Roles of Men and Women

Roles of Men and Women

1. Society

   • In the past it was the oman's role to take care of the home and raise children, while the man went out to work.
     • The man was the head of the household, and his wife was expected to be obedient.
   • After WWII these attitudes, in the UK, started to change. It is now considered perfectly normal for a woman to go out and work and for men to take part in house work and childcare.
     • Religious views on men and women have shifted in a similar way.

2. Christianity

   • The Bible talks about wives submitting to their husbands and doing as they say.
     • "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church..." Ephesians 5:22-23
   • Many Christians argue that this just reflects the ideas of society at that time, and doesn't correspond with Jesus's attitude towards women.
     • Women are found among Jesus's followers, and he treated them equally.
   • Nowadays Christians believe men and women should have equal roles in the family.
   • Women have also been treat differently within the Church.
     • For much of the Church's history, women haven't been allowed to be ordained as priests. One of the reasons for this is that Jesus only called men to be Apostles.
     • Over the last 50 years this has started to change. Women can now be ordained as ministers in most Protestant denominations and as Anglican priests, but not as Roman Catholic or Orthodox priests.