# Which religions favor women? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372 "2012-07-06T00:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/21 "2012-07-06T16:32:05Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > google “sikh forced marriage” to see how wrong you are. That’s a practical rather than theoretical distinction. I think the OP is looking for the latter. ---
**Author:** ![greenslime1951](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@greenslime1951](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenslime1951)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/22 "2012-07-06T16:44:18Z")
Given that up until quite recently, the idea that women were inferior to men was taken by the vast majority of the world as an absolute truth (i.e., not even worthy of discussion), and that virtually every one of the world’s religions and attendant doctrines were created quite some time ago, I’d be surprised if there were any religions that expressly state(d) that women were the equals of men. I’m not referring to cultural norms here; for instance, Islam and Judaism explicitly state that women are to be subservient to men, but Islamic societies treat their women like farm animals, whereas Jewish women have a high place in the social hierarchy. I’m referring to religious doctrine that encodes gender equality. I don’t think there is such a thing out there. An exception to the above might include Wicca and some of the druidic/witchy religions. I don’t know if they explicitly state that women are equals to men, but I do understand that the most powerful individuals are often priestesses, not priests. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/23 "2012-07-06T17:03:45Z")
In terms of stated doctrine, the Baha’i faith clearly espouses gender equality. As well as the importance of scientific thought. Some people suggest that, in practice, they are hypocritical on both counts. They DO appear to be inconsistent with those tenets in certain areas, but at least they have it down on paper, and sometimes practice it. The major inconsistencies that people will point to: 1. Their viewpoint on homosexuality is pretty much in line with more conservative Abrahamaic religions. It’s a sin. And current scientific research hasn’t convinced them otherwise (note that they don’t have any problem with MOST scientific thought). 2. In spite of being very much to the forefront in women’s education, and the role of women in society, and so on, their highest governing body is still exclusively male. The Baha’i Faith line on gender equality: > **[Building Community in America](https://www.bahai.us/beliefs/building-community/)** (The Baha’i faith is interesting. It was created in the 19th century, and tends to mirror very progressive thought from that era. Hence, they had to reconcile their basic doctrines with a scientific viewpoint, DID espouse gender equality, DID NOT approve of monasticism, insisting that faith only had value if practiced out in the world, etc. But they considered homosexuality abhorent, as well as consumption of alcohol, for instance.) ---
**Author:** ![gvozd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gvozd/32/7301_2.png) [@gvozd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gvozd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/24 "2012-07-06T18:22:49Z")
Of a surety Islam 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/25 "2012-07-06T18:47:17Z")
The Anglicans allow the ordination of women as clergy and are otherwise quite egalitarian. The same can be said for most other liberal Christian denominations. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/26 "2012-07-06T19:10:06Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Conservative synagogues really run the gamut from ‘conservadox’ to extremely socially progressive. I was not aware of that. Orthodox thank G-d for making them a man, Reform for making them a Jew. I don’t recall the Conservative version. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/27 "2012-07-06T19:40:40Z")
What about Scientology? I know there’s that thing about your mom messing you up by trying to abort you, but I don’t actually see a systematic belief in the inferiority of women there. Or is Scientology too new or too small to count? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/28 "2012-07-06T19:51:17Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > The Anglicans allow the ordination of women as clergy and are otherwise quite egalitarian. The same can be said for most other liberal Christian denominations. Not all of them. AFAIK the Church in Wales does not. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/29 "2012-07-06T19:55:52Z")
I have a Christian friend who, after many years of studying theology, became a Catholic. Her reasoning was not only to get closer to the origins of Christianity but also because, in the evangelical Lutheran church she grew up with, she felt it had no place for women who were not married. As a single adult (her chosen lifestyle) she felt her religion did not value her, especially because she was not a wife and mother. The Catholics, on the other hand, stressed the value of such women as Mary and Martha and value the roles nuns play in the parish. I thought this was an interesting take on it. I grew up Catholic but do not practice religion now. Two of my beefs with the Catholic Church specifically is that they do not allow priests to marry or women to become priests. Having studied religious practices, but not theology, I do agree wholeheartedly with her take on the church she had been attending. ---
**Author:** ![ladyisatramp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@ladyisatramp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyisatramp)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/30 "2012-07-07T02:54:34Z")
Though definitions of religion are probably a whole other debate, my understanding of Christs teaching (Galations 3:28 There is niether Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus) does not ‘favour’ any but rather favours equality for all. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/31 "2012-07-07T03:01:31Z")
