...crucial to examine the central structures and organizations within a given society. Through examining family structure, the state, and religion, geared with a specific focus on gender, a basic set of followed societal governing rules and values become apparent. Each of these societal structures are interrelated, working together to permit as well as restrict the agency of women in revolutionary Iranian society. For the development of successful social change to take place, it must arise through gender conflict, class conflict, and political action. Each social structure such as, family structure, state relations, and religion, is located within the larger context of a national structure, meaning the examples previously mentioned are subject to larger regional and global influences and changes. Due to this reasoning, it is important to examine evolving economic development and political change to understand women’s status within Iranian revolutionary societies and furthermore, their changing roles within the traditional family structure, Islam, education, and the work force. Through an analysis of class location, policy restructuring, and changing gender roles, the progressive development of women’s mobility and female status within the public sphere will arise. As a result of the revolution,women’s transition and integration into the public sphere, gender relations and norms that had been legitimized through societal rules and legal laws became threatened and challenged. Women represent...
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...Evaluate feminist views on the role of religion in society today. (33 marks) Feminists argue that in religion there is evidence of an oppression against women. Feminists highlight four main ways in which religion oppresses and subordinates’ women, these are: Sacred texts (feature predominantly male gods and profits as well as being written and interpreted by men. Women in sacred texts are presented in a negative light.); Places of worship (There are often rules preventing women from participating fully, for example, in Islam, women are not able to touch the Qur’an); Religious organization and hierarchy (male dominated- Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests); and religious laws and customs (Many religions legitimate and regulate women’s traditional domestic and reproductive role e.g. Catholic Church bans abortion and artificial contraception). These examples clearly show that there is a gender issue in religion, however are these feminist views as valid in todays society as in the past? Some would say that feminist views on the role of religion are valid as they do recognise gender inequality in religion. It is clear that religion is extremely patriarchal from the teachings to the hierarchy. Within religious organisations, women are often found at the bottom of the career ladder, facing the same glass ceiling barrier of prejudice and discrimination that stops them from rising higher up the hierarchy in the workplace. Despite legal obstacles...
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...Feminism and religion * Differential socialisation – more submissive, passive, obedient, nurturing * Differential roles – higher rates of participation in child rearing allows more time for church related activities, plus participation at home, for example Hindu women look after the family shrine, Jewish women pass on the laws of Sabbath to their children * Many feminists’ theories of religion follow Marxist theories arguing that religion is a n instrument of domination and oppression, but unlike Marxism they also see it as a form of patriarchal control – religion reinforces traditional gender roles and legitimises gender inequalities, advocating traditional family structures and therefore acting as an agent of social control. Religious ideology presents women’s subordinate place within the family as normal and natural. * Jean Holm – she says that the basis for women’s subordination is their sexuality. Menstruation makes women unclean thus polluting holy places for example they cannot touch the Qur’an or enter the Mosques when menstruating. Another reason for gender inequality is that women are seen as a distraction – their presence may distract men from their more important role of worship. Holm goes on to describe some of the inequalities within different religions ( Japanese folk religions says that women are responsible for organising public rituals but only men can take part in public performances). * This is a form of sexual apartheid – separating...
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...Critically assess the relationship between, gender, religious participation and religious organisations (33 Mark) Statistics have shown that women tent to be more religious than men across most cultures globally. This is reflected by the Church Census records as it shows that participation in churches and denominations in England and Wales between 1979 and 2005 women were consistently more likely to attend. There are various reasons why females are more religious than men ranging from socialization, exploitation to patriarchy in traditional religions. Women’s sexuality has always been a dangerous factor in religion; this is because women menstruate and give birth they are considered to have a great capacity to pollute religious rituals. This can be seen in the Adam and Eve story in Christianity as Eve has ‘seduced’ Adam in order to eat the apple which God had forbidden to do so. This shows that the presence of a female can distract men from performing religious rituals and worshipping God. Bird argues that sexuality is an important factor in many religions. In Roman Catholic churches priests are expected to be celibate meaning they have to deliberately refrain from sexual activity while in other religions such as Islam are opposed to homosexuality. This means that in order for priests to carry out their duty appropriately there needs to be a degree of policing of the body; and the presence of women makes it more difficult. Due to patriarchal ideologies women have refrained...
