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1. The Religious Roots of Gender Violence
Violence Against Women
in Contemporary World Religion:
Roots And Cures
Daniel C. Maguire
Professor of Moral Theology & Ethics, Marquette University, and President, The Religious Consultation On Population, Reproductive Health and Ethics
Note: The following is quoted (with permission) from Violence Against Women in Contemporary World Religion: Roots And Cures, Daniel C. Maguire and Sa'Diyya Shaikh (Editors), Pilgrim Press, 2007, 248 pages.
Excerpt from Chapter 9, "Buddhism and Violence against Women" by Ouyporn Khuankaew, pp. 176-177:
"The following are forms of suffering identified by the participants to be caused by Buddhism itself:
"Young girls do not have an opportunity for education in the temple.
"Women are told, often by a monk, that the reason they were born as women is because they did not accumulate enough merit in their previous lives; thus, they could not be born in male form.
"Women are often told by monks to be patient with abusive husbands.
"Women who experience suffering, especially sexual violence, are not able to seek spiritual help from monks because they are not sure of their safety and are not sure the monks have the experience to help them.
"Women are not allowed to enter certain buildings or areas inside temples.
"Women are told that they are an obstacle to the monks' celibate life.
"In some temples paintings about Buddhism depict women as inferior.
"Some temples note in their chanting books that certain sutras are exclusively for monks and male novices to chant.
"The institution of Buddhism defines women who have abortions as religiously immoral.
"Generally women are not selected to be part of the temple committee. The roles they are assigned are merely bringing offerings to the monks, and cooking and cleaning when there is a temple festival.
"Monks and religious institutions are silent about gender-based violence.
"In Thailand it is common to hear news about a monk who exploits women sexually or financially by mislreading them into believing that he has a spiritual power to make them attractive to men or to bring back a huband who left his wife for another woman."
Editor's Note: A similar list follows with special forms of suffering for Buddhist nuns. With some variations, all the major patriarchal religions exhibit analogous symptoms of misogyny.
For further study and reflection on religion-induced gender violence:
Colloquium On Violence & Religion (COV&R), Official website for exploration, criticism, and development of René Girard‘s Mimetic Theory.
Violence Against Women: Philosophical and Religious Foundations of Gender Morality, James W. Prescott, New Perspectives, 1995.
Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay, James Alison, Crossroad, 2001.
Religion, globalization and violence against women, Rose Uchem, Conversations for a Better World, 2009.
A Cry for Dignity: Religion, Violence, and the Struggle of Dalit Women in India, Mary Grey, Equinox, 2010.
The Masculinity Conspiracy, Joseph Gelfer, CreateSpace, 14 August 2011.
The Forgiving Victim, James Alison, The Raven Foundation, July 2012.
Reconsidering women in relation to religion, Ekklesia, 21 August 2012.
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Ekklesia, 25 November 2012.
Catholic Priest Blames Italy’s Stiletto Murders on Women, Barbie Latza Nadeau, The Daily Beast, 28 December 2012.
Violence against women has no religious justification, Badria al-Bishr, Al Arabiya, 18 March 2013.
Religion Can Advance Women’s Rights: Carter Center Conference Mobilizes Faith Groups to Advance Women's Rights, The Carter Center, 28 June 2013.
Religion, Patriarchy and Women’s Gender Identity, Jenny Ubi, Ours Magazine, 11 July 2014.
Scars Across Humanity, Elaine Storkey, SPCK, 2015.
For an interesting chronology of significant dates and events in overcoming patriarchy in various religious traditions, click here.
For an extensive biblical exegesis on the original unity of man and woman in the mystery of creation, see
Original Unity of Man and Woman: Catechesis on the Book of Genesis, John Paul II, St. Paul Editions, 1981. See also The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan, Pope John Paul II, Pauline Books, 1997.
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2. Heterosexuals and Homosexuals in Religion
Definition of Gender Balance
Gender balance is 50/50 male/female presence in a group. So it is a matter of numbers, but it is more than just a matter of numbers. Gender balance is required in both responsibility and authority, in the family and in all human institutions. It must become internalized to the point in which patriarchal individualism and male hegemony are neutralized by a new sense of communion between men and women, and between humanity and nature. It must be a fully inclusive sense of communion that overcomes any exclusivism on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, or any other reason. It must be a communion that seeks the integral development of each and every human person, from conception to natural death. And it must be a communion in which all humans endeavor to take care of each other while also taking care of natural resources. Nothing in this world is perfect, and this new order of things will not be perfect but, far from being utopian, it is in fact inevitable if humanity is to survive in the long term.
Gender Imbalance in Religion
Patriarchy preceded all the major religions that exist today, and biased them all from the beginning in favor of heterosexual male hegemony and domination (Cf. Genesis 3:16). This section is a synopsis about the universality of the deeply ingrained prejudice - undoubtedly based on male-only images of God - that must be overcome if organized religion is not to become an obstacle to integral human development.
