...Religion and Belief Systems in Australia post Students learn about: | Students learn to: | Contemporary Aboriginal Spiritualities * Aboriginal spirituality as determined by the Dreaming * issues for Aboriginal spiritualities in relation to: * the effect of dispossession * the Land Rights movement Religious expression in Australia – 1945 to the present * the religious landscape from 1945 to the present in relation to: * changing patterns of religious adherence * the current religious landscape * religious dialogue in multi-faith Australia * ecumenical movements within Christianity * Interfaith dialogue * The relationship between Aboriginal spiritualities and religious traditions in the process of Reconciliation | * discuss how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the Dreaming * kinship * ceremonial life * obligations to the land and people * discuss the continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualities in relation to: * separation from the land * separation from kinship groups * the Stolen Generations * outline the importance of the following for the Land Rights movement: * Native Title * Mabo * Wik * analyse the importance of the Dreaming for the Land Rights movement * outline changing patterns of religious adherence from 1945 to the present using census data * account for the present religious landscape in Australia in relation to: * Christianity as the...
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...marks) Feminism is what culture is like for women just because they are women compared to what life is like for men. In society women get treated differently to men as men are seen as more superior, however this only happens in some cultures and these cultures are prejudice towards women. There are 4 key theories that I will talk about in this essay, they all argue different beliefs about feminism and how the family allows men to control and oppress women. Firstly, Radical feminism, they believe that a patriarchal society is the cause of conflict. They also promote lesbianism and separatism. Theorists like Rich, Brownmiller and Firestone all believe differently about Radical feminism. Rich believes in heterosexual relationships however he also thinks that they don’t satisfy the women. Brownmiller believes that women are secluded by society as they fear violence and rape. Lastly Firestone believes that women are unequal due to the factor of child birth. This shows that men are the decision makers and are the ones who have the power within the family. Patriarchy seems to divide rights, privileges and power by gender. Resulting in oppressing women and privileging men. The limitations of this theory are that it assumes all women are the same and men are evil, however this may not be the case as some women may have a more dominant role. Lesbianism is not a good family type to raise children, nuclear is better. Also, not all religions subordinate women, for example Judaism women are...
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...1. FEMINIST THEORIES OF RELIGIONFOR A2 SOCIOLOGY:BELIEFS IN SOCIETY 2. • Feminists see society as patriarchal- based on male domination.• Many feminists regard religion as also patriarchal that reflects and perpetuates this inequality.• Religious beliefs function as a patriarchal ideology that legitimates female subordination. 3. EVIDENCE OF PATRIARCHYRELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS• They are mainly male dominated despite the fact that women often participate more than men in organisations. For example, Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests. Armstrong sees women’s exclusion from the priesthood of most religions as evidence of marginalisation. View slide 4. PLACES OF WORSHIP• They often separate the sexes and marginalise women, e.g. seating them behind screens while the men occupy the central and more sacred spaces.• Women’s participation may be restricted, for example, not being able to preach or to read from sacred texts. Taboos that regard menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth as polluting may also prevent participation. For example, in Islam, menstruating women are not allowed to touch the Qur’an. Holm describes this as the devaluation of women in contemporary religion. View slide 5. SACRED TEXTS• They largely feature the doings of male gods, prophets ect, and are usually written and interpreted by men. Stories often reflect anti-female stereotypes, such as that of Eve who in the Judaeo-Christian story of Genesis, caused by humanity’s fall from grace...
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...The religion of Islam has been in existence since the 7th-century C.E, with its founder being Muhammed. It was one of the first monotheistic religions along with Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity. Islam has always appealed to people of different backgrounds because of its universal message of paradise after death. Despite this, throughout its life, Islam has experienced changes such as the emergence of radical groups, more equality, and varying translations of the Qur'an while having continuities such as religious persecution, sect divisions, and rituals. Since the beginning, Muslims have shown religious fervor by spreading its core values to gain adherent whether voluntary or not. However, in recent years, there has been an emergence of extreme radical groups of Islam. These groups have committed terrorist attacks against U.S. and France in the name of Islam. Because of these small minority groups, Muslims are automatically seen as terrorist and extremely radical. A big step towards a change of the religion...
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...Feminism in Bangladesh: Establishing equal rights between men & women in young generation. SADMAN ANIS Students University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh ABSTRACT This is basically exploratory study and was conducted at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh & United International University, Dhanmondi,Dhaka, Bangladesh over a period of 10 days started from 1st December, 2012 to 10th December, 2010. The main objective of this study is to describe what the condition of feminism in Bangladesh and what is the thinking of our varsity girl about feminism. Total 21 respondents were selected based on age class of 18-22. Feminism is a belief in the right of women to have political, social, and economic equality with men. It is a discourse that involves various movements, theories, and philosophies which are concerned with the issue of gender difference, advocate equality for women, and campaign for women’s rights and interests. According to some, the history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s and the third extends from the 1990s to the present. Feminist theory emerged from these feminist movements. It is manifest in a variety of disciplines such as feminist geography, feminist history and feminist literary criticism. Although feminism has emerged in nineteenth in the world, it is yet unknown to women of our country. The concept of feminism in Bangladesh has...
