Given that religion is a defining factor in the life of CSC women, it would be interesting to examine its persuasion on other aspects of their lives such as their gendered consciousness (GC) and their notions of body and sexuality (BS). Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. https://doi.org/10.18848/1833-1882/CGP/v03i03/52558 accessed on February 27, 2019. Lk 15: 11–32. While frequenting church services is apparently a desired engagement for CSC women, their involvement in church activities like cleaning and decoration, participation in family unit prayers and Mathrudeepthi meetings shows an interesting correlation with the level of their education. In such a ‘religious’ setting, women take pride in being the loyal transmitters of piety and religious faith, and, so, the danger lies in their blindness to the tactics of patriarchy that uses their ‘religiousness’ to keep them subjugated and well contained within the restricted spaces allotted to them. See Ingelhart, Ronald and Pippa Norris, Rising Tide. Although there are no conclusive evidence to support this theory—yet there are debates in the academic circle with regard to the significance of these icons, with some believing that it points to a matriarchal belief-system in the said period while others believing that these images of women were actually nothing but prehistoric pornography. As the graph indicates, with an increase in religious indoctrination, there is a concomitant increase in gendered consciousness. Christine E. Gudorf. All of them practice religion, which means to say that they frequent the church services: on a daily basis (52.5 per cent) and on Sundays (48.5 per cent). Given the natural uncertainty that haunts their existence, the space of the home is seldom romanticized and nor does home appear a haven. Also, as per Christian traditions, since Jesus selected only male apostles and did not ordain women, the inclusion of women is not considered desirable. The term ‘masculinist protectionism’ I borrow from J. Devika, “Bodies Gone Awry: The Abjection of Sexuality in Development Discourse in Contemporary Kerala”, in order to explain the domination-dependency dialectic of the catholic Syrian Christian marriage. This parable is in the Gospel of Luke, and it tells the story of a father with two sons; the younger son goes astray, but when he returns home, he is welcomed wholeheartedly by his father. A space for you to discuss patriarchy and its influence on religion, spirituality, faith traditions and faith communities. But this, says Mernissi, is a misinterpretation of the Quran (Muslim people’s main religion text). However, in the FGDs women attest that they take a submissive stand towards their husbands as it is necessary for their own well-being and peaceful existence in the family. This tendency of ‘patronising’ and ‘guiding’ is not restricted to Islam. This has a hegemonic impact on women as it serves to normalize and justify their subordination as something divinely ordained and hence cannot be questioned. Religion then can be integral to the existing gender order, and can serve to reproduce and legitimate gender inequality for those who practise the religion and those who fall within its penumbra.36 The interplay of gender and religion in the experience of Catholic Syrian Christian women confirms Clifford Geertz’s observation of religion as a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in people.37 Consequently, as J. Devika argues, conjugal monogamous patrilineal nuclear family and the sexual and gender norms inhered in it get elevated to the ideal standard. In such communities, women cover their heads even within the household in the presence of men. According to Genesis 3:16, God told Eve that ‘…the husband will rule over you‘. pp 143-165 | Yet, I like to do things that give me a sense of self-worth like creatively developing my skills and generating income from them. As John Hawley observes, by seeming to commodify or individualize women, removing them from their archetypal roles, modern society strikes a dangerous blow. Whereas those with lower primary level of education and with post-graduation or professional degrees have minimal engagement in church activities, it is those from the higher secondary to degree level of education who are more engaged. 2. This linking is important because it allows cultures to mark off appropriate femininity associated with procreative sex and motherhood from inappropriate and marginal femininity identified with promiscuity and pleasure. These include: religion and traditional culture. Ours was a very religious family, we girls studied in convent schools and from childhood we were constantly reminded to be very God fearing and faithful to our religious duties. Thus, religion serves to mask the basic concerns of gendered power equations that underlie women’s exploitation by making them believe God is at work in their lives and their suffering is redemptive. Christine E. Gudorf. ANOVA with a significance value of .000 supports the positive relation between religious indoctrination and patriarchal notions of decision-making in women. This makes me very tired by evening and my husband is not at all happy that I am not energetic in the night. Almost all religions advocate ‘sexual exclusivity’ for women while exonerating men from the same obligation. Instead they argue that patriarchal societies have changed religions in order to ensure they reflected and reinforced patriarchal values. Women tend to believe that the suffering that is intrinsic to their gendered condition is virtuous and divinely ordained. On the occasion of a death in the family or in the neighbourhood, it is women who keep vigil and spend hours at a stretch praying around the body. Some of the clergy men interviewed as part of my study asserted emphatically about the role of man as the head and the woman as heart of the family based on a gendered theological anthropology that God has created man and woman different, although they are equal in dignity before God. In this context, clarifying why women become easy targets of religious hegemonic control is imperative. Almost all organised religions propagate the idea of male superiority. 