Dea,+Michael

__ Research Question __ : How are women treated in the religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam? Do the faiths of Islam and Judaism treat women better than Christians do? __ Introduction __ : Throughout centuries, cultures, and religions, the opinion of women is one of inferiority. From the times of the Greco-Roman religions, women could not hold offices of power. Even during the time of Christ, women had to obey their husbands and other male figures. This influenced the religions that developed during this time. While Christianity was developing, women were treated with much less respect than men. Most Christian leaders thought of a women’s place as in the house caring for children, not able to work or hold positions of leadership. The first church of the Christian faith created, that being the Catholic Church, did not allow women to hold any sacred positions, such as that of a priest, bishop, cardinal, or pope. Some of the early Church leaders even held some ideas that men were by far more superior to women and that is the reason why God gave Jesus the gender of male versus the female gender. These ideas were contradicting the Bible that held passages containing information about how Jesus treated women with respect and equality. The religion of Islam, though more recent than Christianity, still has views toward women that ancient societies had toward their female members; the opinion that women are inferior. Though more recent and able to learn from the faiths of Judaism and Christianity, Islam still has the “stumbling block” of most religions, that being the treatment of women. In Islam, or at the very least in some extremist groups of Islam, a woman is not allowed to be freethinking; they must always be subservient to the male figure of the household. From the information collected, women in Islam who to refuse to obey the male figure are allowed to receive corporal punishment, or punishments such as beatings. The oldest religion of the three that were researched is Judaism. Judaism, from the information collected, had ideas about the treatment of women similar to those of Christianity and Islam. The men leading the temple did not speak of women in a way that they thought women to be equals of men. A quote of a prominent rabbi in the Jewish faith, which is later discussed, describes it better, and insinuating that women are too “unclean” to handle sacred scripture. Similar ideas were likely held by other prominent leaders in the Jewish religion at the time, therefore, even unconsciously, the temples of the Jewish faith discriminated against women. Thank you for taking a look at this page. __ Quotes __ : “The male sex is more noble than the female, and for this reason he [Jesus] took human nature in the male sex (St. Tomas of Aquinas, //Summa Theologiae// III:31:4 ad 1)” “If a husband were permitted to abandon his wife, the society of husband and wife would not be an association of equals but, instead, a sort of slavery on the part of the wife (St. Tomas of Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles III:124:[4])” Cited from: [] __ Interpretation and Analysis __ : These two quotes come from the Catholic Answers site. These two quotes together form two halves of Christian thinking. The first is a quote from Saint Tomas of Aquinas. It says that God made his incarnation on Earth male, he believes, because God believed the male gender to be nobler, or better, than the female gender. The second quote, at first glance, appears to be a complete opposite of the first. The second quote is from St. Tomas also, but it implies that men and women are equal, that one should honor the other. Furthermore, the quote states that if one did not honor the other, and respect them, then institutions such as marriage would only have been an accepted form of slavery, mostly with the female being the slave. These two quotes tell of the thought process of the contemporaries of St. Tomas and the leaders of the early Church. Most early Christian leaders took ideas about men and women from the contemporary ideas around them. Societies like the Greeks and Romans left women with few or no rights at all. Unfortunate for the women of the time, ideas about women in Christianity were drawn from sources similar if not exactly like these societies. This, along with Christian teachings, resulted in perhaps not conditions as bad as say the Roman and Greek societies, but not all that much better than them either. __ Quotes __ :
 * “Luke 10:38-42** Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. **39** And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. **40** But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. **41** And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: **42** But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”


 * “Luke 8:1-3** And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, **2** And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, **3** And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.”