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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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...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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...To what extent is religion a Conservative Force? (33) Religion could be seen as a Conservative Force from different perspectives such as: Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism. However, other perspectives disagree with this and see religion as a Force for Social Change. There are different ways in which sociologists define religion. There is a substantive definition, and functional definition and a social constructionist definition. Substantive definitions focus on the content or substance of religion belief such as the belief in God or the supernatural. Functional definitions focus on the psychological functions it performs for the individuals or society. Social constructionists focus on how the members of society define religion themselves: they argue that it is impossible to produce a single universal definition of religion to cover all cases because different people have different definitions of religion. Religion can be seen as a conservative force in two different senses: it is seen as conservative in the sense of being ‘traditional’ as it upholds traditional beliefs about how society should be organised. It is also seen as conservative as it functions to preserve things as they are. Functionalists see society as a system of interrelated parts or social institutions. Each institution performs certain functions which each contribute to maintaining the social system by maintaining a need. The key feature of religion was not a belief in Gods, Spirits or the Supernatural,...
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...and in Orthodox Catholicism and Judaism women are forbidden to become priests. Also Christianity teaches that men made in ‘the image and glory of God’ and women made ‘for the glory of man. This is supported by the Old Testament which states ‘...for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.’ There are many female characters in the biblical texts and some are portrayed as acting charitably or bravely, however the primary roles are reserved for males and most female roles are either evil (Eve) or subordinate (Mary). Similarly in the Quran, the sacred text of Islam contends that ‘men are in charge of women’. Even Christianity and Buddhism are dominated by a patriarchal power structure in which the feminine is mainly associated with the secular, powerless, profane and imperfect. Even women’s bodies and sexuality are felt to be dangerous by many religious. Because women menstruate and give birth, they are considered to have the capacity to ‘pollute’ religious rituals. The presence of women is seen to distract men from their important roles involving worship. Even though there is evidence to suggest that religious institutions have patriarchal values, it should not be assumed that all religions are equally oppressive to women. Gender-neutral language has been introduced in many hymns and prayers and the requirement in the Christian marriage ceremony for the bride to promise to obey her husband is now also optional. Judaism has allowed women to become rabbis...
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...Jews were also involved in combating AIDS. During the epidemic in the 1980’s, Jews like Larry Kramer called for campaigns, direct action, civil disobedience, and initiated the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP). Because of AIDS’ association with homosexuals, many felt that it was important to draw the connection to bring awareness to the issue. Gran Fury, an AIDS activist organization led by Jews used posters to draw a connection between the epidemic and the Holocaust. Gay men under Nazi control were forced to wear pink triangles on their clothing similar to the Jewish yellow star. Jews were also significantly involved and influenced by the Feminist movement. As already discussed, Feminism helped conjure modern sects of Judaism like Open Orthodoxy. In the early twentieth century Jewish women advocated alongside non Jewish women for women’s rights like suffrage and labor reform. In the second wave of Feminist movement beginning in the 1960’s, women fought for civil rights and full protection under the law. Bella Abzug, a lawyer who represented a Manhattan District of the House of Representatives alongside Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique,...
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...Task Essay Question(s): Evaluate feminist views on the role and functions of religion in society today (18marks) Patriarchal Vehicle Evidence of patriarchy; * Sacred text, places of worship etc. Woodhead, Armstrong etc Criticism and strengths. Task Essay Question(s): Evaluate feminist views on the role and functions of religion in society today (18marks) Patriarchal Vehicle Evidence of patriarchy; * Sacred text, places of worship etc. Woodhead, Armstrong etc Criticism and strengths. Evaluate postmodernist explanations of the role & functions of religion in contemporary society (33marks) (Plan and case) Evaluate postmodernist explanations of the role & functions of religion in contemporary society (33marks) (Plan and case) Feminists see religion as a patriarchal institution; maintaining male dominance over women by allowing them to believe that it is their divine right to dominate. As well as this, they believe that religion functions as a patriarchal ideology that is a vehicle that perpetuates inequity and such beliefs legitimizes female subservience and oppression. El Saadawi, says that religion is distorted to acquiesce patriarchal domination in which they exploit women in multiple ways; prostitution, slavery and abortion. However, functionalists believe otherwise and argue that its function is not to oppress women but necessary as to keep society stable whilst Marxists believe that religion oppresses the working class and serves capitalism not females...