188.165.231.114. What Is The Role Of Religion In Furthering The Patriarchal Agenda? Using the thought of Rene Girard, she sees the links between violence, the sacred and sexuality and argues that Christianity, as a patriarchal religion, does violence to women through its preponderant use of male language for God, its traditional teaching on women’s inferiority, the Household Codes in the New Testament which mandate the subordination of women, and its hierarchical structure.46. Samuel Rayan, “In Christ: The Power of Women”, in Kurien Kunnumpuram (ed) Collected Writings of Samuel Rayan SJ, Vol I, New Delhi: ISPCK 2013, 112. Talking about the fundamentalist gender ideology in the New Religions of Japan, Helen Hardacre observes that unlike Christian, Muslim and Hindu fundamentalism where the principal religious activists are overwhelmingly male, many of these religions are led by women. A clear example of this is devotion to Mary, mother of Christ, which is very strong in the CSC community. For example, with the advent of Islam, women came to enjoy a kind of autonomy that was unheard of in the pre-Islamic Arab. In complementarity to man’s position as the head of the family, the woman is assigned a special role of being the ‘heart’ of the family, and, in this ‘privileged’ role, she is taken to be the grace or ‘light’ of the family.14 When women function from a gendered world view, they tend to take this as an honoured position and are ready to give in uncritically to its directives. In her words: I was married rather young, at the age of twenty one, on finishing my graduation. As brought out in the data, majority of women respondents engage in reading popular religious literature like evangelical magazines and books (57.9 per cent), whereas only a lesser number read spiritual literature of a meditative nature (29.6 per cent) and engage in theological reading (27.1 per cent). Patriarchy continues to be observed, reproduced, and resisted in other social institutions including the military, religion, and the media. To state that religion is the most potent force and the most important nurturing factor behind patriarchy would not be an exaggeration. Cite as. He is a family loving man, I have three daughters and though he wanted me to continue conceiving until I would give birth to a male child, this could not happen due to my gynaecological difficulties. The graph is indicative of the influence of religious indoctrination to position women within a gendered framework,35 and this has direct implications on their conjugal life. Majority attest to participating in the Family Units5 (74.2 per cent); some are active in Mathrudeepthi6 or Mother’s Association (34.2 per cent); some take part in cleaning and decoration activities (30.4 per cent); a smaller number participate in prayer groups (11.7 per cent) and still less women in the parish council (10.4 per cent). A malestream Mariology continues to inscribe the sociocultural image of the feminine that sanctifies the marginalization and exploitation of women.41, The idealization of the ‘feminine’ in Mary functions as an obstacle to women’s growth in human qualities such as critical thinking, autonomy, boldness and other traits characteristic of a mature adult personality, qualities that are crucial for their effective participation in the church, and in the wider concerns of society. This is a source of constant conflict in our otherwise ‘happy’ marriage. Through generations, women are conditioned to not only accept, but also gladly embrace, the status of a second-class citizen as assigned to them by their respective belief-system. Sexuality and reproductive rights is especially the problem-area with regard to women. The symbolism of ‘tying’ is also strongly expressive of the domination-subordination relationship that characterizes patriarchy. What is alarming is how deeply this religiously-endorsed patriarchy is seeped into the common psyche and behaviour. The Christ-church nuptial symbolism emphasized in the ritual alludes indirectly to the ‘pati dev’ (the husband taking the place of God in a woman’s life) ideology of caste Hinduism, which also implies the pativrata ideology, as women are expected to be submissive wives. Actually I like being religious, but my difficulty is because I feel very guilty to say no to the demands made on me by my husband. This is done by reading the experiences of Catholic Syrian Christian women using a feminist lens. PLAY. So, yes, I do think patriarchy is the prevailing religion of the planet--or to make it more complex, nuanced and intersectional, as feminist bell hooks does, white, capitalist heteropatriarchy is the prevailing religion of … (2008), 21–29. The problem arises because Mary, the pure and