The major male dominate in monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam .It have had a profound effect on women's lives, and it‘s influence we can see in the present day.
Sexism, meaning the degrading of women to second class status is rooted in these religions. Woman was supposedly created from Adam's rib. Her role established in the Bible as temptress, whore, foot-washer and domestic servant, unclean during menstruation and untouchable until ritual cleansing after childbirth.
The religions practice overt discrimination against women within their own institutions. They are run by men for men. Christianity has it's female icon, Mary, in the lower ranks where their services are needed women are tolerated within a supposedly celibate environment, to help the male hierarchy and in the past Convents provided 'accommodation' for upper class women away from the hubbub of secular life. It also needs them to perform primary indoctrination for young children and run services that bind people to the church.
Latterly as the difficulty of recruiting enough men to fill the posts of clergy, some religions have bowed to pressure from religious women who want to become priests, but their attitudes to women still prevent many women from having freedom of choice and opportunity.
Healthy family life depends upon the right to choose the number of children that can be supported, by the parents in the environment and conditions in which they live.
The Catholic Church seeks to prevent effective contraception and its policy of banning abortion takes a woman's control over her own body out of her own hands. Even now in Britain decisions are, in the last resort, in the hands of doctors, and where Catholic ideology influences local decisions, facilities are restricted. Catholic doctrine does not only apply to, or affect Catholic women, but all women in countries that bow to the influence of Catholics. Catholic determination to prevent the need for contraception and abortion, leads them to oppose the availability of full and objective information on sexual activity, contraceptive methods, and pregnancy counselling.
They have the misguided and patronising attitude that if women and girls are denied information the problem will go away. They think that the threat of pregnancy will deter women from unprotected sexual intercourse in the first place, and that in the event of unwanted pregnancy independent unbiased counselling about their options will automatically lead to abortion. This leads to all the evils associated with unprotected sex and unwanted pregnancy.
Catholics are at the forefront of a continuing battle against women's rights to choose early safe termination of unwanted pregnancies. In the past thousands if not millions of women have died from late, or septic abortions and multiple pregnancies.
Sexism, meaning the degrading of women to second class status is rooted in these religions. Woman was supposedly created from Adam's rib. Her role established in the Bible as temptress, whore, foot-washer and domestic servant, unclean during menstruation and untouchable until ritual cleansing after childbirth.
The religions practice overt discrimination against women within their own institutions. They are run by men for men. Christianity has it's female icon, Mary, in the lower ranks where their services are needed women are tolerated within a supposedly celibate environment, to help the male hierarchy and in the past Convents provided 'accommodation' for upper class women away from the hubbub of secular life. It also needs them to perform primary indoctrination for young children and run services that bind people to the church.
Latterly as the difficulty of recruiting enough men to fill the posts of clergy, some religions have bowed to pressure from religious women who want to become priests, but their attitudes to women still prevent many women from having freedom of choice and opportunity.
Healthy family life depends upon the right to choose the number of children that can be supported, by the parents in the environment and conditions in which they live.
The Catholic Church seeks to prevent effective contraception and its policy of banning abortion takes a woman's control over her own body out of her own hands. Even now in Britain decisions are, in the last resort, in the hands of doctors, and where Catholic ideology influences local decisions, facilities are restricted. Catholic doctrine does not only apply to, or affect Catholic women, but all women in countries that bow to the influence of Catholics. Catholic determination to prevent the need for contraception and abortion, leads them to oppose the availability of full and objective information on sexual activity, contraceptive methods, and pregnancy counselling.
They have the misguided and patronising attitude that if women and girls are denied information the problem will go away. They think that the threat of pregnancy will deter women from unprotected sexual intercourse in the first place, and that in the event of unwanted pregnancy independent unbiased counselling about their options will automatically lead to abortion. This leads to all the evils associated with unprotected sex and unwanted pregnancy.
Catholics are at the forefront of a continuing battle against women's rights to choose early safe termination of unwanted pregnancies. In the past thousands if not millions of women have died from late, or septic abortions and multiple pregnancies.
Literature : http://www.rootsofsexism.freeuk.com/
