Religion and Gender

Davie (1994) shows that even though thier is only one God in contemporary religions(hindu an exception), men and women tend to view religion differently.

Women see God more as a God of love, comfort and forgivness

Men see God as a God of power and control.

Jewish religion

An implicit recognition of the female connection with spirituality is shown, as a person can only automatically be jewish if their mother is.

However some othordox jewish men include the following words in daily prayer:

"Blessed art thou O Lord our God that I was not born a slave. Blessed art thou O Lord our God that I was not born a women"

Christianity religion

Is also inherently patriarchal, with men made in 'the image and glory of God' and women made 'for the glory of man', as the following passage from the New Testament shows:

"Wives be subject to your husbands, as the lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church"

but many female characters in the biblical texts are portrayed as acting charitable or bravely, but the primary roles are reserved for males.

Other Religions

In the Qur'an, the sacred text of Islam, contends that 'men are in charge of women'

Buddhism( in which females appear as more important figures in the teachings of some Buddhist orders) is dominated by a patriachal power structure, in which the feminine is mainly associated with the secular, powerless, profane and imperfect.

Patriachal attitudes have meant that until recently, women have been barred from serving priests in many of the owrlds great religions and more traditional factions continue to bar them.

Although some women ministers have long been accepted in somwe sects and denominations, church of england didnt take until 1992

Simon and Nadell conducted research about women in religous organisations. They asked female rabbis and female members of the protestant clergy, and almost all women replied yes when asked whether thier carried out their duties different to men with the same age and training.

Described themselves as more approachable, informal and more people orientated and less concerned about power struggles than male clergy