Is that too over-the-top? To an outside observer like me, that’s the way it feels. I suppose we could start with Muslims, some of whom want their women to be veiled, to not attend school, and never ever to be religious leaders. Some Muslims feel so strongly about this that they attack and kill Afghan school girls.
Or we could go to Israel, where women praying at the Western Wall have provoked a major crisis. We could discuss Mormons, where girls are not allowed to be missionaries and, if I understand it correctly, are supposed to take direction from their husbands--and bear children.
We have Southern Baptists, who abhor not only abortion, but also birth control. And when is the last time you heard of a female Buddhist priest? I haven’t even started on Catholics, but you might want to watch the movie “Doubt” to see an admittedly fictionalized, but probably accurate, presentation of the difference between priests and nuns.
Is God sexist? Evidently not all gods. Reform Jews don’t seem to have a problem with female rabbis, the United Church of Christ has both women and gays (and gay women) as ministers, and the Unitarians are totally accepting of women, although it seems Unitarians are more of a social group than a religion. Nonetheless, when you start looking at religious beliefs in general, it is hard not to think that either the gods which are worshipped have a very low opinion of the female gender, or most religions are controlled by men.
I believe that God likes women. The religious leaders are primarily male. I think many men feel like they are superior to women, in reality they are not. Physically stronger but not so mentally. What we need is more sensible women in political office. Not the Palin Bachman type.
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