The Feminist Movement and Religion

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the relationship between religion and the feminist movement. It focuses on Christianity as an example of a religion that promoted the subordinate roles of women in society and encouraged the persistence of patriarchy as the dominant social system. It analyzes two cases of how Christianity has affected female sexuality's role in society and concludes that feminist interpretation of religion, particularly Christianity, has always been criticized for being too radical and irrelevant in the lives of women followers.

From the Paper:

"This analysis of the relationship between feminism and religion (specifically Catholicism/Christianity) remains a gray area for sociologists and researchers alike, for religions, as political and social forces in the society, can be interpreted as one or the other, or maybe both (as a social and political force). These distinctions would have an impact on the manner in which religion and its practices are interpreted vis-a-vis the feminist framework and discourse. The discussion and analysis provided here, in effect, offers a consolidated analysis of the extant views about the state of feminism as far as its goals towards religion is concerned. The two cases presented showed that though feminism has achieved its goal in some societies, wherein women play significant roles in their religious communities, there are societies that remain fixed and cling to the patriarchal order originally prescribed by the Western branch of Christianity (Catholicism)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Pears, A. (2006). "The problematization of feminisms and feminist informed theologies in the twenty-first century." Political Theology, Volume 7.
• Robert, D. (2006). "World Christianity as a Women's Movement." International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 30, No. 4.
• Tinker, T. (2006). "Response to Roundtable Discussion: Native/First Nation Theology." Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion.
• Vaggione, J. (2005). "Reactive politicization and religious dissidence: the political mutations of the religious." Social Theory and Practice,Vol. 31, No. 2.

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