...Religion and Gender Inequality RELIGION and GENDER INEQUALITY Equality for women in our society has been a controversial issue for centuries, sparking debates, marches, protests, and movement for the purpose of lifting women out of servitude to men. Many might point to the idea that women are the smaller, delicate, and weaker of the two genders as the reason for male domination. In history there have been many groups that were dominated by another group, but none with such complicity from those claiming to be following the word of God, as men over women. The Bible, perhaps the most influential collection of scripture, seems to align man with God; “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground” (Genesis: 26). Does this passage from the Old Testament establish men as the rulers of all that lives and breathes on the Earth, or is the word “man” used to establish the human species (men and women) as masters of our world? My guess is that asking a woman might garner a different response than if posed to a man. When it comes to the matter of inequality or oppression, a condition that has affected many groups during human history, it seems that religion, or God in one way or another has been used as an example to stop the onerous treatment of such groups, seemingly with the exception of women. During the...
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...The promotion of gender equality in religion is a slow and painful process, and it is barely beginning to unfold worldwide. But it is a dynamic process, one in which progress begets progress. As a result of sexuality, gender inequality dramatically differs from other forms of inequality such as class or race. Women and men are bound together as intimate couples. And because of reproduction, all people are bound to both mothers and fathers and other kin of both genders. Inequality is the divergence of appropriation or opportunity and can be taken a look at through numerous positions from a social scientist angles. This essay will look into the fundamentals of sexual orientation imbalance inside of marriage through three distinct religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Religion has a distinctive affect on marriage and sexual orientation, so much so that people are not willing to be true to themselves in order to please their religion. Taking a look at the rudiments of sexual orientation disparity one can discover that it is an educated conduct starting at the formative phases of adolescence. As indicated by Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development under the preoperational period (2-7 years old) amid the instinctive stage (4-7 years old) a child’s "discourse turns out to be more social… has a natural handle of sensible ideas." also "ideas shaped are unrefined and irreversible" which makes a child to a great degree vulnerable to social discernments set up by the child’s parents...
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...essay Question: is gender equality ever possible? Question analyze: key words are gender equality, ever, possible. Gender equality is defined as men and women have same rights. Ever is an absolute term. First mean point: it is possible as there are obvious improvement in social area today compare to the past. However, there are improvements does not mean that gender inequality can be totally eliminated. (India gender parity index has improved from 0.464 in 1975 to 0.918 in 2010. ) Second mean point: gender equality is possible as there are measures to protect woman’s rights. However, this is only for those developed country, for those third world countries the sexism still exists, and it is hard to solve due to economic and political problems. Third mean point: the low education level of female in some part of the world make a vicious cycle, thus women unable to gain their rights. (87% of Afghan are illiterate, in India 44.5% of girls are married before the age of 18.) Fourth mean point: it is impossible to eliminate the gender discrimination as it against some races’ religion and culture. (in Africa people believe only women undergoes genital mutilation is pure, and those who does not are less value. In Malaysia, due to their religion, women have to respect their husband and cover most of their bodies. ) Fifth mean point: it is impossible as men and women are born different physically. Women have to give birth to child. In conclusion, gender equality can never...
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...STATE AND DISCUSS FIVE FACTORS OF INEQUALITY IN OUR SOCIETY. Gender refers to socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men. The difference in roles and responsibilities among women and men stems from our families, societies and culture. The concept of gender includes our expectations about the characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of women and men, and is vital in facilitating gender analysis. The different roles, rights and resources that both the genders have in society are important determinants of the nature and scope of their inequality and poverty. Inequality in access to resources between women and men is most common in Poor and developing countries. Gender inequality refers to inequality in conditions among women and men for realizing their full human rights. It refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. Gender systems are often dichotomous and hierarchical; gender binary systems may reflect the inequalities that manifest in numerous dimensions of daily life. Gender inequality stems from distinctions, whether empirically grounded or socially constructed. There are factors that influence gender inequality in our society. Some of these...
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...Evaluate feminist views on the role of religion in society today. (33 marks) Feminists argue that in religion there is evidence of an oppression against women. Feminists highlight four main ways in which religion oppresses and subordinates’ women, these are: Sacred texts (feature predominantly male gods and profits as well as being written and interpreted by men. Women in sacred texts are presented in a negative light.); Places of worship (There are often rules preventing women from participating fully, for example, in Islam, women are not able to touch the Qur’an); Religious organization and hierarchy (male dominated- Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests); and religious laws and customs (Many religions legitimate and regulate women’s traditional domestic and reproductive role e.g. Catholic Church bans abortion and artificial contraception). These examples clearly show that there is a gender issue in religion, however are these feminist views as valid in todays society as in the past? Some would say that feminist views on the role of religion are valid as they do recognise gender inequality in religion. It is clear that religion is extremely patriarchal from the teachings to the hierarchy. Within religious organisations, women are often found at the bottom of the career ladder, facing the same glass ceiling barrier of prejudice and discrimination that stops them from rising higher up the hierarchy in the workplace. Despite legal obstacles...
