Women in Society

Religion has existed for as long as man has. Both men, and women believed in a

superior being to explain the existence of life. Now with the different

varieties of religions, men and women play different roles that are permitted

by each one of them. Men are allowed to do as they please in the church as far

as the worshipping of god is concerned, but women have been and still are

restricted from performing some of the same task. Women are expected to follow

and obey the word of God just as much as men are, but they still are denied the

privilege of spreading the word of God. The male gender has dominated the world

for the past hundreds of years, but times have changed and women are seeking

equality. Even in the church, men are categorized as superior to women. Since

it is difficult to actually know what God wants from his followers, the Bible

is one source that has been used as reference to determine superiority of

genders in the church. "Jesus was a man who chose 12 male apostles to carry on

his work, therefore only men could be priest" (Connel A1), is a common

reference used to the scriptures found in the Bible. This attitude labeled

tradition is still around today and is being taught today throughout the world,

basically in the Roman Catholic religion. The Bible states "Let your women keep

silent in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they

are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law" (I Corinthians

14:34)

Sexism in Religion

It is frequently the case that religions treat women as inferior to

men - women have been denied leadership roles, they are told to be

submissive, and religious doctrines are used to control them both in

society and the family, I will now assess these claims.

Karl Marx famously commented that: “Religion is the opium of the

masses.” This means that religion was a form of ideological state

apparatus, which was being used by the state to compensate for the

poor living and working conditions of the proletariat. Religion

provided a justification for the inequalities of life and gave

optimism to the people who were being exploited through its ideas of a

just heaven. However more recently religion has been accused of

acting as an agent of social control over women. The term “agent of

social control” literally means a tool utilized by an agency, which

diverts power away from a group and maintains the stratification of

power and order of an institution or structure

The role of women in religious scripture dictates an inferior position in society. Beginning with the creation of Adam and then Eve, as his helpmate. Her purpose was that Adam would not be lonely. This origin provides the ground work for inequality of genders on the basis of religious scripture. The roles prescribed determined that women should be in a subordinate position to man. The female role and relationship with God is defined by the various books of the Old and New Testaments, the reported actions of Jesus Christ, and finally the Qur'an.

Initially, Old Testament describes women as the corrupter of man. However, through interpreting the action of Jesus Christ, we see that he holds women in equal roles as men, to include mention of female apostles. The New Testament does not promote equality but does mention the acts of Jesus. Finally, the Qur'an places women in a subservient role allowing men to keep their under control, by any means. Interpretations of the Gods word under the disguise of organized religion are the product of the gender discrimination of the