Cited from: [] __ Interpretation and Analysis __ : These two quotes can be found both online and in the actual Bible. Both come from the book of Luke, and in each Luke describes how Jesus treated women. The first quote describes how Jesus taught women just as he did men, which was unheard of for the time. Women were not allowed to receive an education at all during the time of Christ, in theology or otherwise. Jesus ignored these rules, and others pertaining to the treatment of women. He treated women as equals, not as inferior to men. This was a revolutionary idea during the time of Christ and one that people are beginning to adopt more and more, though it took two centuries for it to occur. The second quote reinforces this idea that Jesus treated women as equal to men. Luke describes how Jesus allowed women to follow him as He went from city, just as the twelve Apostles did. This reinforces Jesus’ teaching that all people are equal to one another, regardless of race, sex, beliefs, or otherwise. Jesus contradicted, time and again, the commonly held idea that women were inferior, in some way, to men, even though none had proof of this inferiority. One lesson that Jesus taught again and again, that all are equal in the sight of God, is a lesson that not many of the time accepted, and some today, even, do not accept. As the times change, however, this lesson Jesus taught is being accepted more and more in the world. __ Quotes __ : “Surah 4:34 - Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and forsake them in beds apart, and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Allah is high and supreme.” Cited from: [|http://www.hauns.com/~DCQu4E5g/women.html] __ Interpretation and Analysis __ : This quote is taken, admittedly, from a site that is not exactly objective in its views about Islamic treatment of women, due to the nature of the quote from the Koran. This particular quote blatantly states that men are believed to be superior to women, because Allah created them that way and the men have to provide for the women. This quote goes on to say that women must be obedient to men, subservient to an extent where women need to follow every order or request men give. If this is not done, then, according to this quote, men are allowed to beat and punish the women until they obey again. This quote suggests that at the time it was originally written, it was common for women to be subservient to men and have no real permission to think freely, to be independent. Times have changed drastically from that time. It is no longer socially acceptable, in most parts of the world, to “…beat them (women)” if women do not choose to follow a request given by a man. Especially in the current world, women are increasingly becoming more independent and allowed to gain more power. In today’s society, women do not have to follow rules set down by a man if they do not choose to (in the sense of a relationship), and will not suffer consequences for refusing to obey. Due to these obvious contrasts, it is difficult to not see that this rule set by the Koran, though open to interpretation, was intended for a time period not similar to our own. __ Quotes __ : "Rather should the words of the Torah be burned than entrusted to a woman...Whoever teaches his daughter the Torah is like one who teaches her obscenity." (Rabbi Eliezer )

Cited from: []

__ Interpretation and Analysis __ : This quote comes from another early religious leader, though of the Jewish faith. This quote implies that women of the Jewish faith in early history were not allowed to learn Jewish scripture. This rabbi considered it unclean to teach a woman, daughter, girl, or any of the female gender what was in the Torah. In other words, Rabbi Eliezer was implying that women of the Jewish faith had to be as ignorant of their faith as possible. This quote comes from a time obviously distant from the current. Women now are allowed to be educated not only in theology, but also in sciences, the arts, mathematics, and all other manners of education. Women are encouraged to want to be taught in the current day and age. This ideal is something that is farthest from peoples’ minds today, but when this rabbi was living, the commonly held idea about women was this one, one that women were inferior to men, that men were allowed all the opportunities and women were allowed none. This ideal would be shunned in contemporary society due to its nature of being, in a vague way, oppressive toward women. Despite this, the rabbi would not be shunned because, though today’s society would shun this idea, Rabbi Eliezer’s society would have seen this quote as nothing more than a statement of “fact.” __ Final Thoughts __ : My final thoughts on this topic is that it is completely and totally wrong to treat a woman any differently than a man when it comes to religion. It is wrong to exclude women from positions in a church or keep women under unbearable restrictions, such as always serving the male of a household. Women should have the same opportunities as men to worship a higher power, that being through the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish faiths. These opportunities can be anything from being allowed to be more than just a nun, or having the ability to be independent, to think for one’s own self. Times are changing, and different ideas about how things are run should change along with them. Be that as it may, there will always be some people who do not feel that women are equals of men. As with all rules or ideas, there are always going to be exceptions, always going to be people who feel the “old ways” were better, the ways in which women had few if any rights in religions across the world. People like Rabbi Eliezer who feel that women are too “unclean” or too unworthy to hold a significant place in the practices of religion are finding that they are loosing a place in modern religion. People are becoming more and more aware of the way women are treated in religion and how wrong it is. No longer do people spread ideas such as those that may be found, for example, in the //Malleus Maleficarum//, which told of how to kill, essentially, women who could think for themselves, though they were given the title of “witches.” People are becoming more aware of their actions, of their ideas and what affects they play different groups of people. Women in Christianity, for example, have moved from being just worshippers to being able to become pastors and beyond. The idea that men are better than women has become far less dominant as the world changed. Interaction with other nations and different thinkers living in various times have changed how we think of women today, and what role women play in religion. Women now, both in religion and the real world, allowed to hold offices higher than just a worker, or just a worshipper. Now women can become educated, can be independent, and are allowed to be anything in the church or other place of worship. No longer does society believe in the idea of the Greco-Roman society that women are inferior, but instead society has come to accept the fact that women and men are and always have been as God created them: equals.