Is there room for strong women in religion?
This is a very prevalent question that has plagued humanity since worship was first conceptualised in human civilisation. This is because the religions that have primarily shaped the Western society, the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), have created a negative narrative over the centuries that religion is for meek and timid women who pray instead of taking action against injustice.
“The idea of the weak woman in religion”
Today, with great women on both large and small platforms pushing for equality and freedom, this narrative produces a discrepancy between the restraints of male-dominated religion and the changes that are being made to better society. Whether or not this narrative is a misconception or fact, the idea of the weak woman in religion has permeated every aspect of our society.
This therefore raises questions such as “Where is religion’s place in the new, fairer society we are creating?” and “Is religion simply too archaic a system and rooted in too many patriarchal ideas to belong in such a revolutionary society?”
The Abrahamic religions have provided solace and have been a form of escapism for billions of people throughout history in institutions primarily been run by men. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Jews do not permit women to lead or be a part of the clergy.
With over one billion Catholics in the world and two million Orthodox Jews, the potential these establishments have to shape the world is clear. This is significant due to the increase and push for more female leaders in corporations and in politics. Religion has the ability to be at the forefront of this movement, though the ban on women in leadership roles does suggest that there is an overhang of archaic beliefs that is preventing such progress.
“Different religious approaches to women in politics”
Contrastingly, many Protestant dominations have accepted women as leaders. This has allowed many women to build successful and prominent platforms from which they share encouragement and light. Similarly, many Muslim women are imams (worship leader) for female-only prayer sessions. This allows them to lead the daily prayers and provide comfort and advice to women in their community. These steps create more unity and equality in our society and allow more to reach religion.
Having females in ministry opens doors to progress and positive changes to how systems are run. This has been seen through the work of Sally Priesand who was the first female rabbi to be ordained in America and the second female rabbi after Regina Jonas. She was ordained on 3rd June 1972 and her work as a rabbi proved to many that a woman’s desires to be in leadership roles is not simply a whimsical and lofty inclination but a grounded and well-justified idea. She, unknowingly, cleared to the path for several young women behind her to follow with there now being over 1,000 female rabbis in the world. Priesand was also significant for giving women the space to change what it means to be a rabbi; some even crediting her for her less conventional styles.
Similarly, there have been strong women mentioned and discussed in the Abrahamic holy books that according to Scripture, revolutionised the time they were in. The most poignant and perhaps most well-known woman was Eve, or Hawaa. She is portrayed as “the mother of mankind” and the first female believer. Though her biblical story has been twisted to emphasise the sin, Christians acknowledge that without Eve, Jesus would not have been born to rectify this sin. In Christianity, Mary Magdalene is another prevalent figure as she was one of the first people to see Jesus after he resurrected. In 1969, the Catholic Church canonised Mary Magdalene, after they had cast her aside as a sinner, now accepting her as a disciple of Jesus and naming her as a saint. This is important as it elucidates that the Church does not quieten the voices of strong historical women but instead embraces them in the same way as the strong men.
This theme is also shared in Islam with the Hajj. During part of the pilgrimage, Muslims walk between the hills Safa and Marwah seven times in remembrance of the struggle that Hagar went through. She is represented as the matriarch of Islam and is significant to the faith. These women create an image that modern-day women can cling to. They invoke images of women as being both resilient, and quite simply but very importantly, necessary to the future.
Therefore, religion is clearly capable of not only creating space for strong, 21st century women but empowering them too. Thus, the question is not, “Is there room for strong women in religion?” but rather, “How do we strengthen the women who choose to believe in religion?”
If women continue to make changes, both small and big, then religion will continue to make room for them. This is because, like human society, religion leans to what is true and right and moves towards that. Therefore, religion does not have to be an anachronism rooted in patriarchal concepts, but a system that can be adapted whilst remaining true to words of holy books. It is sure that more work has to be done to ensure that all members of a religious community feel protected. However, this is not a job that resilient men and women cannot accomplish.
Religion has the potential to be a powerful and beautiful way that people can connect better with themselves and others and we have to power to make this hope into a reality.