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...SOC 1010 I decided to watch a Ted Talk about gender inequality within a church. I felt that I could relate to this one the most because growing up in Utah is an automatic submersion into the religion. In this talk, Chelsea Shields speaks about how she was raised in the LDS church and she watched women get excluded from high positions her whole life. Chelsea's main goal is to make a change in the church and have women start to climb the ladder. This article related most to chapter 10 in our book about gender. There was a large section talking about how gender inequality to women has always been a problem and this video proves that it is still going on today. Chelsea is determined to change that. Chelsea also talked about how the church is held to a different standard than any other business. She put it in perspective of if a large corporation said no woman could hold a position of high power, then there would be rage. But the fact that a church can say it and no one has challenged it yet, is a major problem of gender inequality. The best point that I believe Chelsea made was that we accept things in our religious life that we would never accept in our secular life. This statement brings in the conflict perspective on religion from chapter 13. This Ted Talk was a great look into the gender inequality debate because Chelsea was really able to explain the problems with the world accepting it in religion, and being outraged about it in corporations and the...
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...The Patriarchal Whip of Religion on Society Stefan Colangelo 212275988 Richard Last HUMA 1110 A Thursday March 17, 2016 Colangelo 2 It is accurate to suggest that gender inequality is an ever present problem in today's society. But in taking a deeper look at the substantial issue, is one of its main sources of instigation from religion? There is imbalance in the way in which men and women are treated and respected in the Bible. And despite the blatancy of this concern, studies conducted on the disparity in religion, culture, and gender are still relatively new. In Mallory Nye's Religion: The Basics, Darlene Juschka comments, "it is evident that some fields of study are less receptive to feminist perspectives...The study of religion has been one of those disciplines." There is a lack of recognition and awareness for the issue, mostly due to androcentrism. Although this will be discussed in further detail later on, it is important to understand this concept as a point of reference. Androcentrism...
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...Intersectionality of Gender Inequality Name: Institution: Intersectionality of Gender Inequality For many decades, women have experienced all forms of oppression and constant violence that threatened their existence in the male-dominated society. Various forms of discrimination and oppression have been directed to women for decades. Violence directed at women such as rape and battery were seen and treated as isolated scenarios. However, as the need to foster gender equality took pace, such oppressive actions are now perceived as elements of a wider system of dominance in the society that that needs to be addressed as a whole rather than in singularity (Crenshaw et al., 2013). Intersectionality is a concept that was developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the interconnections between oppressive institutions such as sexism and racism and their interaction in propagating discrimination and oppression in the society (Crenshaw et al., 2013). The concept of Intersectionality therefore, argues that, the oppressive institutions in the society cannot be handled separate from each other but rather should be addressed as a system that collectively form a system of oppression in the society. Gender inequality entails unequal treatment of individuals on the basis of their gender (Crenshaw et al., 2013). This form of discrimination has roots in social constructions and cultural norms and values which...
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...Evaluate the Marxist theory of religion and its relevance to society today. Marxists believe that the ruling class use instruments in society to control the working class – for example religion and education. They argue that religion is created and promoted by the Ruling Class in order to pass on their dominant ideology to the working class, using it as an “instrument”. Althusser argues that the ruling class do this through physical control such as the police and the justice system (Repressive State Apparatus), they also control the working class through the Ideological state Apparatus, which via religion, prevents the working class from becoming deviant and rebelling. A clear demonstration of this is in Christian teaching. They’re taught that Jesus himself had a day job as a carpenter – which is a manual labour, working class job. This idea of Jesus being like us civilians appeals to the working class as their attitude would be that if someone of such major influence can have that job, I can too because I will be repaid in the afterlife. Another supporting piece of evidence to the Marxist theory of religion is in the Jewish Torah (Old Testament – 34:12) God says “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest, in eanring time and in harvesting, thou shalt rest”. This also influences the working class not to question why we have to work for 6 days, because when we make our earnings we can rest on the seventh day, whilst the ruling class impose this religious...
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...The concept of gender has become a debatable issue in the contemporary society and an important dimension in the design and analysis of social and economic development policies. These development concerns have brought about gender issues at the forefront of national and international agenda. During the 1990's, the gender issue continued to follow the historical trend by being one of the most popular themes of debates. The Human Development Report, (1995) posits that the number of women is greater than or equal to that of men, in today's society, yet females are still considered as a minority segment of the population. As a measure to redress gender inequalities, approaches by feminist movements, such as Women in Development (WID), were crafted but not much was achieved. Later, it was Women and Development (WAD) and lastly Gender and Development (GAD). It seems deep-rooted gender inequality still exists globally, despite substantial national and international measures that have been taken towards gender equality. This essay deliberates on the assertion that, “Gender equality is debatable: what is undebatable is the attempt to make it universally applicable.” The writer agrees to a greater extent that gender equality is a controversial issue basing on the multiplicity of societies that it is applied to. The fact that there is no universal culture, universal religion or universal ideology makes the whole issue arguable, ence, the need to degenderise gender. Definition...
