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Option: Religion

Feminist perspectives on religion

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1 Section C

Overview

De Beauvoir, Daly, El Saadawi and Armstrong on religion as patriarchal, against Woodhead, Holm and Watson on the ways women use religious practice for their own purposes.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is the central feminist claim about religion?

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What did de Beauvoir argue about religion and women?

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What did Armstrong argue about the history of religion?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is the central feminist claim about religion?

    Model answer

    Feminists argue that most major religions are patriarchal in doctrine, organisation and practice. Religion is said to sanctify male authority by presenting it as divinely ordained.

  2. 2

    What did de Beauvoir argue about religion and women?

    Model answer

    De Beauvoir argued in The Second Sex in 1949 that religion compensates women for their subordination. Women are offered dignity in heaven in exchange for accepting inferiority on earth.

  3. 3

    What did Armstrong argue about the history of religion?

    Model answer

    Armstrong argued in 1993 that early religions gave a central place to female deities. The rise of monotheism was accompanied by the marginalisation of women from religious authority.

  4. 4

    What did Daly argue about Christianity?

    Model answer

    Daly argued in Beyond God the Father in 1973 that Christianity is a patriarchal myth. Language describing God as male was said to make male rule appear natural.

  5. 5

    How does Holm describe women's position in religious practice?

    Model answer

    Holm argued in 1994 that women are highly active in private devotion and everyday religious life. Public leadership, teaching and ritual remain largely reserved for men.

  6. 6

    Give three examples of the exclusion of women from religious authority.

    Model answer

    The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches ordain only men. Orthodox Judaism seats women separately in worship, and many mosques restrict women's participation in congregational prayer.

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ASecularisation has weakened religious pressure to marry.
BCohabitation is now widely accepted.
CThe cost of a wedding deters many couples.

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