self-sacrificing, humble handmaiden of the Lord and the mother full of sorrows, is preached to women as a model. The story of Anita, a woman in her early 50s, and her struggle of coping with the demands of conjugal life illustrates this. In the matriarchal society, polytheism, meaning the worship of several deities, is widely practiced. Hijab, Niqab, veils, sindoor and mangalsutra are all religiously-endorsed tools for showcasing sexual markers. Women are considered the original sinners and it has been taught that women are deceptive temptresses and not much else. Association between the religious teaching on wives’ submission to husbands with gendered consciousness. Incidentally, the Supreme God in all religions is always envisioned as a male. Davidman’s data suggests that women are attracted by the whole package of nuclear familial domesticity which is advocated by contemporary forms of Orthodox Judaism, including the idea of a husband who will be a companionate protector-provider and protect women from the dangers posed by family breakdown. Both Tali Ketu and Mantrakodi are adaptation from the local Hindu customs. ), The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore: Sage, 2007, 550-570. The choice of particular scriptural texts and the ceremony of ta-liketu21 and mantrako-di22 are specific to Syrian Christians. What Is The Point Of Netflix’s The Crown Season 4? The messages and structures of culture and religion are then reinterpreted to meet the new conditions. Both religion and culture reflect patriarchies and are used to maintain patriarchal structures. Ephesians 5:23 clearly states that husband is the head of the wife. The religious sensibilities of CSC women correspond to the strong links between gender, religion and the maintenance of the patriarchal order in different global contexts as well. Terms in this set (...) Liberal Feminist. Even so, feminist theorists complain about the gender blindness of sociology of religion as a discipline. In fact many scholars contend that religions were not patriarchal in the early stages of organised life. They are also significant in demarcating the limits of acceptable behaviour and possible attainments associated with masculinity and femininity. This is also the reason why women are denied entry to places of worship when they are menstruating. Paava Kadhaigal is a scathing social drama, with brilliant performances, meticulously crafted from scripting to music and editing. So my prayer now is that God gives me more strength to cope with all the demands made on me. The involvement of women in church activities other than devotions is another pointer to their engagement with religion. It is believed that prehistoric societies and belief systems were matriarchal, as evident from their feminine-themed iconography. A Call for Submissions - The Good Men Project, تاريخ الهستيريا: كيف يمكن للعلم أن يكون متحيّزا ضد النساء | Kat's Zone, تاريخ الهستيريا: كيف يمكن للعلم أن يكون متحيّزا ضد النساء – Kat's Zone, Netflix Film Review | Paava Kadhaigal: A Heart-Wrenching, Hard-Hitting Anthology, It’s High Time To Call Out Sadhguru And His “Rationalized” Misogyny, The Significance Of Mahad Satyagraha: Ambedkar’s Protest March To Claim Public Water. https://doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2004.9676037, https://doi.org/10.18848/1833-1882/CGP/v03i03/52558, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21488-3_5, Religious Patriarchy in the Catholic Syrian Christian Community, Religious Indoctrination Reinforcing Gender Hierarchy, Religious Indoctrination and Gendering of Power. Association between decision-making and religious indoctrination in women, As the graph shows, with an increase in religious indoctrination, there is a stronger notion that decision-making is primarily man’s prerogative.30 The inference that can be drawn from this situation of CSC women is that we see religion reinforcing the existing gendered distributions of power. Susan Rakoczy IHM, “Religion and Violence: The Suffering of Women”, Agenda, 18:61(2004), 29–35,  https://doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2004.9676037, accessed on February 20, 2019. Cf. In the case of men, 25 per cent of the male respondents reported not having any specific church involvement, whereas 55 per cent participate in Pothu Yogam (public assembly) of the parish. Most religious texts openly discriminate between males and females when it comes to expression of sexuality and sexual desires. Hijab, Niqab, veils, sindoor and mangalsutra are all religiously-endorsed tools for showcasing and implying ‘sexual exclusivity’ of women. While the Pauline instruction is an appropriation of the Judeo-Arabic cultural norms in relation to gender, for many CSC women conformity to scriptural prescriptions gives them a sense of comfort because they are fulfilling what is expected of them. An anecdote in the course of the fieldwork of my research would illustrate this point. Religion, being one of the greatest identity markers of human beings along with other social factors such as caste, class and ethnicity, its role in the construction of gender identity is critically examined in this chapter. Such blatant discrimination can only be normalised and ingrained in the common psyche by evoking the name of God. Not discriminatory to begin with religion boundaries by generating and regenerating moral character and resisted in other words, charged... 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