Topic 4: feminism and religion

simone de Beauvoir
1. 'the second sex' 1949
  1. religion is a tool of patriarchy
    1. it is controlled and used by men to supress women
    2. itcompensates women for their life of opression
    3. women use prauer as an escape from patriarchy
  2. Religion is a form of social control
    1. Fear of God and hell prevents downtrodden women from rebelling.
    2. passivity being 'good' and 'pure' is encouraged
    3. therefore, religious women will never question the dominance of men
  3. religion is a form of deception
    1. women are granted responsibilities in the home this supporstd the delusion that equality exists
    2. women are duped into passing down patriarchal religious teachings through primary sociasisation
2. overall,
  1. de beauvoir believes that religion is a conservative force that perpetuates the explotation of women
  2. A02: not all religions are patrirachal; for example wiccan.
  3. No empirical evidence.
Daly (1973)
1. a radical feminist
2. argues that religion is infused with patriarchal ideology; religion perpetuates the 'patriarchal myth'
  1. For instance, religion provides specific rules for females to follow, such as Catholic women being traditionally expected to cover their heads in church, whereas men have never been required to do so.
3. although a catholic, Daly highlights the fact the religion promotes patriarchal norms and values thus suppressing and eliminating religions that are matriarchal.
4. daly argues that the christian story eliminated other goddess religions and that christianity is rooted in male 'sado-rituals'.
5. some muslims place even greater restrictions on how women should appear in public
6. More generally feminists have identified an extensive range of ways that religion helps men to maintain their dominance over women in society
7. ao2: criticisms:the situation for women has improved (but is till not equal)
  1. for example, since 1922, women have been able to become ordained as anglican ministers
Gender and inequality in religion
1. armstong (1993)
  1. argues that despite major changes in womens position in other spheres (work & politics) position in most major religions remains marginal,
    1. women are excluded from the preisthood in most major religions (although some changes have occured in the church of england where women have been premitted to become priests since 1992
2. Holm (1994)
  1. notes that while religious teachings somethimes stress gender equality, in practice women have a subordinate status. For example, men take key roles in ceremonies and in some religions women may no enter places of worship of have to sit seperate from men.
    1. holm notes that the taboos against participation associasted with pregnancy, menstruating and afterchildborth
Nawal El Saadawi
1. egyptian political commentator, lecturer author and phychiatrist
2. has been imprisoned, sued and sacked for her black socialist feminist beliefs
3. Argues that religion has been distorted by men to serve patriarchy
4. Religion is used as an excuse for sexual oppression (female circumcision)
5. "the crime was done to me when i was 6 years old.. it is part of the patriarchal package"
6. Relgions helps men stay in power. this is true today and historically (accusing wealthy women of witchcraft, forcing women to marry male cousins to keep the money in the family)
7. recent evidence to support El Saadiwai:
  1. in august 2009, a religion based law was proposed in Afghanistan allowing men to withhold food from their wives if they refused to have sex.
8. men have made religion become a conservative force.

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Topic 4: feminism and religion

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