- Religious Tolerance, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 1995-2011.
This web site offers an excellent synopsis (with passage quotations, annotated citations, and links to other web sites) about the status of women in the Bible and in early Christianity. It is structured as follows:
- During Old Testament times, when the roles of women were severely restricted
- Hebrew scripture passages treating women as generally inferior to men
- Hebrew scripture passages treating women as property of men
- Hebrew scripture passages describing women in other negative terms
- Hebrew scripture passages describing women as equal to men (very few)
- Hebrew scripture passages describing women as leaders (but not as religious leaders)
- During Jesus' public ministry to the people of Israel, when the roles of women were severely restricted in accordance with the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) traditions and practices
- Changing roles of women after the execution and resurrection of Jesus (circa 30 CE)
- Regressive statements by Christian religious authorities (all male) after the 2nd century CE
By following these lists of biblical and post-biblical statements, the reader is able to verify the descriptive versus prescriptive passages about women, and the significant discontinuities that must be researched, as pointed out in Section 1.
- The emerging field of women and gender studies now includes issues of men, masculinities, and spirituality. See, for example:
- Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women, Deborah Blum, Penguin, 1998.
- Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men, Bahá'í International Community, 1999.
- Does Masculinity Thwart Being Religious?, Edward H. Thompson Jr. and Kathryn R. Remmes, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, September 2002.
- Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace, Judith L. Hand, Questpath Publishing, 2003.
- Biological Differences Between Men and Women With Respect to Social Stability and Aggression, Judith L. Hand, 2006.
- Young Men, Religion and Attitudes Towards Homosexuality, Yasemin Besen and Gilbert Zicklin, Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, Novermber 2007.
- Guide to Graduate Work in Women's / Gender Studies, Joan Korenman and NWSA, 2009.
- Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy, Joseph Gelfer, Equinox Publishing, 2009.
- The Patriarch's Nuts: Concerning the Testicular Logic of Biblical Hebrew, Roland Boer, Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, June 2011.
- The Other Side of the Gender Equation: Gender Issues for Men in the Europe and Eurasia Region, Susan D. Somach, KDID Social Transitions, July 2011.
- What "America's Pope" thinks of gay marriage, priestly celibacy, and women priests, CBS Sixty Minutes Overtime, 21 August 2011.
- Was Jesus gay? Probably, Paul Oestreicher, The Guardian, 20 April 2012.
- Church of England: Is error really better than uncertainty?, Savitri Hensman, Ekklesia, 4 August 2013.
- Civil Same-Sex Marriage: A Catholic Affirmation, Lisa Fullam, New Ways Ministry, 15 April 2014.
- What Jesus Would Say to a Lesbian Couple, Aaron Milavec, Amazon Digital Services, 16 November 2015.
Since their inception most religious traditions have absorbed the patriarchal mindset of male hegemony, and awareness that this is a prejudice to be overcome - rather than a sacred tradition to be conserved and transmitted - is a new phenomenon. Perhaps the impending economic and ecological crises, and the unavoidable need for all humans to collaborate in transitioning to a world of solidarity and sustainability, will induce a religious renewal and help to overcome pseudo-dogmatic resistance to change.
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3. Women and Religious Gender Roles in Judaism
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Based on the Wikipedia article on Women in Judaism:
The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law (the corpus of rabbinic literature), by custom, and by non-religious cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature mention various female role models, religious law treats women differently in various circumstances.
Relatively few women are mentioned in the Bible by name and role, suggesting that they were rarely in the forefront of public life. There are a number of exceptions to this rule, including the Matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, Miriam the prophetess, Deborah the Judge, Huldah the prophetess, Abigail who married David, and Esther. In the Biblical account these women did not meet with opposition for the relatively public presence they had.
According to Jewish tradition, a covenant was formed between the Israelites and the God of Abraham at Mount Sinai. The Torah relates that both Israelite men and Israelite women were present at Sinai, however, the covenant was worded in such a way that it bound men to act upon its requirements and to ensure that the members of their household (wives, children, and slaves) met these requirements as well. In this sense, the covenant bound women as well, though indirectly.
To continue reading the Wikipedia article, click here.
The Wikipedia article includes a very comprehensive bibliography and a directory of links to Jewish religious sources. With regard to current trends on the role of women in Judaism, the following articles may be of interest:
- The Dragon in the Belly: Patriarchs, Judges, and Kings, Susan Wunderink, Christianity Today, 25 April 2008.
- Alina Treiger to become first female rabbi ordained in Germany since war, Kate Connolly, Guardian (Berlin), 3 November 2010.
- Gender Segregation and Inequality inside Israel and Palestine, International Middle East Media Center, 30 November 2011.
- Judaism 101: The Role of Women, Tracey R. Rich, 1995-2011.
- God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?, David T. Lamb, IVP Books, 27 May 2011.