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...lower status and authority and are less likely to be employed in the paid work force (Eagly, 735). Women have historically been constrained by deep-rooted stereotypes that fuel a traditional perception of their place in society. Indeed, gender expectations regarding women’s roles participate in maintaining a majority of them in a subordinate position within the society and within the family - as housekeepers. Generally characterized as intellectually, but more particularly physically weaker than men, women’s agency is diminished by gender prejudices and women have to continuously, and in a larger extent than for their male counterparts, impose themselves to belong to society as full citizens. However, all these conventional images on women’s status are not vain and shore up women’s willpower to fight and be part of politics, culture and history as equal to men. Ironically thus, women stereotypes do have a good impact on women empowerment. Indeed, stereotypes reinforce women’s will to destroy biased ideas sustained by men. Therefore, this paper will first outline an extreme form of gender discrimination with the example of Saudi Arabia where patriarchal gender expectations ultimately infringe on women’s public and privates lives as well as on women’s...
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...RELIGION and GENDER INEQUALITY Equality for women in our society has been a controversial issue for centuries, sparking debates, marches, protests, and movement for the purpose of lifting women out of servitude to men. Many might point to the idea that women are the smaller, delicate, and weaker of the two genders as the reason for male domination. In history there have been many groups that were dominated by another group, but none with such complicity from those claiming to be following the word of God, as men over women. The Bible, perhaps the most influential collection of scripture, seems to align man with God; “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground” (Genesis: 26). Does this passage from the Old Testament establish men as the rulers of all that lives and breathes on the Earth, or is the word “man” used to establish the human species (men and women) as masters of our world? My guess is that asking a woman might garner a different response than if posed to a man. When it comes to the matter of inequality or oppression, a condition that has affected many groups during human history, it seems that religion, or God in one way or another has been used as an example to stop the onerous treatment of such groups, seemingly with the exception of women. During the 19th century many Christian women...
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...Foundation Course 1 Human Rights, Gender & Environment Understanding Patriarchy Suranjita Ray• Subordination of women to men is prevalent in large parts of the world. We come across experiences where women are not only treated as subordinate to men but are also subject to discriminations, humiliations, exploitations, oppressions, control and violence. Women experience discrimination and unequal treatment in terms of basic right to food, health care, education, employment, control over productive resources, decision-making and livelihood not because of their biological differences or sex, which is natural but because of their gender differences which is a social construct. “Sex is considered a fact - one is born with either male or female genitalia. Gender is considered a social construction - it grants meaning to the fact of sex. Conversely, it could be said that only after specific meanings came to be attached to the sexes, did sex differences become pertinent” (Geetha, 2002: 10). Gender based discriminations and exploitations are widespread and the socio-culturally defined characteristics, aptitudes, abilities, desires, personality traits, roles, responsibilities and behavioral patterns of men and women contribute to the inequalities and hierarchies in society. Gender differences are man made and they get legitimised in a patriarchal society. This paper attempts to link the theoretical dimensions of patriarchy with its empirical experiences to engage in the ongoing...
