A real but little emphasized fact of religion is that the faith traditions have

Question

A real but little emphasized fact of religion is that the faith traditions have almost all been androcentric; that is, established and developed by men, written from male perspectives, focused on the experiences of men, and patriarchal in leadership, authority, and power. Women make up over half the world’s population, and yet their religious experiences and contributions have been mostly ignored, especially historically. Men occupy the more significant and valued positions, and women the secondary, subordinate ones. It might be argued that certain religions have grown more sensitive to issues of gender equality, but in most cases age-old restrictions on women, such as allowing women in key leadership roles, remains entrenched. Drawing on your own observations or personal experiences with religion, offer some reflections on the topic of gender and religion. Have women successfully carved out a “separate sphere” for their own spiritual activities or are their religious lives in large part defined for them by men? Has the status of women changed in recent times? Do you think male-dominated religions will continue to stand firm or will the momentum of women’s movements eventually succeed at reshaping the traditional faiths? (150 words minimum)

Explanation / Answer

A wave of religious revivalism that began in the colonies in the first half of the eighteenth century and peaked at mid-century, especially in the South. This evangelical fervor touched both blacks and whites, validating the religious experiences of ordinary people. The essential ingredient was conversion—an immediate and ecstatic religious experience. The movement challenged the Puritan emphasis on salvation and promoted a new egalitarianism that appealed across gender, class, and racial lines.

In studies pertaining to gender patterns in religions, it has been widely accepted that females are more likely to be religious than males.The first explanation is that women feel emotions at greater heights than men do, thus women tend to turn to religion more in times of high emotions such as gratitude or guilt. The second explanation is that female socialization is more likely to align with values that are commonly found in religion such as conflict mediation, tenderness, and humility. In contrast, male socialization is more likely to emphasize rebellion, thus making the guideline aspects of religion less appealing. The third explanation, which is also the most recent theory, is that females are more likely to be able to identify with religion as a natural consequence of societal structures. For example, since a majority of religions emphasize women as caretakers of the home, the societal expectation of women to take greater responsibility than men for the upbringing of a child makes religion an appealing commitment. Another example is that traditionally, men tend to work outside the home whereas women tend to work inside the home, which corresponds to studies that have shown that people are more likely to be religious when working inside of their homes.

Traditional faiths no doubt has been made and created by male dominated societies initially but as females started empoering themselves later,enabled them to have control on this field also. Initially when males were the only earning member in a family then in those times everybody had to agree to the "giver" who was th only male member in a family but now as females are being educated and they also stand as an earning member ,they also impose themeselves as the care taker and decision maker and also differentiate between the right and wrong according to their own perspectives.All this has enabled them to reshape the traditional faiths.

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