- Rehovot film festival to focus on women and religion, Nirit Anderman, Haaretz, 3 October 2012.
- Women Activists Held For Violating Ban At Jerusalem Western Wall, Staff, RTT, 11 April 2013
- The Women’s Wall, Elliott Horowiz, The Tablet, 30 April 2013
- Women of the Wall Prevail, Sara Hirschhorn, Sightings, 9 May 2013
- Twenty Vile Quotes Against Women By Church Leaders from St. Augustine to Pat Robertson, Valerie Tarico, Blog, 1 July 2013
- Eve: The Woman of Unique Distinction, BibleGateway, 22 July 2013
- Why Should Women Pray to a Male God?, Elissa Strauss and Scott Perlo, Forward, 16 November 2014
- A giant step for Orthodox women clergy, Esther D. Kustanowitz, Jewish Journal, 5 May 2015
- Calling out the Jewish patriarchy, one blog at a time, Esther D. Kustanowitz, Haaretz, 25 May 2015
- Dismantling the Patriarchy is an Ecumenical Task, Marissa Stern, Jewish Exponent, 2 December 2015
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4. Women and Religious Gender Roles in Christianity
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Based on the Wikipedia article on Gender Roles in Christianity:
Gender roles in Christianity vary considerably today as they have during the last two millennia. This is especially true with regards to marriage and ministry.
Christianity traditionally has given men the position of authority in marriage, society and government. This position places women in submissive roles, and usually excludes women from church leadership, especially from formal positions requiring any form of ordination. The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and many conservative Protestant denominations assert today that only men can be ordained—as clergy and as deacons.
Many progressive Christians disagree with the traditional "male authority" and "female submission" paradigm. They take a Christian egalitarian or Christian feminist view, holding that the overarching message of Christianity provides positional equality for women in marriage and in ministry. Accordingly, some Anglican and Protestant churches now ordain women to positions of ecclesiastical leadership and religious authority (ministers, pastors, priests, bishops).
Despite these emerging theological differences, the majority of Christians regard women with dignity and respect as having been created alongside men in the Image of God. The Bible is seen by many as elevating and honoring women, especially as compared with certain other religions or societies. Women have filled prominent roles in the Church historically, and continue to do so today in spite of significant limitations imposed by ordination restrictions.
To continue reading the Wikipedia article, click here.
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Christians for Biblical Equality
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Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) is a nonprofit organization of Christian men and women who believe that the Bible, properly interpreted, teaches the fundamental equality of men and women of all ethnic groups, all economic classes, and all age groups, based on the teachings of Scriptures such as Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV 2011). CBE affirms and promotes the biblical truth that all believers—without regard to gender, ethnicity or class—must exercise their God-given gifts with equal authority and equal responsibility in church, home and world. CBE's statement, "Men, Women, and Biblical Equality,” lays out the biblical rationale for equality, as well as its practical applications in the family and community of believers. The statement is available in 33 languages. To select a language and read the document, click HERE.
MUST READ: Ideas Have Consequences: Faith, Gender, and Social Ethics, Mimi Haddad, Priscilla Papers, Volume 28, Number 1, Winter 2014, pp. 5-10.
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The Junia Project
"The Junia Project is a community of women and men advocating for the inclusion of women at all levels of leadership in the Christian church and for mutuality in marriage. We believe that when interpreted correctly, the Bible teaches that both men and women are called to serve at all levels of the Church, and that leadership should be based primarily on gifting and not on gender."
Some recent articles in the Junia Project blog:
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5. Women and Religious Gender Roles in Islam
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Based on the Wikipedia article on Women in Islam:
The study of women in Islam investigates the role of women within the religion of Islam. The complex relationship between women and Islam is defined by both Islamic texts and the history and culture of the Muslim world. The Qur'an makes it clear that men and women are equal, however the Qu'ran states in 4:34, "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient and guard in the husband's absence what Allah orders them to guard." Although the Quran does say this, the superiority of men is interpreted in terms of strength by the context - men maintain women. This verse however refers to a relationship between a husband and wife, not in society as a whole.
Sharia (Islamic law) provides for complementarianism, differences between women's and men's roles, rights, and obligations. However neither the Quran nor Hadith mention women have to cook or clean. The majority of Muslim countries give women varying degrees of rights with regards to marriage, divorce, civil rights, legal status, dress code, and education based on different interpretations. Scholars and other commentators vary as to whether they are just and whether they are a correct interpretation of religious imperatives.
To continue reading the Wikipedia article, click here.
Some additional references:
The Women of Islam, Lisa Beyer, Time Magazine, 25 November 2001.
Mauritanian Islamic leaders ban genital mutilation, Mohamed Abdel Wedoud, Magharebia, 15 January 2010.
Women in Islam, Catherine of Siena Virtual College, 2010.
Gender Equity in Islam (Foundations of Spiritual and Human Equity), Jamal Badawi, Islam Online, 29 March 2011.
