Women in Society
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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 Quran.
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 Quran 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 time and continue to paint women as lesser creatures in the eyes of God.
The books of the Old Testament, and variations, are recognized by the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. Each paint women as the temptress responsible for the mistakes of men. Women were the cause of the first punishment
America, is that far fewer women are convicted
of crime than men — a fact which has changed little over the years.
Female offenders also show a different pattern of offending being less
involved in violent offences and proportionately more involved in
theft. In general most now accept that girls and women do commit fewer
offences than boys.
the study of female crime and deviance, many general theories in this
area continue to neglect gender as a factor influencing criminality.
This is despite the fact that official figures suggest that gender is
perhaps the most significant single factor in whether an individual is
convicted of crime. Any theories which fail to explain this
relationship could therefore be seen as inadequate.
In theory at least, the vast majority of laws are sex blind: the
possibility of being charged or the type of offence for which you are
charged does not depend upon your sex. However, there are a few laws
that only apply to members of one sex. For example, only men can be