Religion has existed for as long as man has. Both men, and women believed in asuperior being to explain the existence of life. Now with the differentvarieties of religions, men and women play different roles that are permittedby each one of them.
Men are allowed to do as they please in the church as faras the worshipping of god is concerned, but women have been and still arerestricted from performing some of the same task. Women are expected to followand obey the word of God just as much as men are, but they still are denied theprivilege of spreading the word of God. The male gender has dominated the worldfor the past hundreds of years, but times have changed and women are seekingequality. Even in the church, men are categorized as superior to women. Sinceit is difficult to actually know what God wants from his followers, the Bibleis one source that has been used as reference to determine superiority ofgenders in the church.
“Jesus was a man who chose 12 male apostles to carry onhis work, therefore only men could be priest” (Connel A1), is a commonreference used to the scriptures found in the Bible. This attitude labeledtradition is still around today and is being taught today throughout the world,basically in the Roman Catholic religion. The Bible states “Let your women keepsilent in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but theyare commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law” (I Corinthians14:34). When a person receives the calling, whether man or woman, it usuallymeans that God is asking to become one of hisdisciples and spread his word.
Women receive this calling just like men, but because women have been deniedthat privilege for so many years, they have no choice, but to serve onlybetween the boundaries that have been given to them. Since many churches havefinally given in to allowing women into the ministry, they now believe that Goddoes not have a gender, and there are a number of ways God can be addressedwithout calling God a he or she. Another argument is that Jesus asked hisfollowers to “take up your cross, deny yourself , and follow me” (Ostling,55): he did not say whether it should be man or women. Supporters of women’sordination believe that what is important is that Jesus came to earth as a human,not a male. One more argument stated stories that Christ was a carpenter,which dictate that only those skilled with hand tools shall be called to thepriesthood.
Besides a numerous amount of evidence in favor of women’sordinations, there are plenty of church officials, and religions that dobelieve that women should not remain in silent prayer. Others feel that womenministers would be more nurturing and caring. Many religions have given intothe argument of women’s ordination. The Catholic religion is one that stillstands firm in its decision. It will keep recognizing women’s gifts and fullspiritual equality but wants to preserve distinct roles for each gender.
Catholic schools and hospitals are run by women. Because of the 1983 revisedcanon law and Vatican II, women are allowed to lead music and read parts of theBible during parish worship. They can also serve as extraordinary eucharisticministers. This means only after the male minister has blessed the bread andwine, they can distribute it. Women are not allowed to give the actual mass orallow any sacraments to be performed, such as confession, matrimony, oranointment.
Women find the responsibilities given to them are inadequate; theyfeel they can do much more to serve there God. The Catholic women have felt theneed for preaching so much that they are driven to convert to other religions. For some women, who feel irresistibly called to do more, the only choice is tofind a vocation outside Catholicism. There are those who still have hope thatwomen will be ordained in the catholic religion. The grandniece of the famousSusan B.
Anthony says, “There will always be people who oppose women in anytype of spiritual role. But I believe women will be ordained-maybe not in mylifetime, but someday. I am just as sure of it as my great-aunt was sure thatwomen someday would gain the right to vote” (Davis, 3E).Category: Religion
