Gender and Theology

Main debate: Has Christianity been shaped by patriarchy, and should it change its understanding of God and gender?

Traditional Christian View

  • God is traditionally called Father

  • Jesus was male

  • most Christian theology was written by men

  • many churches have historically been led by men

Examples:

Lord’s Prayer: Our Father

God often referred to as He

Strengths

  • based on scripture and Christian tradition

  • reflects how Jesus spoke about God

Weaknesses

  • God is spirit, no biologically male

  • male language may encourage patriarchy

Mary Daly

  • “If God is male, then the male is God.”

  • believes that Christianity is patriarchal

  • male language for God gives men power over women

  • women are excluded and oppressed by traditional Christianity

  • Christianity cannot be properly reformed

  • women should move beyond patriarchal religion

  • she criticised Augustine for suggesting that women were not made in the image of God

  • criticised Bonhoeffer for insisting that women should be subject to their husbands

Strengths

  • highlights male dominance in religion

  • explains why some women feel excluded

  • challenges unfair traditions

Weaknesses

  • many Christians believe Christianity can change

  • ignore positive developments for women in churches, nuns

  • may be too extreme because she reject Christianity completely

  • Chan criticises Daly, by saying she is wrong to reject Christianity as a whole

  • when Christians say ‘God the Father’ it does NOT mean God is male, it is just symbolic language

  • God is not male or female

Daly’s unholy trinity of rape, genocide and war

  • argues that patriarchal society is deeply violent, this is what she called the unholy trinity

  • rape- violence against women, symbolising male dominance over female bodies

  • genocide- large- scale destruction, often linked to male controlled political systems and war

  • war- organised violence, usually le by men and male dominated governments

Strengths

  • highlights real issues of violence in society

  • links gender inequality to wider social problems

  • powerful critique of male dominated systems

Weaknesses

  • very radical and extreme

  • not all war or violence is caused by gender

  • ignores positive male contributions to society

Rosemary Radford Ruether

  • Christianity doesn’t need to be abandoned

  • it can be reformed from within

  • anything that diminishes women cannot reflect God’s will

  • Male language for God should be balanced with female imagery

  • men and women are equally made in God’s image

  • The problem is not Christianity, its the patriarchal interpretations of Christianity

Strengths

  • more practical than Daly

  • allows Christians to keep their faith wile promoting equality

  • fits modern ideas about gender equality

Weaknesses

  • some Christians think it changes tradition too much

  • critics argue the Bible still contains patriarchal ideas

  • Chan says Ruether is wrong to try rewrite Christianity to give more prominence to women

  • Chan argues that some religions have had goddesses as well as gods