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...Feminism and religion * Differential socialisation – more submissive, passive, obedient, nurturing * Differential roles – higher rates of participation in child rearing allows more time for church related activities, plus participation at home, for example Hindu women look after the family shrine, Jewish women pass on the laws of Sabbath to their children * Many feminists’ theories of religion follow Marxist theories arguing that religion is a n instrument of domination and oppression, but unlike Marxism they also see it as a form of patriarchal control – religion reinforces traditional gender roles and legitimises gender inequalities, advocating traditional family structures and therefore acting as an agent of social control. Religious ideology presents women’s subordinate place within the family as normal and natural. * Jean Holm – she says that the basis for women’s subordination is their sexuality. Menstruation makes women unclean thus polluting holy places for example they cannot touch the Qur’an or enter the Mosques when menstruating. Another reason for gender inequality is that women are seen as a distraction – their presence may distract men from their more important role of worship. Holm goes on to describe some of the inequalities within different religions ( Japanese folk religions says that women are responsible for organising public rituals but only men can take part in public performances). * This is a form of sexual apartheid – separating...
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...Evaluate feminist views on the role of religion in society today. [33 marks] Feminism is a structural theory that takes a conflict view upon society. They view religion as a socially constructed institution in society that promotes patriarchy and is a tool used by men to oppress women. Feminism point out that religion is founded upon male-values, and use the example of Mary Magdalen’s unknown marriage to Jesus as a key point. However, some may point out that Feminist views on religion are outdated as religion today is less prevalent and no longer holds these patriarchal values as they previously have, and if there are any left, they are quickly disappearing. Firstly, a strength of Feminist views on religion is that they have recognised and criticised the inequality that is prevalent in religious organisations. They point out that women are not allowed access to the upper positions in the religious hierarchy in many of the traditional religions. For example, Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests. Karen Armstrong says to this that ‘the exclusion of women from the priesthood as evidence of their marginalisation’. On the other hand, the Church of England allowed for female vicars in 1994, and more recently in 2014/5, allowed for female bishops, with Libby Lane being the first. In addition, on the 12th January 2016, New Jersey Synagogue announced that they had hired the first female Orthodox Rabbi. However, one could point out that although women can...
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...How Gender Inequality Is Explained Sociology How has gender inequality been explained? (Answer with reference to a range of theories and approaches) Critically assess the attempt of one of the feminist group to overcome gender inequality. Social stratification “A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy’ (Macionis and Plummer: 2005: 190). Social stratification is common in different aspects throughout society and throughout history some of the most substantial categories affected are class, race, disabilities, sexuality and globally. However this essay shall be investigating the stratification by gender, referred to as gender inequality. There are many reasons for the disparity of gender “...circumscribed by its underlying social, legal, political, economic, and cultural characteristics” (Rives and Yousefi 1997:1). Gender stratification categories people in regard to their ‘sex’, this can be defined as anatomical differences and physiological differences between male and female for example the difference in chromosomes, sex organs and hormones. The word ‘gender’ has been socially constructed through the means of a stereotype and ideology of the social role, identity, position and behaviour of male and feminine through different institutions and aspects like the media, religion, culturally and historically. Up until the era of Suffragettes in the late 19th Century women were always deemed lower than men and inequality was highly significant...
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...perspective; socialization; families; social class; and social stratification; race and ethnicity; and deviance. | | |CONTENT LECTURE LAB OUTLINE | |HOURS HOURS | Study of Sociology (What is Sociology, Methods) 5 Individual and Society (Culture, Socialization, Social Interaction, Groups, Networks, Organization, Conformity and Deviance) 10 Stratification (Class, Global, Gender, Racial and Ethnic, Aging) 15 Social Institutions (Government, Work, Economy, Families, Education, Religion) 10 Social Change (Health, Sexuality, Population, Urbanization, Environment, Globalization) 5 EVALUATION: Quizzes X Exams X Oral Pres. x Papers X Lab Work Projects x Comp.Final X Other Group Activities Textbook: Required: Title...
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...and colorful one. In the chapter on diversity in the united states in the book Race, ethnicity, gender and class, the author talks about how America as a whole is an integration of various groups of people. He also mentions that the diversity of America is ever growing and the acceptance of this change is slowly increasing as well. There are many categories, groups and class, people of America can be divided into based on what a specific group experience, a patter of disadvantages or inequalities, on how they appear physically and of what social minority group they come from (p.16). A minority group can face various disadvantages or inequalities at places or work or social gatherings where equal right or services are not provided to every group. This is known as stratification and has a powerful impact on the distribution of resources in America (p.18).Karl Marx , Max Weber, Gerhard Lenski and Patricia Hill Collins are all sociologists with different opinions and meanings for social inequality. For example, the author talks Karl Marx idea and mentions that “Marx argued that the most important source of inequality in society was the system of economic production” (p.19). Visible distinguishing traits are the second most defining characteristics of minority groups. The establishment of who is the dominant and who is minority are based on a variety of lines that include religion, language and occupation. However...
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