Women in Orgnaized Religions 

In today’s society, even though woman have rights to do anything, there seems to still be a dilemma on what woman have a voice in, one being religion. In my findings of research, I learned that many women are not allowed a role in their religion based on their culture. Not only that but also due to the fact of us being “unstable”. I read one article where they had five different points on why woman should not be in a religious position.

Out of the five, two of them struck me, “loss of patriarchal control” and “conflicting influence over children and family life (Why Organized Religion Fears Educated Women)”.

They stated we are unstable creatures who cannot withhold a position or that they can influence their kids, specifically daughters. It seems as if they were saying we are only good for cooking, cleaning, and taking care of kids and not much else.

A lot of the research I have found shows that many women should only do the stay at home, wifely duties.

I feel that most religions do not agree with that because it would take power from a man; it is as if it shows that the man is weak if they let a woman take a role in a high religious stand point. In a way, I feel as though it is like holding authority over woman. No matter what your gender is, I feel that you can set your mind to doing whatever you want, no matter what it is.

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The other three things that it says about why they do not recommend that woman hold a position in religion is because depleting the ranks, the decline of poverty, and loss of financial contribution (Why Organized Religion Fears Educated Women.) They do not believe that woman will put in the same amount of time with religion as they would with their lives. Being a woman, we already have high standards being that we must do a lot. I am more than certain that if woman were to take on that responsibility, they would but in the same amount of effort as with anything else. Not only that, but they think that it would put a decrease on poverty and it can be misleading for those who have hope. I feel as though we all have hope no matter what, it does not have to deal with just religion.

The last reason is just so they can have control over women. They think women will use religion as a scam, to just take all the money. It isn’t all about money. I also dislike how they use the sentence “as they keep woman in control,” they say it as if we are pets and as if we have no say so, like we must be watched with everything. I feel like when it comes to women it’s a double standard; we are held to a different level. If it was a man doing the same thing nothing would be wrong with it. I will say, not everyone is religion material. But that does not mean that you hold all woman responsible for someone else’s actions.

I also do feel the things listed in the article that were listed, were not very good valid reasons on why women should not be in organized religions, which is why I picked the site. It is like they were being bias and made it seem like women cannot hold any authoritative position. Women can do anything just as good as a men can. It just amazes me that many think women cannot hold a religion position; also, the reasoning that they use on why woman cannot hold the position. There is no good reason on why they do not want woman to hold the position.

As I keep going on with my research, I found in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhist, and Islam religions, some do not believe in women holding a position. Some of these religions do allow women to hold a position but not as much as a man would, and some they equal rights as if the man would in the religion. In the United States a good percentage of woman are involved in a religion. In Christianity, women can have the power to preach, teach, and do missionary work (A Woman’s Work: Roles of Women in World Religions.) Not only that, but in Christianity, women also have the responsibility of raising children, they also hold social groups as well.

In Judaism, women also have power, but they are also responsible for completing tasks that are more logical while the men do more of the physical work (A Woman’s Work: Roles of Women in World Religions.) Their tradition is like Christianity when it comes to men doing all the hard work while the women do the less hard work and not get their hands dirty. There are not many women in the United States who are involved in Judaism. The percentage is higher than Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhist but lower than Christianity.

Hinduism is the next religion where women do not have the power to be in a religious position unless they are rich. You must have some type of wealth in the family to be able to hold a position in the religious stand point of Hinduism. Also, women are not allowed to officiate ceremonies (A Woman’s Work: Roles of Women in World Religions.) The women in this religion do not really have much say on what they can and cannot do unless they have the money which I do not think is fair. Not everyone is granted with wealth. You should not have power based off whether you have money or not to hold a position.

Women who follow Hinduism are responsible for raising the bar and teaching kids. They are set up on arranged marriages, they must maintain the household, and take care of the elderly (A Woman’s Work: Roles of Women in World Religions.) Hindu women are to only do their wifely duties. They are not to do anything dealing with religion unless they are helping their husbands with ceremonies that deal with their tradition. That is the only thing Hindu women can do, that their husbands will allow if they are not wealthy. I do not think that woman should have to have permission to be able to participate in a religion. Religion is like freedom of speech, but I do understand that, that is a part of their religion and that is what they believe in.

Buddhism gives women the power to hold a position in the religion. Like Hinduism, Buddhists have a low percentage of women in the United States that are a part of this religion. Women’s responsibilities in Buddhism are to also keep up the house and raise the children like all the other religions. They also must act as the husband and make decisions when the husband is not around, and to co-exist peacefully with husband’s co-wives if in a polygamous marriage. (A Woman’s Work: Roles of Women in World Religions.) I’m glad that they do give the women a little bit of freedom to do and make the decisions. The only thing I do not agree with is that men can have multiple wives and they must be peacefully with them. Another issue I have with this religion is the idea that women have to share a man, its plenty for everyone.

The last religion is Islam, women in this organization can have power. They can do politics and religious things in organizations. The percentage of women in the Islamic religion is low in the United States but higher than Hinduism and Buddhism. Islamic women have responsibilities such as to care for children, they should pass on traditions to children, serve their husband in their homes, and assist their husband and other male family members in political and religious decisions. (A Woman’s Work: Roles of Women in World Religions.) In this religion, they allow women to have a say so, and to be able to put in their input when in comes to the religious aspect of it all. They also treat women as equal when it comes to their religion and to their position as a mother. There should be no one less than the other when it comes to anything.

I feel as though religion should be less strict when it comes to women. I honestly do not see why there is a debate on whether women should be able to hold a religious position. If they meet the criteria, they should be granted the position. I believe some men may fear that a woman becoming a member in an organized religion will pull her away from the responsibilities of the home and family. If this happens, then men will have to take on the responsibility of the household which is typically and historically a woman’s job. I feel that there is nothing wrong with switching roles. In this day and age, it is more accepted to defy social norms. Religion is for everyone, there should be no separation based on sex. I also believe men fear the unknown when concerning women in religious power. Throughout history women have never been seen in high power in certain religions. When, and if a woman is appointed to this position, many do not know what to expect. I believe woman should have a chance to fill these positions, the only way to see the positive or negative outcomes is by giving women a chance.

I found something that really stuck out to me while I was reading, “feminism is the radical notion that women are” (Moore, Rebecca.) I feel that this quote should not just stick out to women but also to men as well. They should think more on this; some women do not believe they are. We just want equal opportunities and fair jobs that is all, including religion. Women helped us to understand what Christianity is. Women have been instrumental in keeping the faith alive (Moore, Rebecca.) To know that women have such a strong impact on religion, but they cannot hold a position in the religion due to them being woman is devastating. I will say that I am glad that Christianity allows women to be able to hold a position when it comes to religion. I wish that other religions would be more lenient. Women just want to be treated fairly, and to have the same opportunities as men do no matter what it is.

I know I may not fully understand why it is not allowed in some religions, but I would like it to be more reasons as to why they cannot. However, I will say that I have learned a lot when it comes to Women in Organized religions. I still do believe that things will get better for women in other religions and there will be more opportunities. I also still believe that they do not have to get permission from their husbands. I know this is a part of their religion and their way of living, but I wish they had just as much freedom as most Christians do.