Religion plays a major role in our society. Because I have lived here my entire life and it is something I am personally aware of and affected by, I am going to focus on Christianity and it's influence in the United States of America. Here, religion plays such a major role, even in places where it should not. The Bible is used to justify so many different things such as laws, ways of life, and of course gender roles. People will use the Bible to argue that abortion is murder, to be gay is a sin, and that God makes no mistakes therefore a transgender person is just mentally ill. In this society, the Bible plays such a major role. People are constantly referring to it and talking about how America is a Christian country, therefore it should follow the rules of this religious text. Many will try to use it as a way to enforce gender roles as well. They will say that woman was created from the rib of Adam, and because of that men are superior. Shannon Dea writes in Beyond the Binary that "man reflects the image of God whether he is on his own or in union with his wife. Woman, on the other hand, reflects the image of God when she is in union with her husband, but not when she is considered in her own right" (45). It is literally saying that women are only considered to be in the image of God when they are married, yet men do not have to be married in order to be in the image of God. For interpretations such as this and the heavy influence the Bible has on society, women are often mistreated and have to fight through this patriarchy.
It was in my first-year seminar class that we heavily discussed the two different creation stories and the way that one of them is much more misogynistic than the other. One about Lilith and her denial to bow down to Adam and do as he says, where both man and woman were created at the same time. For this reason, she was removed and replaced with Eve. Then there is Eve who does as she is told, made from the rib of Adam. It is Eve who receives the blame for eating the apple and therefore women have been punished with the pain of childbirth and subordination to man. Our culture likes to pick and choose what we understand and incorporate into our lives from the Bible. We live in a patriarchal society that sees women as subordinate to men, that being gay is a sin and to have an abortion is to commit murder. Dea writes about how "religious texts themselves are influenced by the cultures in which they are produced" (42). I think that goes hand in hand with the way our cultures understand them now. Since we live in a society where women have been seen as subordinate to men and all of these things, we understand it to be wrong when a woman speaks out and chooses to do with her body what she wants. In our culture, we pick and choose what we want to understand and apply to our lives from the Bible. Religion has played a major role in this society for such a long time. Hopefully, soon others can see that Jesus was not filled with hate for people who are considered different, but rather a man who preached to love thy neighbor. That is the kind of biblical influence needed in society.
Hi Bri,
ReplyDeleteI relate to a lot of your views on religion in the United States. I didn't know much about the Bible until the religion class I took last semester, but my professor was always careful to note that people perceive and understand it differently depending on their own experiences. A person's culture, economic status, political views, and values they were raised with can all influence how they interpret religious texts. I agree that many people use the Bible to further an agenda they have, such as claiming that homosexuality is somehow inherently wrong or outlawed in the Bible. I remember a discussion with other people in my religion class about how I thought since Eve was made from the rib of Adam instead of being created as a separate entity, it made it seem like she was less important or that her only purpose was to support or help men. The order of creation has often been used to perpetuate gender roles as well. While many people may use this as justification for treating women as inferior to men, my religion professor explained an alternate view where Genesis focuses on how the two people are more similar than different ("bone of my bone" or "flesh of my flesh" comments). The text indicates that Eve is the only being that could possibly match Adam, as they are two sides to one coin. As for the order of creation, my professor urged me to focus more on the identities of Eve and Adam as similar beings rather than the order, but I still found it difficult to ignore that Adam was created first and Eve was an afterthought. Whether or not you and I agree with counterarguments to the sexism in the creation stories, I think it is safe to say that religious texts like the Bible can't be taken literally and that everyone interprets them differently depending on other underlying beliefs they have. Great examples from FYSM in your blog post, that inspired me to reflect on previous classes I've had that relate to this topic as well!!
-Ashna Gupta
Hi Ashna!
DeleteYou make some really great points here! I liked the alternate view you provided about the creation story that focuses more on the similarities of people rather than the differences. That is definitely an interesting perspective. As you said though, it is hard to not focus on the order, but I do appreciate the viewpoint your professor was showing you. Thank you so much for sharing and giving me a new way to look at it!!
Hey Bri,
ReplyDeleteI loved how you took this as a topic question I love how you made it very personal and thank you for sharing. I think that the point you made about how we live in a male dominate culture is so accurate. I think that it has shaped the way in which we think about women in society and sex and gender as a whole. Thank you for sharing this prospective.
-Mary
Hi Bri,
ReplyDeleteIf we suppose that culture very significantly influences religion, then perhaps reflecting on prevalent interpretations of religious texts could tell us a lot about the culture that generated those interpretations. What does it say about our culture that the version of the creation story that involves Adam's rib is more widely known and internalized than the other version in Genesis? How does one of these versions get emphasized and its significance perpetuated? I also wonder how a society that was radically egalitarian with respect to gender would interpret Genesis.
Hi Bri,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you started your blog stating that religion plays a very major role in the society of the United States. I agreed with your statement “even in places where it should not.” In society it is very present , especially recently, where people use the Bible to back up their political opinions. They do in fact use The Bible to back up their views on laws and varying political and social issues. People will oppenly hate on the LGBTQ community and state that they only do so because in The Bible, it is stated that love should be shared between a man and a woman meanwhile other parts of the text state that we should show love and forgiveness to everyone. I think you made some very valid points about how we pick and choose what aspects to interpret from varying parts of religious readings.
Hey Bri, I'm sure ya heard it already but I really liked how ya put your own personal experience with religion, It really helped me understand your point and were you're coming from. My question would be what do you think the solution is when it comes to the problems of religion and their stances on gender roles and gender as a concept?
ReplyDelete