Gender Equity in Islam (The Economic Aspect), Jamal Badawi, Islam Online, 30 March 2011.
Gender Equity in Islam (The Social Aspect), Jamal Badawi, Islam Online, 4 April 2011.
Gender Equity in Islam (The Legal/Political Aspect), Jamal Badawi, Islam Online, 7 April 2011.
Gender Segregation and Inequality inside Israel and Palestine, International Middle East Media Center, 30 November 2011.
International conference calls for gender equality in Muslim societies, Today's Zaman, Istanbul, 23 December 2011.
Within, Without: Dialogical Perspectives on Feminism and Islam, Sara Ashencaen Crabtree and Fatima Husain, Religion & Gender, February 2012.
Muslim Women in India Seek Gender Equality in Marriage, Nilanjana Roy, New York Times, 24 April 2012.
Islamic Feminism: Method and Strategy, Lanny Octavia, Qantara, 28 June 2012.
Egypt Revolution Makes It Worse for Women, Cam McGrath, IPS, 2 November 2012.
'Our Books and Our Pens Are Most Powerful Weapons', Malala Yousafzai, delivered this address on education to the United Nations Youth Assembly on 'Malala Day', her 16th birthday, 12 July 2013.
The Ice is Breaking, A Sober Second Look, 17 October 2013.
Malala Yousafzai and the Global Fight for Gender Equality, Knowledge Wharton High School, 17 October 2013.
Does the Koran allow wife-beating? Not if Muslims don't want it to, Ayesha Chaudhry, The Globe and Mail, 27 March 2014.
Scholar spotlight: Dr Zainab Alwani, reclaiming gender equality in Islamic scholarship, Omar Shahid, Aquila-Style, 10 October 2014.
Muslim feminism unveiled, Anthony Berteaux, The Daily Aztec, 9 March 2015.
The funeral of patriarchy, Mona Hassan, The Nation, 29 March 2015.
Like a virgin, Sam Ambreen, The News Hub, 25 April 2015.
The invisible woman, Umber Khairi, The News, 26 April 2015.
Women fit only to deliver children,Gender equality un-Islamic, says Sunni cleric, Aboobacker Musliar, Saharasamay Live, 29 November 2015.
Musliyar's remark on gender equality 'baseless, misconceived': Lucknow Cleric, ANI, Catch News, 29 November 2015.
Women across faiths challenge patriarchy within religion, Vijay Bate, The Hindu, 9 March 2016.
Patriarchy, ISIS, and Female Slaves, Mahfuz Quazi, Countercurrents, 20 March 2016.
Asma Lamrabet: Deconstructing Patriarchy in Islamic Thought, Alexandra Krauska, Morocco World News, 27 July 2016.
THE FOLLOWING IS TYPICAL OF THE PATRIARCHAL MINDSET
THAT STILL PREVAILS IN MOST OF THE WORLD RELIGIONS
Gender equality and how Islam sees it
Muhammad Eusha, Dhaka Tribune, 24 September 2013
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6. Women and Religious Gender Roles in Buddhism
Based on the Wikipedia article on Women in Buddhism:
"Women in Buddhism is a topic that can be approached from varied perspectives including those of theology, history, anthropology and feminism. Topical interests include the theological status of women, the treatment of women in Buddhist societies at home and in public, the history of women in Buddhism, and a comparison of the experiences of women across different forms of Buddhism. As in other religions, the experiences of Buddhist women have varied considerably.
"The founder of the religion, Gautama Buddha, permitted women to join his monastic community and fully participate in it, although there were certain provisos or garudhammas. As Susan Murcott has commented: "The nun's sangha was a radical experiment for its time" [Murcott, Susan (1991). The First Buddhist Women:Translations and Commentary on the Therigatha. Parallax Press. page 4.] Dr. Mettanando Bhikkhu says of the First Buddhist council: "Perhaps Mahakassappa and the bhikkhus of that time were jealous of the bhikkhunis being more popular and doing more teaching and social work than the bhikkhus. Their anti-women prejudice became institutionalized at that time with the eight garudhammas, the eight weighty restrictions. We must discontinue that prejudice. There is no anti-women prejudice in Jainism and they survived in India; whereas Buddhism had prejudice and did not survive in India" [see The First Council and Suppression of the Bhikkhuni Order]. Although it must be said that this is factually incorrect, because there are jain sects like the Digambara sect, which believes that women are capable of spiritual progress, but must be reborn male, in order to attain final spiritual liberation. It is also highly doubtful that the garudhammas were motivated by Mahakaasapa's being jealous, as he is said to be an enlightened one and one of the principle disciples of the Buddha. Furthermore there's no support within canon, to suggest that the bhikkunis were more popular, taught more or that they did more social work than Bhikkhus.