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...relationship between gender and religion (33marks) Many feminists view religion as a patriarchal institution that reflects and perpetuates this inequality. There is much evidence of this female subordination in religion; They are male dominated and in Orthodox Catholicism and Judaism women are forbidden to become priests. Also Christianity teaches that men made in ‘the image and glory of God’ and women made ‘for the glory of man. This is supported by the Old Testament which states ‘...for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.’ There are many female characters in the biblical texts and some are portrayed as acting charitably or bravely, however the primary roles are reserved for males and most female roles are either evil (Eve) or subordinate (Mary). Similarly in the Quran, the sacred text of Islam contends that ‘men are in charge of women’. Even Christianity and Buddhism are dominated by a patriarchal power structure in which the feminine is mainly associated with the secular, powerless, profane and imperfect. Even women’s bodies and sexuality are felt to be dangerous by many religious. Because women menstruate and give birth, they are considered to have the capacity to ‘pollute’ religious rituals. The presence of women is seen to distract men from their important roles involving worship. Even though there is evidence to suggest that religious institutions have patriarchal values, it should not be assumed that all religions are equally oppressive...
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...different opinions and interpretations on gender and religious participation. Marxist Feminists would argue that religion is oppressing but is seen as patriarchal rather than a capitalistic. Armstrong argues that religion is still largely male dominated even though women participate more than men (57% of those attending a main church or denomination in 2005 were women). She argues this is shows women becoming marginalised, for example orthodox Jews forbid women priests. However Wright argues that Judaism has allowed women to become Rabbis since 1972. Armstrong also argues that women weren’t always depicted as lower than men in sacred texts. Although in Islam women will often pray behind a screen, separate to men and will not be allowed to touch the Qur’an if they’re menstruating. Holm’s argues this is devaluating women within religion. Similarly, Radical Feminists would argue with Marxists because they believe that women are suppressed within religion. Radicals want to get rid of anything patriarchal, including religion. Liberal Feminists criticise them for not acknowledging that not all religion is patriarchal. Jill Swale argues that traditional forms of religion such as Judaism is patriarchal, for example the Torah was written by only men and continues to be interpreted by only men. Swale argues biases towards women have been created because of this inequality. Although Liberal Feminists agree with Radical and Marxist Feminists that religion is patriarchal, instead of getting rid...
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...and in the types of belief they hold. There are clear gender differences in religious beliefs and participation. Sociologists have put forward several explanations for gender differences in religious belief and practice however these tend to focus on the reasons for women’s relatively high levels of participation rather than men’s lower levels. While the priesthoods of most religions are male, more women than men participate in religious activities and believe in God. For example, in 2005, 1.8 million women in England were churchgoers, as against only 1.36 million men. Miller and Hoffman (1995) identify two main theories explaining women’s greater religiosity. Firstly there is differential socialisation where women are taught to be more submissive and passive than men and these characteristics are associated with being more religious. Traditional religions tend to expect their followers to be passive and obedient. The second theory is structural location where women take part in religion because of their social roles. Men are more likely to take on the instrumental role whereas the women take on the expressive role. This gives women more time for church-related jobs. However as sociologists go on to quote this research and take these factors into account they have criticised it for no fully explaining why women are more religious than men. Greeley (1992) argues that taking care of other family members increases women’s religiosity because it involves responsibility for their...
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...Using material from item A and elsewhere,, assess the relationship between gender and religion 33marks Although there is only one God in most contemporary religions, Hinduism being an exception, men and women tend to view that God differently. Davie showed that women see God more as a God love, comfort and forgiveness whereas men tend to see more as a God of power and control. It could be argued that these traits that men and women tend to associate with God are similar to typical masculine and feminine values e.g. Power and control is stereotypically a male trait. In the majority of religions, males are given the more significant roles. An example of this is Christianity which is seen as inherently patriarchal with men made in ‘the image and glory of God’ and women made ‘for the glory of man. This is supported by the Old Testament which states ‘...for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.’ There are many female characters in the biblical texts and some are portrayed as acting charitably or bravely, however the primary roles are reserved for males. All the most significant Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Moses are male, while in the New Testament all the apostles are men. The most prominent females in the Bible, Eve and Mary mother of Jesus can be interpreted as reinforcing patriarchal idea regarding, on one hand, the dangers of female sexuality and on the other, the virtues of motherhood. Similarly in the Quran, the sacred...