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...Assess the view that women are no longer oppressed by religion (18 marks) Feminism is a conflict theory similar to Marxism, except instead of the working class being oppressed by the bourgeoisie, feminists (such as Simone De Beauvoir) believe that society is patriarchal and that women are oppressed by men. Religion is often viewed as something which preserves this and ensures that women remain subordinate to men by believing that their suffering is meaningful and they’ll be rewarded in heaven after death. There are many examples of patriarchy in religion, both historic and current. However, there is also sociological evidence that challenges the idea that women are subordinate to men. As Item A states, the feminist view that religion is a force for ‘patriarchal oppression’ is ‘supported by evidence such as the differential treatment of women in religious congregations.’ Evidence of patriarchy in places of worship is apparent in the way that men and women are required to worship separately in many faiths, such as orthodox synagogues where the men and women cannot sit together, and in the Islam faith women must pray behind the men, implying that the men are more important. However, this is not consistent in every religion, as in Reform Judaism and Christianity both men and women may worship together. Similarly, women can be oppressed through patriarchy in religious organisations. Karen Armstrong (1993) said that women being excluded from religious leadership in many faiths...
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...(Okin 124) The second criticism is from Aziza Al-Hibri, who argues that Okin attempts to paint a picture of women in minority cultures as inept, and irrationally co-opted. (Okin 44) She asserts that by doing this, Okin runs the risk of sounding patriarchal, the very concept of male superiority that she advocating against. She provides the example of the many highly successful women, who have adopted orthodox or Hasidic Judaism as adults, even though some of their practices are in direct conflict with modern feminism. Such practices include early marriages, gender roles, and mikvah, which is a ritual purity bathe ceremonies that follow menstruation. (Okin 44) She goes in depth further about the importance of mikvah in Jewish culture, stating, “they see in the mikvah ceremonies “women centered spiritual celebration of women’s bodies, cycles, sexuality and procreative power”(Okin 44). Al-Hibri argues that in this example, it is condescending to believe that such smart and accomplished women would be misled or brainwashed into freely accepting an oppressive lifestyle orchestrated by their male...
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...r{,r,, ^'r\. J. L !--.,,r'*- A 4l^ 4^ *- rwc,\ l*"d , Cr^V*Voa^{Y /Aotql [ss^'/> ?**, o^ft*^Na JJ rrr! alt i , 3 cz €);o\t -', , l)*s*xY YUrrur(J Susan Moller Okin "ls Multiculturalism Bad for Women?" Ethics in Society and Profe.ssor o,f.Politiin Western Political Thought andJustice, cal Science atStanford rJniversity, isthe authorofwomen Cender, and the FamilY. Susan Moller Okin, the Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of arise between acceptance of diversity In this article, Okin explores some of the tensions that the rights and well-being of women' (a key telnA of multicultural'ism) and concern for ' As You Recd, Consiiler This: ,'Eeminism" .and "multicultur rtlism" 1. fine each of these terms? aTe two key terms in okin's arlrcle' How does she de- originallypublisheditlheBostonReview,october/November199?'ReprintedinsusanMollerOkin'IsMulticulc' Nussbaum (Princeton: PrinceMatthew Howard' and Martha turalism Bad for women? edited by Joshua cohen, Press, 1999). ton UniversitY Chapter 7 . Gender 287 2. Why, according to Kymticka, do certain minority groups deserve special group rights? 3. \Mhat is the liberal response to Okin's crlttque?'Nhatrejoinder does Olcrn offer to this response? Until the past few decades, minority groups-immigrants as well as indigenous peoples-were typically expected to assimilate into majority cultures. This assimilationist expectation is now often ...
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...subordination of women, and their exclusion from sacred practices mirrors their continued exclusion from high ranking careers, specifically in politics, via the glass ceiling effect. Armstrong identifies women’s exclusion from priesthood in most traditional religions as undeniable evidence of marginalisation, such as in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church. This argument is credible, the marginalisation of women is rife in religion, Islam for example, in which female Muslims are not allowed to touch the Quran whilst on their period. Holm describes this as the devaluation of women in contemporary religion. Disregarding the blatant sexism in religious structures, feminists point to the patriarchy reinforced by monotheistic religious texts, Judaism and Islam for example. The sacred texts, The Bible, Torah and Koran for example, are all written by men, featuring male gods and male prophets. On top of this male domination, the female sex is often represented consistently negatively, often referred to as nothing more than temptresses and tools for men to use. The fall of Adam and Eve and the original sin for example, a huge pillar in Christian teachings, in which the harmonious relationship between the Earth and God is severed through Eve disobeying God, and luring Adam into eating the forbidden fruit. This idea that women are...
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