"The various schools and traditions within Buddhism hold different views as to the possibilities of women's spiritual attainments. Feminist scholars have also noted than even when a woman's potential for spiritual attainment is acknowledged, records of such achievements may not be kept - or may be obscured by gender-neutral language or mis-translation of original sources by Western scholars. According to Bernard Faure, "Like most clerical discourses, Buddhism is indeed relentlessly misogynist, but as far as misogynist discourses go, it is one of the most flexible and open to multiplicity and contradiction."
To continue reading the Wikipedia article, click here.
Some additional references:
The Place of Women in Buddhism, Swarna de Silva, Enabling Support Foundation, 1994.
A Grand Declaration of Gender Equality, Writings on Buddhism, Soka Gakkai International, 1996.
Full Ordination of Women in Tibetan Buddhism, His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, 2007.
An Argument Against Gender Discrimination Within The Buddhist Sangha, Anthony Burns,
International Buddhist College, Thailand, 2007.
Buddhism and Women, BhudaNet (with links to other resources), 2008.
The Position of Women in Buddhism , L.S. Dewaraja, Buddhist Pub Soc, Sri Lanka, 2011.
Ordination of Women in Buddhism, Wikipedia, 2011.
Buddhism Gender and Sexuality, Patheos, 2011.
Buddhism After Half the Sky, Danny Fisher, Patheos, 17 March 2013.
Thai Women Don Monks’ Robes, Simba Shani Kamaria Russeau, IPS, 1 November 2013.
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Theravada Buddhism, Ajahn Brahm, FABC, 25 May 2014.
Putting an End to Buddhist Patriarchy, Ajahn Brahm, Tricycle, 30 January 2015.
Women clergy fight for equality, set example in Thailand's scandal-rife Buddhism, Associated Press, Fox News, 12 September 2015.
Thai female monastics continue push for gender equality, Heather Wardle, Lion's Roar, 18 September 2015.
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7. Women and Religious Gender Roles in Hinduism
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Based on the Wikipedia article on Women in Hinduism:
The role of women in Hinduism is often disputed, and positions range from equal status with men to restrictive. Hinduism is based on numerous texts, some of which date back to 2000 BCE or earlier. They are varied in authority, authenticity, content and theme, with the most authoritative being the Vedas. The position of women in Hinduism is widely dependent on the specific text and the context. Positive references are made to the ideal woman in texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, while some texts such as the Manu Smriti advocate a restriction of women's rights. In modern times the Hindu wife has traditionally been regarded as someone who must at all costs remain chaste or pure. This is in contrast with the very different traditions that have prevailed at earlier times in 'Hindu' kingdoms, which included highly respected professional courtesans (such as Amrapali of Vesali), sacred devadasis, mathematicians and female magicians (the basavis, the Tantric kulikas). Some European scholars observed in the nineteenth century Hindu women were "naturally chaste" and "more virtuous" than other women, although what exactly they meant by that is open to dispute. In any case, as male foreigners they would have been denied access to the secret and sacred spaces that women often inhabited. Mahabharata and Manusmriti asserts that gods are delighted only when women are worshiped or honoured, otherwise all spiritual actions become futile.
There is a wide variety of viewpoints within the different schools and sects of Hinduism concerning the exact nature and gender (where applicable) of the Supreme person or being; there are even sects that are skeptical about the existence of such a being. Shaktism, for example, focuses worship on the goddess Devi as the supreme embodiment of power, or Shakti (feminine strength; a female form of God). Vaishnavism and Shaivism both worship Lakshmi with Vishnu and Parvati with Shiva respectively as beings on an equal level of magnitude (the male and female aspects of God). In some instances such as with Gaudiya Vaishnavism, specific emphasis is placed on the worship of God's female aspect (Radharani) even above that of her paramour Krishna. Thus it could be said that Hinduism considers God to have both male and female aspects, as the original source of both.
To continue reading the Wikipedia article, click here.
Some additional references:
Landmark Step to Gender Equality, Bina Agarwal, The Hindu, 2005.
Women in Hinduism, Hindu Wisdom, 2008.
Gender equality is passé, let us usher in gender partnership, V. N. Mukundarajan, The Hindu, 2010.
Shaming numbers, Editorial, The Hindu, September 2011.
Global patriarchy and women of a lesser God, Birma Tirmizi, Express Tribune, 6 January 2014.
Why Patriarchy?, Sarita Sarvate, India Currents, 17 January 2015.
