Catholicism and Oppression of Women Essay - 1441 Words

Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13).†¦show more content†¦God did not breathe life into her but took her from man. This is where the justification of oppression of woman begins. Due to woman not having the breath of God blown into her, she is not as holy as men, no t deserving of God’s breath but rather only deserving of man’s rib and flesh. God is a man who created man, he could not create woman in the image of him because he is a man, so he took Adam’s rib. Adam also had the power of naming all animals in the kingdom, including woman; since she could not name herself, the underlying message from this example is that women do not have the privilege to be knowledgeable and make decisions. In the story of creation, Eve causes sin and is the scapegoat for Adam’s actions and thus God then establishing punishments for humans. Woman have more devastating punishments than men: God said to woman â€Å"I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you† (Genesis 3:16). To man God said that he shall have to grow his food, there is no desire for his wife, physical trauma when making children or for his wife to rule over him. Women also have to grow food to live, but they have the extra punishment of birth and being inferior to their husbands. These messages are quite clear, and what the men who are writing these passages are trying to convey. The silence of the story and the message that isShow MoreRelatedShort Story : The Borderlands 1395 Words   |  6 PagesBorderlands: La Frontera, she gives multiple example of situations in which people are situated into the Borderlands. One such example is in the case of religion. Anzaldà ºa grew up with Catholicism being the predominant religion. Even though Catholicism was the main religious influence, other religious influence that predate Catholicism in Mexico were also at work. 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