Essay
assess the view that christianity is essentially sexist
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just an essay i did whilst covering the topic that i felt could be useful for guidance and revision
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‘Assess the view that Christianity is essentially sexist’.Mary Daly, a radical feminist, posed the view that Christianity is objectively sexist, unlike Reuther,
and thought it was unable to be reformed. Alternately, Reuther believed that Christianity may be
rewritten if we lessen the focus towards God as a being and more trying to better ourselves as
individuals within nature. Due to Daly’s convincing view that there are too many themes of
oppression and sexism of women in the bible, it will be discussed that Christianity is essentially
sexist.
Many of Daly’s views discuss the topics of a woman’s role, one of which being motherhood being
heavily promoted by Christianity, many of which she argues are repressive and restrictive. She claims
that motherhood is a tool for husbands to oppress their wives by not allowing them to live their own
lives and only to tend to children. Although this is countered by the Mulieris dignitatem, a book by
Pope John Paul II, which states that motherhood should be viewed as a pure gift given by God.
Though this can also be used to support Daly as it states “in conceiving and giving birth to a child, the
woman "discovers herself through a sincere gift of self"”, this can be seen as only crediting women in
the sense she is only respected for the biological function of her body. This not only discredits many
mothers who haven’t conceived their own children but also the women who have chosen to revoke
motherhood over their child; further limiting women to a single purpose of reproduction and
tending to others. It would be unfair to assume women must halt their lives and jobs in order to tend
to their children, whilst men may live their life on their terms. Therefore it is arguable that in the
way Christianity promotes motherhood, believing that it is a woman’s purpose, further encouraging
oppression and sexism in Christianity. However, the Pope’s letter may be convincing in that it states
although men and women have different roles, it doesn’t mean that women are inferior. This cannot
be applied in a modern society, women should not be made to feel that their main purpose is
motherhood as suggested by the Mulieris dignatum. Therefore, it is seen that motherhood is
repressive for women and makes Christianity essentially sexist.
“if God is male, then God is male”, Mary Daly stated that in referring to God using male pronouns
would infer that the Christian God is male, referring to God as “Father”, showing that males are seen
as the greater gender. This is further reinforced by Augustine as he claimed that “Eve and females”
are not made in imago dei. This goes further as it is seen that Jesus only appointed male disciples,
showing that men were more ‘suited’ for leadership roles. Daly viewed this as confirmation that due
to sexism being injected into Christian thought, women will always be viewed as inferior to men.
Although some would argue that the language used to describe God, such as Father, son, and Holy
Spirit are more symbolic than oppressive. Similarly, Reuther argued that pronouns for Jesus were
only to symbolise him as a messiah and a spiritual liberator. Many biblical extracts such as 1 Timothy
2, “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men”, support Daly’s view that because
God is viewed as male, women will always be seen as subordinate to their husbands and men.
Therefore this displays the patriarchal influence throughout the bible, proving that Christianity is in
its essence sexist.
Overall, the patriarchal influence and sexism can be summed up within Daly’s ‘unholy trinity’ (rape,
genocide, and war). There are many examples of these three power games within the bible, one
being judges 19, the inclusion of these stories, although they may not be intended to encourage,
they can be easily misunderstood and manipulated to fit a corrupt view. Daly claimed that the
incarnation of Jesus through the Virgin Mary promotes rape, she was told to have Jesus without
consent. Suggesting that sexism and oppression can be expressed through motherhood. It treats
women as a means to an end for Christianity. Although the MD advocates the importance of women
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