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8. The Resilience of Patriarchy in Religious Institutions
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Gender Imbalance in Religion and Religious Governance
Persisting gender imbalance in religious thinking and leadership is a serious obstacle to the advent of post-patriarchal families. From the perspective of cultural evolution, religious patriarchy may now be the biggest obstacle; for gender equality and gender balance are by now well established as irreversible social trends due to practical economic incentives, but the collective unconscious is still deeply biased by religious practices and rites that perpetuate the mindset of male hegemony. In terms of human fertility, for example, it would be well for some institutions to stop fulminating condemnations about abortion and birth control methods, and start selling the value of virtues such as self-discipline and abstinence. But there is a fear, not entirely unreasonable, that we may throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to reforming religious traditions that have served humanity well since time immemorial. About 80% of the world population is "religious" in the broad sense of believing in God and adhering, at least to some extent, to one of the major world religions. However, it is time to recognize that all these religions were founded after the agricultural revolution (10,000 years or so ago) long after patriarchy had become normative; and they all were, from their inception, contaminated by the phallocentric syndrome as evidenced by the most ancient sacred texts. Given the limitations of human language, and official protestations about God transcending gender notwithstanding, "when God is male, the male is god." It is time to overcome the vexing resilience of patriarchal structures in religious institutions.
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Sharia Law - Source: Author Unknown
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Papal Apology - Source: Kirk Anderson
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[Christian Aid & ACNS, 29 July 2014] Excerpts:
Being made male or female should be a gift of God, not a weapon of oppression says a new paper by Christian Aid, "Of the Same Flesh: exploring a theology of gender."
The paper examines how global poverty affects women more than men and explores how Christian theology can provide a positive vision of gender which can make it a blessing not a curse.
Author, the Revd Dr Susan Durber, Christian Aid’s theology advisor, said many Christian Aid partner organisations in developing countries are transforming the way in which gender is lived in their communities through engaging in theology and working with church leaders.
“Christians believe that our being made ‘male and female’ is a gift of God, and should be experienced as joy for humankind”, she said. “It is a scandal then that our gender is so often experienced not as joy, but as a place of oppression.
“When it becomes a source of persecution and fear, this is a distortion of God’s intention for creation. From machismo cultures that skew masculinity, to the striking evidence of the poverty and exclusion of women, there is a sense that the world is not as it should be in relation to gender. This is the common tragedy of humankind, but it is also the particular pain of the most poor and vulnerable.”
“Turning to the Scriptures to shape a theology is not a straightforward process and interpretation should never be simplistic and naive. We need to read with care and learn how to become interpreters who can find the blessing within, behind or even sometimes apparently against the grain of the text.”
“Theologians and church leaders have key voices in shaping the way that gender is understood, experienced and lived out in communities across the world”, Dr Durber said. “The Bible says that God made humankind in God’s image, male and female. This is not a generalised banality about an abstract ‘sameness’, but a radical celebration of a difference that should be strongly rooted in equality and justice.”
The full report can be found here
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THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
This may be the most promising theological development pursuant to gender balance in church and society
KEY REFERENCES:
Original Unity of Man and Woman: Catechesis on the Book of Genesis, John Paul II, St. Paul Editions, 1981.
The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan, John Paul II, Pauline Books, 1997.
Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology Of The Body, John Paul II (Author), Michael Waldstei (Translator), Pauline Books, 2006.
ONLINE RESOURCES:
Theology of the Body International Alliance,
Theology of the Body Institute,
The Cor Project.
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Open Letter of Sister Theresa Kane to Pope Francis
Pope Francis, although your formal titles are Holy Father and Supreme Pontiff, I take this sacred opportunity to greet you as a brother, a friend, a collaborator in our service to and with God and with others.
I have no doubt your many years in Argentina engaged with the many economically poor people has been a powerful source of strength and grace. Those experiences prepared you to be noted for our deep pastoral spirit, your desire for collegiality and your vision that all of us in the Catholic community are called to be holy -- to be saints!
I am a Catholic woman, a woman religious, a Sister of Mercy, born and raised in the United States, New York City. Through both education and life experiences, I have come to a conviction that anything less than all women in the Catholic community having the possibility of being in all ministries of our church is not only a deficit, not only wrong; it is a scandal to our church and to our world.
For a long time I have believed the Catholic community might serve as a role model and an instrument of reform for governments and religions throughout our world that allow and even legislate that women are less than fully human; that women are objects to be exploited; that it is acceptable and even at times believed natural to violate, to beat and abuse women physically, psychologically and sexually.
For the Catholic church to be agents of God’s message to our 21st century, we need to have a vision that the degradation of women worldwide, in all countries of our planet, is the primary, root issue of social and religious violence and not of God.
We as a Catholic community are called to proclaim fully and lovingly to our entire planet community that such scandalous beliefs and actions of gender inequality are forms and expressions of idolatry. When idolatry is present God is not in our midst. We need to bring a loving, caring, creative God into the center of our everyday lives by eradicating all forms of gender inequality. Only then will God as Companion, as Mother, Father, as our Divine Source of grace be present in our world.
I urge you, Pope Francis, to listen to the women of our church and world who cry out in anguish as women throughout the ages have done. Only radical (at its roots) gender equality in church and in society will begin to diminish the violence, hatred and other forms of inhumanity in our world today.
Sister Theresa Kane, WOW Conference, Philadelphia, 19 September 2015
Theresa Kane's message to Pope Francis: Eradicate scandal of gender inequality
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The Bible says that women should keep silent in church and that they should pray and prophesy. It calls wives the weaker partner and says that men and women are equal.