> [@ladyisatramp](#): > > Though definitions of religion are probably a whole other debate, my understanding of Christs teaching (Galations 3:28 There is niether Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus) does not ‘favour’ any but rather favours equality for all. That sounds like something Paul would say, rather than Jesus, a Jew believing he was the Messiah and all. ---
**Author:** ![greenslime1951](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@greenslime1951](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenslime1951)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/32 "2012-07-07T03:02:02Z")
> [@ladyisatramp](#): > > Though definitions of religion are probably a whole other debate, my understanding of Christs teaching (Galations 3:28 There is niether Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus) does not ‘favour’ any but rather favours equality for all. Maybe so, but no religion follows or ever has followed his teaching. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/33 "2012-07-07T03:06:07Z")
That isn’t Jesus, it’s Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Paul has forsaken Judaism and has invented Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![Imago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@Imago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imago)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/34 "2012-07-07T03:39:59Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > What about Scientology? I know there’s that thing about your mom messing you up by trying to abort you, but I don’t actually see a systematic belief in the inferiority of women there. > > Or is Scientology too new or too small to count? Scientology in practice is a horror trove of forced abortions, abortions not given when wanted, coerced sex, etc. But scientology in theory is something I only know the bare basics of. There’s no mention of gender equality in what I know. Does anyone here have more extensive knowledge of scientology texts? ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/35 "2012-07-07T04:32:44Z")
Stregheria!!! ---
**Author:** ![florez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/36 "2012-07-07T06:05:45Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > In terms of stated doctrine, the Baha’i faith clea[ul] > [/ul] > (The Baha’i faith is interesting. It was created in the 19th century, and tends to mirror very progressive thought from that era. Hence, they had to reconcile their basic doctrines with a scientific viewpoint, DID espouse gender equality, DID NOT approve of monasticism, insisting that faith only had value if practiced out in the world, etc. But they considered homosexuality abhorent, as well as consumption of alcohol, for instance.) A Canadian writer named Michael McKinney was disenrolled from the Bahai faith for his outspokenness concerning the exclusion of women from the high administration and governing body of the religion. He was considered a dissident for participating on internet discussions about the inequality facing women in the Bahai religion. Apparently, the rule to exclude women comes from the scripture and is considered impossible to change, so discussion on it is seen as opposition to the law. > **[Baha'i Mysticism](http://www.whoisbahaullah.com/Alison/chron.html)** > > Alison Marshall's personal website ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/37 "2012-07-07T08:15:49Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > google “sikh forced marriage” to see how wrong you are. Okay, I just did. Ignorance fought. Well, sort of. Just from looking at the snippets that appear on the search results page (of which there are many), and without taking the time to read the articles, I see that the problem very much exists, or is very much alleged to exist, and is also disputed by others. So what I get from this little bit of superficial research is that the matter is a very unsettled area; that at least some factions in Sikhism denounce the forced marriage practices (which seems to be a confession that it does exist somewhere); and that there is apparently some evolution in progress, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/38 "2012-07-09T18:36:37Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > [Unitarian Universalism.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism) This is certainly true for the church as it stands today, but both Unitarian and Universalism were certainly paternalistic in the nineteenth century, albeit nowhere near to the degree that most other American churches were. Hey, the OP specified “early” variants. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/39 "2012-07-09T18:49:01Z")
> [@greenslime1951](#): > > … > An exception to the above might include Wicca and some of the druidic/witchy religions. I don’t know if they explicitly state that women are equals to men, but I do understand that the most powerful individuals are often priestesses, not priests. Wicca is a very decentralized religion. In fact, quite a few of its practitioners relish the fact that it is a ‘disorganized’ religion. Back in the 1970s, a temporary ‘Council of American Witches’ was formed to create a general set of principles. These have been used as a template for various manifestations of principles and practices to this day. Principle 4 is as follows: We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity – as masculine and feminine – and that this same Creative Power lies in all people and functions through the interaction of the masculine and the feminine. We value neither above the other knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energy used in magical practice and religious worship. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372/40 "2012-07-09T20:01:12Z")
Several dozen well-informed posts so far and no clear answer. That says something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religions-favor-women/627372.md?page=3)