The role of women in Christianity
Statements by Christian leaders & commentators
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As stated in our menu on the status of women in
the Bible, women were considered as property through
much of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Jesus later preached a revolutionary
message: the equal status and worth of women. He demonstrated this concept
throughout his ministry. Paul continued this tradition in the very early days
of Christianity. However, sections of the Christian Scriptures (New Testament), that
are believed by many theologians to have been forged in Paul's name long after his death, show that later church leaders gradually
restored the status
of women to the lower level that existed before Christ's ministry. Some of the great leaders of the Christian church continued this trend of
denigrating women. Many denominations continue this sexist policy today by refusing leadership roles to all women.
Church leaders and commentators, prior to the 20th century:
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St. Tertullian (about 155 to 225 CE): |
"Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on
this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You
are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of the forbidden tree: You are
the first deserter of the divine law: You are she who persuaded him whom the
devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image,
man. On account of your desert even the Son of God had to die." 1,2
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St. Augustine of Hippo (354 to 430 CE). He wrote to a friend: |
"What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is
still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman......I fail to
see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing
children." 10
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St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 to 1274 CE): |
"As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and
misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production
of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of woman
comes from a defect in the active force or from some material indisposition,
or even from some external influence."
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Martin Luther (1483 to 1546): |
"If they [women] become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let
them die in childbirth, that's why they are there." 9
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Matilda Josyln Gage, et. al, "1876 Declaration of Rights"
on the rights of women. |
"...we declare our faith in the principles of self-government; our
full equality with man in natural rights; that woman was made first for her
own happiness, with the absolute right to herself - to all the opportunities
and advantages life affords for her complete development; and we deny that
dogma of the centuries, incorporated in the codes of nations - that woman
was made for man - her best interests, in all cases, to be sacrificed to his
will. We ask of our rulers, at this hour, no special favors, no special
privileges, no special legislation. We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask
that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the
United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever."6
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20th century writings/sayings on the role of women:
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Reformation Fellowship of the East Valley, Mesa, AZ (circa
1995) |
"In the beginning God made man male and female. He made Adam first,
and then made Eve from Adam's rib. This order of creation subordinates wives
to their husbands in marriage, and women to men in the church. As an act of
submission to their Creator women are commanded to submit to their husbands
and to male leadership in the church. Women are not allowed to teach or have
authority over men in any formal capacity in the church." 3
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Pope John Paul II (1995) |
"Woman's identity cannot consist in being a copy of man, since she is
endowed with her own qualities and prerogatives, which give her a particular
uniqueness that is always to be fostered and encouraged... To all in our age
who offer selfish models for affirming the feminine personality, the
luminous and holy figure of the Lord's Mother shows how only by self-giving
and self-forgetfulness towards others is it possible to attain authentic
fulfillment of the divine plan for one's own life." 4
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Statement by "Christians for Biblical Equality" a
conservative Christian organization |
"...the Bible, properly interpreted, teaches the fundamental equality of men and
women of all racial and ethnic groups, all economic classes, and all age groups,
based on the teachings of scripture as reflected in Galatians 3:28:
'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' " 7
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Jerry Falwell |
"Most of these feminists are radical, frustrated lesbians, many of
them, and man-haters, and failures in their relationships with men, and who
have declared war on the male gender. The Biblical condemnation of feminism
has to do with its radical philosophy and goals. That's the bottom line."
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The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (1997) |
"...God, by creating Adam first (Gen. 2:18; 1 Cor. 11:8) and also by
creating woman for man (Gen. 2:18,20,22; 1 Cor. 11:9), has set the
gender-based role and responsibility of males in the most basic unit of
society (the family) to be that of leader, provider and self-sacrificial
protector (also cf. Eph. 5:25; 1 Peter 3:7), and likewise has set the
gender-based role and responsibility of females to be that of help and
nurture (Gen. 2:18) and life-giving (Gen. 3:20) under male leadership and
protection (cf. 1 Peter 3:7)..." 8
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Randall Terry, head of Operation Rescue |
"...make dads the godly leaders [of the family] with the women in
submission, raising kids for the glory of God."
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Unitarian Universalist Association: statement of principles and
purposes. This faith group had been classified as a liberal Christian denomination
in past deecades. By 1999, only about 25% of its members regarded themselves as
Christian. |
"The Association declares and affirms its special responsibility,
and that of its member societies and organizations, to promote the full
participation of persons in all of its and their activities and in the full
range of human endeavor without regard to race, color, sex, disability,
affectional or sexual orientation, age, or national origin and without
requiring adherence to any particular interpretation of religion or to any
particular religious belief or creed."
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Anon, "Why women need freedom from religion," pamphlet 5 |
"The various Christian churches fought tooth and nail against the
advancement of women, opposing everything from women's right to speak in
public, to the use of anesthesia in childbirth...and woman's suffrage. Today
the most organized and formidable opponent of women's social, economic and
sexual rights remains organized religion. Religionists defeated the Equal
Rights Amendment. Religious fanatics and bullies are currently engaged
in an outright war of terrorism and harassment against women who have
abortions and the medical staff which serves them."
References:
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"Women in Islam vs. the Judeo-Christian Tradition." at: http://www.troid.org/Islamic
Info/Women in Islam/women.htm
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Quoted in:
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Karen Armstrong, "The Gospel According to Woman:
Christianity's creation of the sex war in the west," Elm Tree
Books, (1986) Pages 52 to 62. |
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Nancy van Vuuren, "The Subversion of Women as Practiced by
Churches, Witch-Hunters, and Other Sexists," Westminister Press,
Pages 28 to 30. |
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"The Reformation Statement on the Role of Women,"
Reformation Fellowship of the East Valley, at: http://www.ids.org/
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Pope John Paul II, "Mary sheds light on role of women,"
Catholic Information Network, at: http://www.cin.org/
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"Why Women Need Freedom From Religion," Freedom From Religion Foundation, at:
http://www.ffrf.org/
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Matilda Josyln Gage, et. al, "1876 Declaration of Rights,"
at: http://www.pinn.net/
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"Who we are," Christians for Biblical Equality, at: http://www.cbeinternational.org
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"Resolution on women in combat," The Council on Biblical
Manhood & Womanhood, at: http://www.cbmw.org/
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H. Ellerbe, "The Dark Side of Christian History," Chapter 8,
Endnote 103, Page 136
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Armstrong, "The Gospel According to Woman," (1986), P. 52-62.
List of links to web sites dealing with women and theology:
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"Women & Theology," Women's Studies Section, Association of College and Research Libraries, at: http://www.earlham.edu/ |
Copyright © 1999 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 1999-JUL-24
Latest update: 2010-JUL-22
Author: B.A. Robinson
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