When it comes to understanding what Scripture says about men and women, those on both sides of the debate can and do marshal strong evidence from the Bible. Why are they able to do this? John Stackhouse boldly contends it is because Scripture in fact says both things.
Does the Bible contradict itself then? Not so. Rather, in this revised and expanded edition of Finally Feminist, Stackhouse describes the single approach in Scripture that guides us with clear direction on these important matters of relationships in the church and the family.
Are you looking for an approach that takes the whole Bible into account and not just bits and pieces of it? While treating Scripture with utmost seriousness, Stackhouse moves us all beyond the impasse in this important debate.
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9. Dismantling the Patriarchal Gender Binary in Religion
The Body is a Sacrament of the Person
Luis Gutierrez
1 March 2017
Icon of the Inexhaustible Chalice
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The body is a sacrament of the entire person, but is not the entire person. Based on the Catholic sacramental tradition and St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, this article explores how to finally make the sacramental economy fully inclusive by ordaining women to the priesthood and the episcopate. It is argued that not one iota of Catholic dogma would have to change by finalizing the transition from the patriarchal priesthood of the Old Law to the sacramental priesthood of the New Law. The sacramentality of the human body is reaffirmed. The signs of the times are propitious. The pastoral need is very urgent, not only for the mission of evangelization but to foster integral human development and attaining an integral ecology. By the power of the keys, the Church does have authority to ordain women, for the glory of God and the good of souls.
Back in the 1970s, I was very active in various lay communities in the Catholic Church. Desiring to be informed about authoritative pronouncements of the magisterium, I subscribed to the weekly English edition of L'Osservatore Romano, which in those days was delivered in hard copy via air mail. In the fall of 1979, Pope John Paul II started delivering a new series of talks at the weekly general audience about the book of Genesis, focusing on the creation of man and woman. I had been on retreat that summer, found peace and was in a receptive mood. Sensing that this was a papal response to newly emerging issues of human sexuality and gender, I started reading the articles as they arrived, week after week.
I didn't know at the time that the good pope was using material from a book he had written about human anthropology and the sacramentality of marriage. But the stuff sounded relevant to deepen my understanding and experience as a married man, and he was addressing issues very much related to the "signs of the times," so I kept reading the weekly lessons, which went on for about five years, 1979 to 1984. Actually, I got hooked on the "theology of the body" early on when I read the lesson given 7 November 1979. In this lesson, the pope said something that was a new insight for me:
"Bodiliness and sexuality are not simply identical. Although in its normal constitution, the human body carries within itself the signs of sex and is by its nature male or female, the fact that man is a "body" belongs more deeply to the structure of the personal subject than the fact that in his somatic constitution he is also male or female. For this reason, the meaning of "original solitude," which can be referred simply to "man," is substantially prior to the meaning of original unity; the latter is based on masculinity and femininity, which are, as it were, two different "incarnations," that is, two ways in which the same human being, created "in the image of God" (Gen 1:27), "is a body."" The Meaning of Original Unity, Pope John Paul II, 7 November 1979. Source: Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, Pauline Books & Media, 2006, page 157.
Surely, being a body is consistent with my understanding that man is a rational animal composed of body and soul. But I had always thought of myself as a man, a male of the human species; and, for me, being a body and being a male were "simply identical." It had never occurred to me that being a "body-soul" was ontologically more essential than being a "male body-soul" or a "female body-soul." Sigmund Freud used to say that "anatomy is destiny", and this is true to some extent; but now I understood that sexual anatomy does not exhaust the reality of the human being as a "personal subject." There are many layers of reality between a male or female body and a body-soul. Human bodies are male or female (or, in some cases, intersex), but human beings are embodied persons. The body is a sacrament of the entire person, but is not the entire person.
Later in the same lesson, while explaining the creation of man and woman as personal subjects based on Genesis 2, the pope reiterates the "homogeneity of the whole being of both." This means that all men and women share one and the same flesh, one and the same human nature as spirited bodies. It is the same flesh that was created from dust and made a living being (Genesis 2:7). It is the same flesh that was differentiated into two "incarnations," male and female (Genesis 2:23). And it is the same flesh that was assumed by the eternal Word at the incarnation (John 1:14). Thus there is a fundamental unity of man and woman; a unity than is not cancelled by sexual differences and other forms of diversity.
Actually, and this is explained in subsequent lessons, it is this fundamental unity that makes possible the complementarity of man and woman. In John Paul II's theology of the body, this complementarity is never reduced to a superficial complementarianism of patriarchal gender stereotypes. Surely, and thankfully, man and woman are different; but they are both body-souls, of the same flesh, and they can complement each other precisely because they share one and the same human nature. The complementarity of man and woman is about becoming one flesh (in the conjugal act and in many other ways pursuant to integral human development) not about excluding each other in conformity with cultural gender stereotypes.
