Leitman 1 Haley Leitman March 24, 2013 Gender & Religion Professor Pagliarini Take Home Midterm The Influence of Traditional Religion on Gender Roles Traditional religions are the underlying foundation of gender inequality. It has caused such a great divide between men and women socially, economically, politically, and spiritually. Women have historically and still are victimized because of traditional religions that express messages of female inferiority. Traditional religions have caused a social split and unequal division of power and status between men and women and therefore have driven out individuals, causing them to form their own religious groups. Religion causes conflict between men and women because it is responsible for establishing a patriarchal hierarchy that silences and devalues women. Women are considered to be the weaker sex in traditional religion. Eve, in the Christian Bible gave into temptation by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. As punishment for her actions, she was ordered to submit to her husband’s rule and to live for his desires: “your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you”(Gen 3:16). From this, Eve’s submission gave power and authority to her husband, Adam, and ultimately fueled the ideas of male superiority and female inferiority. Eve’s character also influenced Puritan religion. In Puritan religion, women were more likely to be possessed by Satan because they were considered Leitman 2 more susceptible to temptation and overall more vulnerable than men. Since women are associated with Eve and her “carnal lust” they were thought to be “sexually insatiable and therefore more likely than men to accept Satan for his sexual pleasures”(DeRotatis, 207). This gave men the liberty to control and dominate their women because women were believed to be physically weak, sexually uncontrolled, and unable to resist evil. The opposite of Eve is Mother Mary, a pure and angelical woman, who gave birth to Jesus as a virgin. Characteristically, women can either be Eve, the whore, or Mary, the virgin. Categorizing women in a black and white way of thinking confines them to rigid rules of femininity that both subordinate women. Mary is the ideal Christian wife and the perfect woman because she is pure and obedient. To be good Christian women, they’re expected to submit themselves to their husbands and ultimately, to God. In the Christian organization, Aglow tradition, women willingly submit themselves to their husband’s authority. However, to them it is “not about grimly resigning oneself to a subordinate position”(Griffith 173), but rather it is about “freedom” and “transformation” of self because “God rewards”(Griffith 172) women who submit themselves. These women do not consider themselves oppressed or inferior to their husbands. Religion has instilled a belief in these women that they are “free,” even though they are in a lower status position than their husbands. Frankly, they are brainwashed into submission. Griffith references a book entitled You Can Be the Wife of a Happy Husband by Darien B. Cooper in which states, submission is “ ‘God’s role for you as a woman and wife’ ”(172) because by being submissive wives they will make their husbands’ happy, which will in fact Leitman 3 make them happy. Cooper also argues that the submissive wife/mother role will protect women from the dangerous world in which they live in. In submission they will be in a safe and secure bubble and thus will be able to “enjoy the flourishing of their God-given creativity”(Griffith 172). By telling women that God has assigned them their submissive role makes them more willing to be and stay in that role because God has told them to do so and it is hard to say no to God in all his divinity. Religion justifies female submission by basically telling women, “its for your own good,” “you’ll be safe here,” and “we promise you’ll be happy.” This reinforces the idea that women are the weaker sex and that they need men to “take care” of them, which is also known as controlling and dominating their lives. As a result, women become codependent on their husbands for happiness and overall survival and therefore lack a sense of real freedom, independence, and identity, all cause by traditional religion. Marriage is both valued in society and in religion because of its connection to family and the home. Aglow Christianity emphasizes that female submission is a way to have “happy husbands”(Griffith 173) and therefore a happy marriage. Women are supposed to fulfill their husbands’ needs, this concept is directly connected to Eve’s punishment, and to ensure that he is satisfied, especially sexually. If a woman makes sure to sexually satisfy her man he will less likely commit adultery and therefore stay of the path of God. Once again, religion pull women back into the role of submission because if they don’t stay there their husbands will become sinners and go to Hell. All of this propaganda causes disparity for women and yet at the same time blinds them to it. Griffith also interviewed a Leitman 4 woman in the Aglow community who said she was a “former feminist” because she discovered that “feminism was bad for [her] marriage”(174) since she wasn’t following God’s prescribed role for her as the submissive wife. The feminist movement emerged because of inequality women faced from religion. Women were tired of surrendering themselves to submissive roles and therefore rebelled against the system, forming a stronger and not passive female image. However, feminism and traditional religion do not go hand in hand because one advocates for equality between men and women, while the other requires women to be in an inferior position. Masculinity (strength, dominance, control, power) is connected to and fueled by female submission. Without female submission the structure of masculinity would crumble. Religion teaches women that their job is too boost man’s sense of masculinity, which in fact means that women are also oppressing themselves through internalized patriarchy. Religion advocates for women to “admire” their husbands’ “masculinity” by putting them “first and foremost (after God) in their lives”(Griffith 172). God is also representative of the patriarch image that makes women surrender themselves to His divine rule. Man is also divine because he is in “the image and reflection of God” while “woman is in the reflection of man”(DeRogatis 201). Since men have more divine right than women, they are justified to be the dominant gender. Men also suffer from hegemonic masculinity because it requires men to live up to such high extremes of what it means to be a man. “Real men are those who control women”(Collins 189) and if a man cannot control “his woman” he is not Leitman 5 considered to be a man and instead he is seen as feminine. In order to be a “real man,” men have to assert their power over women, placing them in a submissive position, and keeping them in their place as a way to obtain and maintain their “real man” status. Male Fundamentalist’s feel the need to hyper-masculinize themselves because they do not fit the traditional religious male silhouette. Since they have a “heightened appreciate for the female”(Muesse 95) they do not control women or violate or abuse them which unfortunately makes a man more of a man. Because of this they have to compensate in other ways, like bulking up their bodies and calling themselves “warriors” of God to make them feel masculine. Male Fundamentalists also hyper-masculinize themselves in reaction to the homophobic discomfort they feel by being so close to God who is a perceived as male. This resistance against homosexuality causes men to become more overtly masculine. Thus, religion causes a greater divide between men and women by distinguishing certain characteristics as masculine or feminine. New religious groups have formed to get away from the problems traditional religions have created. Wiccan is a religious group that reverses the gender of the worshipped higher power. Instead of worshipping a God, they worship a Goddess. This correlates with the feminist movement because it empowers women to embrace their femininity, sexuality, spirituality, and independence. The Goddess tradition provides a safe spiritual sanctuary for women to be females in all their femaleness, rather than denying, demeaning, or controlling their womanhood, which was done in traditional religion. Fundamentalism, although the men have to hyper-masculinize themselves to be comfortable with their manhood, provides men Leitman 6 with a community that embraces men with feminine qualities. Men in this group openly cry and express their feelings, and pride themselves in having intimate relationships to God. Religious groups form out of the unhappiness and lack of fulfillment people found in traditional religions. Traditional religion, although it can create conflict, oppression, and insecurity, it should not be done away with all together because it does have some purpose. Religion provides people with a moral belief system that lights spirits and gives meaning to life. It gives people direction, guidance, and a stable foundation for their identities, families, and careers. Also a belief is a higher power can give people a sense of security and hope because they know they have someone or something that is looking out for them. That being said, traditional religions and the harsh gender roles that come out of traditional religions are still “responsible for much of what is wrong between men and women”(Pitts 115) and therefore drive people out to form new religious communities.