Gender and religion encompasses a range of topics related to gender and religion.
Some gender and religion issues can be classified as either "internal" or "external". Internal religious issues are studied from the perspective of a given religion, and might include religious beliefs and practices about the roles and rights of men and women in government, education and worship; beliefs about the sex or gender of deities and religious figures; and beliefs about the origin and meaning of human gender. External religious issues can be broadly defined as an examination of a given religion from an outsider's perspective, including possible clashes between religious leaders and laity;[1] and the influence of, and differences between, religious perspectives on social issues. For example, various religious perspectives have either endorsed or condemned alternative family structures, homosexual relationships, and abortion.[2] External religious issues can also be examined from the "lens of gender" perspective embraced by some in feminism and/or critical theory and its offshoots.
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The earliest documented religions, and some contemporary animist religions, involve deification of characteristics of the natural world. These spirits are typically, but not always, gendered. It has been proposed, since the 19th century, that polytheism arose out of animism, as religious epic provided personalities to autochthonous animist spirits in various parts of the world, notably in the development of ancient near eastern and Indo-European literature. Polytheistic gods are also typically gendered. The earliest evidence of monotheism is the worship of the goddess Eurynome, Aten in Egypt, the teaching of Moses in the Hebrew Bible and Zoroastrianism in Persia. Aten, Yahweh and Ahura Mazda are all masculine deities, embodied only in metaphor, so masculine rather than reproductively male.
Some scholars[3] suggest that ancient religious Goddesses have been reinterpreted to follow specific gender roles. For example, the Nordic goddess Freya first represented war and love, but after centuries, she was transformed into only representing love and a sexual behaviour. The Hindu goddess Kali is interesting because she breaks the typical gendered role of women representing love, sex, fertility and beauty because she is simultaneously the goddess of the life cycle as well as destructive war. An example of the typical female goddess is Aphrodite, who is shown as vain, simple, and beautiful.
Various 19th century scholars of comparative religion proposed that prehistoric animism worshipped nature viewed predominantly as matriarchal religion, a feature notable also within neopaganism. However, anthropological research of the early 20th century, among many pre-literate cultures, established a consensus against this theory.
In Christianity, one entity of the Trinity, the Son, is believed to have become incarnate as a human male. Christians believe that the other two entities in the Trinity, the Father and the Holy Spirit, have never been incarnated, hence having masculine gender rather than male sex. Islam, on the other hand, has a tradition that the name Allah, like its referent, can be allocated neither grammatical nor natural gender. Masculine pronouns for Allah in the Qur'an are interpreted as generic.
The gender or genderlessness of God is a controversial issue in monotheistic and some henotheistic religions. While God has traditionally been portrayed as a masculine figure, this deity is also called Mother and there has been an increasing view that God is synominous for mother nature and more feminine.
The creation myths of many religions contain stories about how humans came to have gender.
In many stories, man and woman are created at the same time, with equal standing. Some scholars suggest that one such example is the creation story in Genesis 1: "And God created the man in his image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.".[4] Some commentators interpret the parallelism to be deliberately stressing that mankind is, in some sense, a "unity in diversity" from a divine perspective (compare e pluribus unum),[5] and that women as well as men are included in God's image. The first man, Adam, has been viewed as a spiritual being or an ideal who can be distinguished as both male and female; an androgynous being with no sex.[6] Some argue that Genesis' gender-inclusive conception of humanity contrasts sharply with the views of gender found in older literature from surrounding cultures. Some go so far as to suggest a higher status of women in western society due to Judæo-Christian influence, and based on this verse.[7] Some scholars, such as Philo, argue that the “sexes” were developed through an accidental division of the “true self” which existed prior to being assigned with gender.[8]
In other accounts, man is created first, followed by woman. This is the case in the creation account of Genesis 2, where the first woman (Eve) is created from the rib of the first man (Adam), as a companion and helper.[9] This version is normally cited by Jewish authorities in support of patriarchy, and likewise by Christian interpreters. A similar story appears in the Qur'an. There is an interesting correlation between the two gender creation stories, both stories imagine the ideal of the unitary self. However, the unitary self is either androgynous or physically male; both of which are masculine in configuration. Thus male and female are to become one; meaning that she is to become male.[10]
The second creation story of Adam and Eve became influential in regards to how women were viewed in Victorian society by means of the "Eva/Ave Palidrome" where Eva was woman in her weak and evil state, based on Eve in the Garden of Eden and Ave was Mary (as in Ave Maria), the new holy and pure ideal that was impossible for women to mimic.[11] Historically, women have been placed into two categories; women and virgins. Women who become intimate with men are marked women, whereas those who do not participate in such acts and who are divinely inspired are considered virgins. Thus women can escape from being gendered as women if they participate in celibacy.[12]
In Plato's Symposium, Aristophanes provides an account to explain gender and romantic attraction.[13] There were originally three sexes: the all male, the all female, and the "androgynous," who was half man, half woman. As punishment for attacking the gods, each was split in half. The halves of the androgynous being became heterosexual men and women, while the halves of the all male and all female became gays and lesbians, respectively.[14]
Some religions restrict leadership to men. The ordination of women has been a controversial issue in some religions where either the rite of ordination, or the role that an ordained person fulfills, has traditionally been restricted to men because of cultural or theological prohibitions.
