medicine. Here is a fascinating expedition into the ancient tradition of shamamism, from its prehistoric beginnings to the work of women shamans across the globe today."

Signs of the Times

The New Path to Peace and Sustainability, by Mikhail Gorbachev, Chair, Green Cross International, El Pais (Spanish newspaper), 26 January 2004.

The Death of Environmentalism: Global warming politics in a post-environmental world, by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, Grist, 13 Jan 2005.

Woman Leads Muslim Prayer Service in NYC, The Associated Press, 18 March 2005

Educational Goals for Girls Remain Unmet, by Nicole Itano and Brooke Linville, WeNews correspondents, 3 May 2005.

The Soul of Environmentalism: Rediscovering transformational politics in the 21st century, by Michel Gelobter, et al, Grist, 27 May 2005.

How misogyny leads to rape, by Shmuley Boteach, The Jerusalem Post, 2 June 2005.

Guatemala's epidemic of killing, by Adam Blenford, BBC News, 9 June 2005.

Africa is a rich continent made poor by rapacious western corporations, by Naomi Klein, The Guardian, 10 June 2005.

Thousands join women’s anti-government demonstration in Tehran, Iran Focus, 12 June 2005.

The Thinkers: A life dedicated to her faith, and to questioning its policies, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 27 June 2005.

Announcements

Women's Studies
I'm looking for information about how to increase enrollment in women's studies.

What have other programs done to appeal to their university students and battle the misconceptions?

Are there any communication campaigns about this topic?

If you have answers to these questions, please contact Anna Gonzalez, Women's Studies Public Relations Assistant for Southern Methodist University.

Thank you,
Anna Gonzalez
amgonzal@smu.edu

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The following are links to previous issues of the newsletter:

V1 N1 May 2005 ~ Cross-Gender Solidarity

Humor

I recently received the following from a friend, author unknown:

POPE JOHN PAUL II UPSETS GOD

Pope John Paul II arrives in heaven. St. Peter says, "Frankly, you're very lucky to be here." "Why?" says John Paul. "What did I do wrong on earth?" "God was very angry with your stance on women becoming priests." replies St Peter. "He's mad about THAT?" says John Paul. St. Peter says, "She is furious."