O level Notes : FRS - Religion And Gender Roles - Gender in various religions

GENDER IN VARIOUS RELIGIONS

Religion is often used to justify women's subordinate position in society. In all the world's major religions, religion has been used to reinforce the power of men in society. Generally, it is believed that women's proper place is in the home and women are blamed for the decline in moral values.

Perceptions of various religions on gender

1. a) Judaism and gender

Judaism's view on gender is based on the Torah. The story of Genesis gives the creation account and states that all men were created in the image of God. Therefore, women are different from men but equal to men. This is the principle of gender equality. Judaism has always maintained that God has both masculine and feminine qualities. According to the Old Testament, gender is important to God. He created both male and female in his image (Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-2). God is like a good father and a good mother. Men and women are of equal value before God. Women have a task to bear children in the Jewish understanding. However, the bearing of children is understood to make women unclean in Jewish culture. It is believed that if a woman bears a male child, the number of uncleanliness days differ from that of having been given birth to a female child (Leviticus 15:19ff).

1. b) Christianity and gender

Both men and women were given authority to rule over the earth and they are of equal value before God. However, some passages in the New Testament say: Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the Husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church... Just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:22-24).

However, above assertions, bring out the position of Christianity towards women. This means that the Christian church does not give women positions of influence in particular, the Pentecostal and the African Initiated Churches (AICs). Women have no say in the church as it is indicated in some of the Pauline letters like 1 Corinthians 14:34 -35 and 1 Timothy 2: 9-15.

It seems some of the denominations in Christianity are now giving women positions of influence. They are elected leaders of the church in the executive committees running the daily affairs of the church. A good example is of the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, among others. In some African Initiated Churches, a woman becomes influential when she is a prophet.

In the book of Luke, women are uplifted. They are given better recognition. Angels appear to Mary, a woman. She gave birth to Jesus.   Women became disciples of Jesus. Women were also the first to get to the tomb of Jesus before men. Women told men that Jesus had resurrected. These are some few points that place women in Christianity to an elevated position.

1. c) Islam and gender

The Quran states that men and women are spiritual equals although men have authority over women because Allah has made one superior to the other. The Quran also states that men are favoured by God with necessary skills and abilities for the guardianship and also charged the men with the duty to provide for the wife's upkeep. Good women should be obedient and should take care of the family by cooking and washing while the husband caters for the woman's needs according to Islam. The Islamic women among other things are expected to lower their faces when looking at other people. They should keep their faces covered for they are forbidden to display their beauty to other men. As a matter of fact, they have to cover their whole body except the face so that they do not attract men.

A woman in her Islamic dressing

GENDER ROLES IN VARIOUS RELIGIONS

Gender roles refer to the activities that are expected from males and females. This therefore means gender roles are the duties carried out by men and those things done by women in their capacity. In terms of traditional gender roles, women are supposed to operate within the private, domestic sphere of the home and family, while men operate in the public world of politics and economics. Women are supposed to be nurturing, passive and subservient; men are expected to be aggressive, active and dominant.    These gender roles result from society's interpretation of men and women's biological differences. As a result, they are too oppressive to women as they place them in the second class minor. However, these interpretations  have  become  accepted  as  normal  and  natural.  Below  is  an explanation of how different religions view the issue of gender roles.

Gender roles in Judaism

In Orthodox Judaism, the separate roles of men and women remain a valued aspect of Jewish life. The roles of women and their obligations are different from men but they are not less important than those of men. Judaism does not necessarily hold women in low status.

Women are increasingly entering the world of the Torah study, an area which was reserved for men. Women have held positions of respect and leadership. For example, Miriam is considered a liberator as she worked hand in hand with her brothers Moses and Aaron. Women are viewed primarily as mothers and wives; they are respected in their role as wife and mother due to the role of housekeeping.

The role of a mother is highly respected because it has a spiritual meaning attached to it. In ancient Israel, both men and women were recognised as prophets and judges- Huldah and Deborah (2 Kings 22:14-19).Women also acted as judges, for instance Deborah who judged Israel and rallied the Israelites in their struggle against the Canaanites. The name Deborah is a Hebrew word which literally means a 'bee'. She was also a prophetess who summoned Barak to battle against an army of invaders.

Gender roles in Christianity

The roles of men and women in Christianity today vary with denominations. There are passages in the New Testament telling of women who were called blessed because of the teaching and leading they did like Junia (Romans 16:7) who was outstanding in the development of the church. Women are seen as mothers and wives while men are seen as fathers and heads of the house. Men take care of the family. Mary, the mother of Jesus is highly revered in Christianity and is considered the 'Mother of Jesus'.Elizabeth is brought to the forefront because she is the mother of John the Baptist. Women were of great help in the ministry of Jesus. Both men and women also played a pivotal role as they were disciples of Jesus. Women in Christianity were the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus. Women today are serving as deaconesses in various churches. Women today are being ordained as pastors especially in Pentecostal and Protestant churches.

However, women are by and large absent from leadership positions in some religious organisations. In the Roman Catholic Church, the controversy regarding women priests is still raging. In other churches, such as the Anglican Church, the ordination of women has led to rifts in the church. In the Roman Catholic Church only men may serve as priests or deacons. In the Roman Catholic Church, only men serve in seniour leadership positions such as pope, patriarch and bishop while women may serve as abbesses. An abbess is a woman who is the superior of a convent of nuns.

Gender roles in Islam

In Islam, women are given respect and are seen as important even though long back they were seen as inferior. Women should be obedient mothers staying within the family environment, they are not expected to be moving around unnecessarily whether married or not. The unmarried women should get permission from the father while the married will ask for permission from their husbands. Men are expected to be protectors and caretakers of the family. Women are given rights socially, politically, economically and spiritually. They are even given the right to property ownership. Women are treated equally to men. Women play a role of upholding values in the society.