Beginning in the 19th century, some Christian denominations have ordained women.[15] Among those who do not, many believe it is forbidden by 1 Timothy 2. Some of those denominations ordain women to the diaconate, believing this is encouraged by 1 Timothy 3-4. Some Islamic communities (mainly outside the Middle East) have recently appointed women as imams, normally with ministries restricted to leading women in prayer and other charitable ministries.
Both masculine and feminine deities feature prominently in Hinduism. The identity of the Vedic writers is not known, but the first hymn of the Rigveda is addressed to the masculine deity Agni, and the pantheon of the Vedas is dominated by masculine gods. The most prominent Avatars of Vishnu are men.
The traditional religious leaders of Jainism are all men.
Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) was a man, but the female Buddha Vajrayogini is very important in Buddhism. Buddha stated that men and women are equally capable of attaining Nirvana, but some prominent Buddhist thinkers have expressed contrary opinions.[16]
In Abrahamic religions, Abraham himself, Moses, David and Elijah are among the most significant leaders documented according to the traditions of the Hebrew Bible. John the Baptist, Jesus and his apostles, and Saul of Tarsus again give the New Testament an impression of the founders and key figures of Christianity being male dominated. They were followed by a millennium of theologians known as the Church Fathers. Islam was founded by Muhammad, and his successor, Abu Bakr, was also a man. On the other hand, The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, is not associated with leadership or teaching, but is nonetheless a key figure in Catholicism. Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women.
The Bahá'í Faith teaches that men and women are equal, and there have been a large number of prominent female teachers celebrated in Bahá'í history such as Bahiyyih Khánum who was acting head of the faith for a period following the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
Nakayama Miki was the founder of Tenrikyo, which may be the largest religion to have a woman founder. Ellen G. White was instrumental to the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is officially considered a prophet by Seventh-day Adventists.[17] In particular, White's biblical commentaries and other writings are often considered inspired or even infallible.
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science movement.[18]
Many religions have traditionally practiced sex segregation.
In traditional Jewish synagogues, the women's section is separated from the men's' section by a wall or curtain called a mechitza.[19] Men are not permitted to pray in the presence of women, to prevent distraction.[19] The mechitza shown in the picture on the right is one in a synagogue affiliated with the 'left wing' (more modern side) of Modern Orthodox Judaism, which requires the mechitza to be of the height shown in the picture. More traditional or 'right wing' Modern Orthodox Judaism, and all forms of Haredi Judaism, requires the mechitza to be of a type which absolutely prevents the men from seeing the women.
Enclosed religious orders are usually segregated by gender.
Sex segregation in Islam includes restrictions on interaction between men and women. Men and women also worship separately in mosques.
Nearly all religions recognize marriage, and many religions also promote views on appropriate gender roles within marriage.
Two notable views are Complementarianism and Christian Egalitarianism.
In Genesis 3, Adam names his wife Eve ("life") because she "was the mother of all living." (Genesis 3:20)
In Islam, a woman's primary responsibility is usually interpreted as fulfilling her role as a wife and mother, whereas women still have the right and are free to work.[20] A man’s role is to work and be able to protect and financially support his wife and family.[21]
In some religions abortion is considered to be immoral, the taking of God's gift of life to a child, for the sake of self-interest. The rationale for this view often also involves appeals to mothering responsibilities and privileges considered to be divine gifts to exclusively given to women.
Homosexuality is expressly forbidden in many religions, but typically in casuistic rather than apodictic laws. As such, the rationale for such proscriptions is not clearly evident, though avoidance of procreation and contribution to society via establishing families are sometimes offered as pragmatic considerations.
The feminist study of gender and religion began in the 1960s and '70s, when some scholars and women (e.g., Mary Daly) began to feel increasingly dissatisfied with the position of women in religion. There were two main aspects of traditional religious institutions that were problems for feminists in Christianity:
Feminism has engaged with Christians in three main ways:
In contrast, Christian writer and speaker Paul Coughlin[22] argues that male influence in Christianity is overstated, and moreover that a substantial misandric undercurrent has existed in American Protestantism for many decades:
Here are some of the messages Christian men have been told [by religious leaders], some for decades:
...beating up on Christian men in church is good business in Christian media [and husbands] have been told that a "good Christian man" does not confront his wife about her [abusive, self-absorbed or unreasonable] behavior. His spiritual training has told him that accepting abuse is synonymous with sacrifice, so he sits there and takes it.
- If there is a major problem in a couple's marriage, whether or not it leads to divorce, it is ultimately the husband's fault.
- Women are more moral and spiritual than men.
- Women are more sensitive to the Holy Spirit than men. [...]
Feminist theology is a movement, generally in Christianity and Judaism, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of their religion from a feminist perspective.
Likewise, those who practice feminist spirituality may adhere to a feminist re-interpretation of Western monotheistic traditions. In these cases, the notion of God as having a male gender is rejected, and God is not referred to using male pronouns.
Some religions, religious scholars and religious have argued that "gender inequality" exists either generally or in certain instances, and have supported a variety of remedies.
Pierre Chaunu has argued that the influence of Christianity is the main factor leading to equality for women. [7]
Priyamvada Gopal argues that increased gender equality is indeed a product of Judeo-Christian doctrine, but not exclusive to it. She expresses concern that gender equality is used by western countries as a rationale for "neocolonialism". [23] Jamaine Abidogun argues another interesting perspective: that Judeo-Christian influence has indeed shaped gender roles in Nigeria (a strongly Christianised country), however, she doesn't consider feminism to be a product of Judeo-Christian doctrine, but rather a preferable form of "neocolonialism". [24]
More information on the role of gender in specific religions: