Religious Attitudes to Equal
Rights for Women
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Christian
• There are three main Christian attitudes to the
roles women should play in religion.
• Different Christians have various reasons for
these attitudes.
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Women should have different rights
from men.
• Some Christians teach that women should not
be religious leaders.
• They believe that the role of a woman in
religion is to raise a family in a Christian way.
• Women should be silent in church, which
means they cannot be ministers or priests.
(Traditional & Roman Catholic)
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Women should have equal rights in
religion.
• Other Christians teach that women can be
religious leaders.
• They believe that the role of a woman is the
same as a man.
• Women can teach in church and be ministers
or priests.
(Modern, NOT Roman Catholic)
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Women should have equal rights but
they re different from men.
• Some Christians, including Roman Catholics,
believe that women are equal to men but
have different roles.
• Although they cannot be priests, women can
join a religious community as nuns and they
have a variety of roles in the church such as
reading, serving and leading children’s
services.(RC)
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Why women should have
different rights from men.
Why women should have
equal rights in religion.
Why women should have
equal religious rights but
they are different fro men.
Jesus only chose men to be his Jesus had followers both male
apostles
and female. Only men were
apostles because of the
culture of the time.
Jesus chose only men to be his
apostles. If he wanted women
as leaders he would have
gone against the custom of
time as he did with other
things.
In Genesis, God created man
first and made woman to be a
companion to him.
Men and women were both
created ‘in the image of God’
Men and women were created to
be different from each other. This
is shown in the book of Genesis.
St Paul taught women should
submit to their husbands
‘Wives, submit yourselves to your
St Paul taught that ‘There is
neither…male and female. For
you are all one in Christ Jesus
(Galatians 3:28)
Jesus was a man; the priest
represents Jesus in the Mass.
own husbands as you do to the
Lord’ (Ephesians 5:22)
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Muslim
• There are two main attitudes to equal rights
for women in Islam.
• Both are based on the idea that all Muslims
are equal before Allah so all people, male and
female are equal.
• One is not better than the other.
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Women are equal but different so Women are equal and can have
have different roles to play.
equal religious roles to men
A woman should have a family and There is evidence that the Prophet
care for children as this is how she allowed women to lead prayers in a
was created biologically. (T)
household which contained men
and women. (M)
Women should be protected by
men as they are physically weaker.
(T)
In early Islamic history, a few
Muslim groups allowed women
leaders, so why not now. (M)
Traditionally men, not women,
have always been imams. (T)
It is written in a Hadith All people
are equal
(M)
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