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...globe. This widely accepted notion provides a useful framework to support transnational activism to challenge injustices encompassed in civil, political, economic, and social spheres that affect lives worldwide. Using this backdrop, the global movement for women rights strives to enhance the human rights discourse by redressing gender vulnerabilities. Even though there are still continuing political struggles in making central the concerns of gender abuse, it has achieved considerable rethinking of the human rights doctrine as formerly understood....
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...Assess the view that women are no longer oppressed by religion (18 marks) The view that women are no longer oppressed by religion is prevalent in society today, however there is a lot of evidence to suggest that this is not the case and that women are still very much being oppressed by some aspects of religion. Feminists would argue that religion is a patriarchal institute, and in religion, there has never been equality for women. Firstly, historically, wherever nature is conceptualised, the role of women has been seen in terms of their ‘essential femininity’, that is, as being naturally different creatures to males. Thus, within the philosophies of New Age cults, women tend to be afforded to a much higher status than men. This is one of the reasons that may explain the development and involvement of women in New age Movements (NAMS). Many NAMs emphasise nature, such as using homeopathic remedies, aromatherapy and massage. Bruce argues that the private sphere of cult activity appeals to women because it’s like the private sphere of the home. Glock and Stark would take it further to support this view and argue that women are more likely to participate in these kind of sects because they’re more likely to experience poverty and social deprivation, having a lack of power, prestige and social status (relative deprivation) Women are also more likely to suffer from mental/emotional problems (search for healing), and ethically are more conservative than men, so therefore get involved...
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...Here are notes on the role gender played on making colonial religion modern religion. You can use gender as a basis for how the colonial past led our future in one direction. The part I think would be most helpful to you is in red. Open with, “After Adam and Eve, there was Anne Hutchinson and john Winthrop.” Because as you know she was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony By John for preaching something different. Gender: If you happen to be someone who participates in jewish/Christian services? How many men/women attend? Usually more women. Why? Protestant is the most dominant until 1860 As you move into the early 19 century, Baptist and Methodist Predominant is protestant Women in Colonial Society: -Adam’s rib - women is a “helpmeet” for man. The side, to be content with equality. -Equality function - Were on equal terms in the value and their degree of their participation on the development of the colonies. But only men could have leadership roles. Think of a farm. Women were managers of household economy, feeding the family, cultivating and producing the food. Own economic system of home production. Most women would live out their lives as junior partners in the household economy, but denied the control of the land. Yet colonial women were unlikely to feel useless or alienated from their family by the subsistence economy because they conducted the education and discipline of the children and extended family. If her husband died, she would be the sole person...
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...the role and functions of religion in society today (18marks) Patriarchal Vehicle Evidence of patriarchy; * Sacred text, places of worship etc. Woodhead, Armstrong etc Criticism and strengths. Task Essay Question(s): Evaluate feminist views on the role and functions of religion in society today (18marks) Patriarchal Vehicle Evidence of patriarchy; * Sacred text, places of worship etc. Woodhead, Armstrong etc Criticism and strengths. Evaluate postmodernist explanations of the role & functions of religion in contemporary society (33marks) (Plan and case) Evaluate postmodernist explanations of the role & functions of religion in contemporary society (33marks) (Plan and case) Feminists see religion as a patriarchal institution; maintaining male dominance over women by allowing them to believe that it is their divine right to dominate. As well as this, they believe that religion functions as a patriarchal ideology that is a vehicle that perpetuates inequity and such beliefs legitimizes female subservience and oppression. El Saadawi, says that religion is distorted to acquiesce patriarchal domination in which they exploit women in multiple ways; prostitution, slavery and abortion. However, functionalists believe otherwise and argue that its function is not to oppress women but necessary as to keep society stable whilst Marxists believe that religion oppresses the working class and serves capitalism not females and patriarchy. Feminists argue that women’s oppression...
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