I admire the principles and teachings of many major religions, including Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. Following any of these faiths is hard for me because of their attitudes towards women. Women are not treated as equals. They are “handmaidens” at best. Religions that attempt to elevate the status of women never quite succeed.
In both Judaism and Islam, a woman is considered “unclean” during her menstrual cycle and must purify herself at the end of her cycle before interacting with men. While she is menstruating, she cannot serve men food, eat, or sleep with them. This is also true in large swaths of Asia and Africa and in Hindu regions. In places where this is a cultural norm, there are huts set aside where menstruating women must remain apart from men.
When men violate or rape women, in many of these cultures, it is the woman who is punished; the woman who is then treated as “damaged goods.” It is not unheard of for girls to be forced to marry their rapists to restore the family’s “honor.”
While I am not aware of any equivalents within Christianity, in Hindu, Jewish and Islamic religions a woman must purify herself by taking a ritual bath after her menstrual cycle ends or after the last blood loss after childbirth. The words ‘purification’ and ‘ablution’ and the suggestion that women are ‘unclean’ set my teeth on edge. Women were created by God the same as men, and I cannot imagine that God sees his handiwork as unclean because of a biological process that is a part of how he created her.
Of course, some of the cleansing rituals also apply to men. Like their female counterparts, Islamic and conservative Jewish men must perform ablution after urinating, defecating or passing gas. That grates me too. On the one hand, I fully understand that these rituals helped stave off the spread of disease in earlier times- and I pray we all still wash our hands after urinating or defecating in modern times! On the other hand, these ablutions also involve the washing of the face and for Islamic peoples the feet as well, and again, there is that implication that normal, biological processes make us “dirty” or unclean in the sight of God.
None of the major religions expressly forbid abortions during the first three to four months of pregnancy except Christianity. Unfortunately, fundamentalist Christians both forbid abortions and seek to punish women for undergoing such procedures. There is no punishment for men who impregnate women, and often next to no punishment for men who rape women. The fundamentalist Christian’s stance on abortion serves the same purpose as the “unclean” attitude towards women by other religions. It sets her apart from men and makes her less equal. It defines her limits in societies that do not attempt to control men.
While I am Christian, I do not choose to allow any religion to define or limit me. I am a creature of God who I believe, has created nothing vile or unclean. I have the same rights as a man in God’s eyes.
Lest you misunderstand- I do not reject religion. My Christian principles and faith run deep. I reject the notion that I am less equal before God.
dottieriley 