Unveiling Patriarchy: Feminist Evaluation of Religion's Role in Women’s Oppression

1. Using material from this ppt and your books Assess the view that the role of religion is to promote patriarchal ideology and maintain the oppression of women

2. FEMINIST THEORIES OF RELIGION Deakin (2010)

3. According to feminists there are many examples of patriarchy and where religion has been used to control and oppress women… • Within religious organisations • Places of worship • Sacred texts • Religious laws and customs • Regarding sexuality

4. Religious Organisations • Mainly male dominated even though women participate more in religion than men. • Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests. • Karen Armstrong – sees the exclusion of women from the priesthood as evidence of their marginalisation.

5. 2. Places of Worship • Segregation and marginalisation of women in places of worship. • Women seated behind screens while men occupy the central, more sacred spaces. • Women’s participation may be restricted – not allowed to preach or read from sacred texts. • Taboos surround menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth – they are seen as polluting. • In Islam, women menstruating are not allowed to touch the Qur’an. • Holm (1994) – describes this as the devaluation of women in religion.

7. 3. Sacred Texts • Largely feature the doings of male gods, prophets – usually written and interpreted by men. • Stories often reflect anti-female stereotypes (ie, Eve/Delilah) and reinforce perceptions of women’s character.

10. 4. Religious laws and customs • Women tend to have fewer rights than men, ie) in divorce – access to divorce, how many times they can marry, dress codes etc • Religion also has an influence on cultural norms that lead to unequal treatment, ie) genital mutilation or punishments for adultery. • Many religions legitimate and regulate women’s traditional domestic and reproductive role, ie) Catholic Church bans abortion, artificial conception. • Woodhead (2002) – the exclusion of women from priesthood is evidence of the Catholic Church’s unease about the emancipation of women generally.

11. Religion is patriarchal • Daly (1978) • Christianity is a ‘patriarchal myth’. It eliminates other ‘Goddess religions’. Christianity is rooted in male ‘sado-rituals’ with its ‘torture cross’ symbol. It embodies women hating! • Simone de Beauvoir (1953) • Religion is oppressive to women. Used by men to control women. • Religion compensates women for their second class status. They get a false belief that they will be rewarded in heaven and gain equality there. • “religion gives her the guide, father, lover, divine guardian she longs for nostalgically; it feeds her daydreams; it fills her empty hours. But, above all, it confirms the social order, it justifies her resignation by giving hope of a better future in a sexless heaven” • El Sadawi (1980) • Religion isn’t oppressive itself. It’s the male domination of religion that is the problem. This is due to the rise of monotheistic religions which are male dominated and where scriptures are interpreted/written by men ie) herbal medicine and witchcraft case study.

12. Religion is not always patriarchal • Woodhead (2002) • There are forms of ‘religious feminism’ – where women use religion to gain freedom and respect • a) Hijab/veil • it can be a symbol against oppression. • It is far from the ‘mobile prison’ (Burchill) • A means to escape confines of home and enter education/employment. This allows women to enter ‘public sphere’ (escape home/liberation) without losing cultural identity. • Watson (1994) – interviewed 3 women about what the veil meant to them. Different views but generally positive..liberating/avoid lecherous stares.

13. Religion is not always patriarchal (ctd) • Woodhead (2002) • b) Respect for roles in the home • being an evangelical/fundamentalist Christian can be empowering. • They are linked to strong traditional gender roles but they also give women more • power and influence. • Men must respect (and care) for women. Women have power to influence men • and ensure that they ‘do their bit’ for them and their family. • Such women also get support from their churches. • Other points • Gender-neutral language has been introduced in many hymns/prayers • No longer have ‘obey’ in wedding service • Women rabbis in Judaism since 1972 • Women played a significant role in sects, ie) Quakerism • Sikhism has always shown respect to women. Gurus pleaded for the liberation of women (Kaur Singh, 1994) • Gross (1994) – NAMs are very female-friendly in their message and organisation • Leila Badawi (1994) – Islam and benefits for women. Eg) maintaining maiden name when married/veiling as being assertive (Leila Ahmed, 1992)

14. APPLICATION TASK – lets focus on a question “it has been suggested that the role of religion is to promote patriarchal ideology and maintain the oppression of women” To what extent do sociological theories and evidence support this view. Illustrate with examples from contemporary societies.

15. What works in this introduction? Feminism initially emerged from a Marxist framework, and soon developed towards more radical theories concerning the inequalities that exist in the treatment of women in society. According to feminist sociologists there are many examples of patriarchy within religion and how religious values and beliefs have been used to control and oppress women, both throughout history and still present within today’s contemporary society. Feminists take a conflict approach to sociology in which they argue institutions such as religion produce divisions between different social groups, in this case men and women, but other examples include Marxist thinkers who believe there is a divide between the social classes. This is in comparison to other sociological key thinkers including Functionalists, who take a consensus perspective to society in which they suggest institutions help bring social groups together and unite people.

16. And this paragraph on religious customs It has also been argued by feminists that religious laws and customs also help to promote a patriarchal system. For example women tend to have fewer rights than that of men, such as in access to divorce as well as in dress codes, as Julie Birchall (2000) suggests by describing the veil, which Muslim women have to wear, as ‘a mobile prison’. Another example of how religious laws and customs can produce a patriarchal system is by the way in which many religious organisations legitimate and regulate women’s traditional domestic and reproductive role, such as in the case of the Roman Catholic Church which bans abortion and artificial contraception, this limiting the choices women can make concerning their lifestyles. Women’s bodies and sexuality are also felt to be dangerous by many religions. Due to the fact that women menstruate and give birth, they are considered to have a greater capacity to ‘pollute’ religious rituals. In addition, their presence may distract the men from their more important roles involving worship. Bird (1999) points out that sexuality is an important issue in many religions. Roman Catholic priests are expected to be celibate, while some interpretations of Christianity and Islam are opposed to homosexuality