In the lesson given at the general audience of 20 February 1980, another significant insight was provided: "The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine." Again, the body is a sacrament of the entire person but is not the entire person. The body makes the integral human person visible. The body also makes divine persons visible in their uniqueness, their complementarity, and their unity in communion. For instance, it makes visible the divine "feminine genius" in Jesus of Nazareth. We know that "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:3) So if there is a feminine genius, and a masculine genius, both are present in Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man. The body, and body language, makes visible what is invisible.
The first part of the theology of the body is an exegesis of the book of Genesis, and provides a theological anthropology that is fully adequate for the sacramental economy. The second part is about the sacramentality of marriage, and includes many profound insights on the nuptial mystery of Christ and the Church. For instance, the lesson given 30 July 1980 explains how nuptial analogies should be interpreted taking into account both similarities and substantial dissimilarities. Surely, the bridegroom-bride analogy of Ephesians 5 should not be reduced to a patriarchal wedding covenant; which may be the reason it is rarely chosen anymore as readings for Catholic weddings.
What about Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of God? There is a vital bodily connection between the Word becoming flesh and the woman in which the Word became flesh, as flesh of her flesh (Galatians 4:4). There is a connection, in the flesh, between the Virgin Mary, the incarnation, the redemption, and the sacramental economy. If Mary is the Mother of Jesus, and the Mother of God, then she is also the Mother of the Eucharist. This brings to mind serious questions about the sacrament of holy orders. If the Virgin Mary brought us the Incarnate Word in her own body, as flesh of her flesh, why is the redeemed body of a baptized woman, of the same flesh, not "proper matter" for priestly ordination? If Mary bodily participated in the incarnation necessary for the redemption (long before the twelve male apostles became apostles!) why should the Church hierarchy be exclusively male?
What about Mary Magdalene, "apostle to the apostles"? We know that, during his public ministry, Jesus chose twelve male apostles to represent the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. After the resurrection, however, it is reasonable to assume that he appeared first to his mother. And who was next? Mary Magdalene, who is quickly dispatched to bring the good news to the apostles. In the gospel of John, we learn about the Samaritan woman, sent in apostolic mission to announce the Messiah to her neighbors while the apostles looked in disbelief, incapable of understanding that Jesus would even talk to a woman in public. What about Mary of Bethany, who anointed Jesus, on his head, with his permission, in preparation for his passion and burial? The apostles were male body-souls. These women were female body-souls. Before the resurrection, patriarchy prevailed. After the resurrection, the stone has been rolled away from the entrance of the tomb!
I think (my personal opinion) that the theology of the body can and should be extended to all the sacraments, including holy orders and the vexing issue of the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood. See, for example, the beautiful lesson given 6 October 1982 about "marriage as the primordial sacrament." Can a male human body make visible the divine feminine genius in Christ? Yes. Can a female human body make visible the divine masculine genius in Christ? Yes. Why? Because the language of the body is liturgical, so it signifies man and woman being imago Dei, and becoming imago Christi, as persons and as a communion of persons (Cf. General Audience, 4 July 1984). Women cannot be biological fathers, and men cannot be biological mothers, but man and woman are created to become one flesh in all dimensions of the sacramental economy.
It should be mentioned that a healthy interpersonal communion (unity in complementarity) between man and woman is indispensable for integral human development. The personal development of a man remains at the superficial level of anatomical masculinity as long as his ways of thinking and acting do not make visible the divine "feminine genius." Likewise, the personal development of a woman remains at a superficial level of anatomical femininity as long as her ways of thinking and acting do not make visible the divine "masculine genius." Such balancing of the masculine and the feminine, in each personal subject and in every human community, is instrumental for a culture of solidarity and sustainability. Among the baptized, such balancing of the masculine and the feminine makes visible the universal inclusivity of the sacramental economy and the mystical body of Christ; even further, it makes palpable the entire community of creation as a sacramental ecology that, even in our already/not yet, renders the cosmic Christ visible.
This is my understanding of this monumental work, the Theology of the Body by St. John Paul II. There are precious jewels yet to be found here, for the glory of God and the good of souls. With regard to the ordination of women, it is an indispensable point of reference for doctrinal development in continuity with apostolic tradition. Incidentally, all the lessons in the series are available online in the EWTN website as they were published in L'Osservatore Romano (1979-1984) and subsequently as a book, The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan (1997). The best translation available is the one by Michael Waldstein, Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, 2006.
ADDENDUM
12 March 2017
The following cartoon illustrates the ancient attitude toward women in patriarchal religions, which still persists in some cultural traditions:
"Women and Religion" by Riber (Riber Hansson). Used with permission.
Source: Cartooning for Peace.
Riber is also cartoonist for Sydsvenskan.
The following images illustrate human nature (the biblical "flesh" as in Genesis 2:24 and John 1:14) in the sacramental economy, based on the more adequate anthropology of the Theology of the Body:
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