Women and Religion

09 Christianity B

NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES

Having considered the attitude and actions of the founder regarding women, we now turn to the next phase of the Christian story. What was the status of women in Christianity during its earliest period when the Christian scriptures were being composed? Many commentators note that the New Testament does not provide a single, consistent view of women. Instead, we find two very different – and arguably incompatible - attitudes to women in its pages. This should not be surprising given that the New Testament itself is a collection of writings by different persons in different places at different times across a period of nearly a century or so. The two New Testament “theologies of women” can be labelled:

1. Equivalence and

2. Subordination

Scholars argue that these two attitudes are not only rooted in the New Testament but can be traced across the subsequent centuries and are still being advocated by different individuals, groups and churches today.

Equivalence

This approach is based on the premise that men and women are equal in the eyes of God and this should be reflected in attitudes and practices within the church. It is inherently egalitarian and finds its biblical foundation in the first story of Genesis (Chapter 1), where God creates humankind on the sixth day, both male and female, and both in God’s divine image.

Adam and Eve

Such equality is supposed to exist between men and women in heaven where earthly hierarchies dissolve. It is also supported by an “eschatological mentality” – in other words, the sense that this world is soon coming to an end and a radically new world will be ushered in. Such a mentality can be found among many of the early Christians who thought that they were living in the “end times” and that Christ’s Second Coming was imminent.

So, which New Testament texts support the idea of radical, “heavenly” gender equivalence? The most famous text can be found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (one of his earlier letters). He writes:

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28)

Earlier in this course we noted the Dawn Blessing in Judaism, which thanks God for not being born a gentile, a slave or a woman. The same sentiments provide the background for this radical statement by Paul, who was Jewish before his conversion. According to Paul, differences of race, social status and gender are no longer relevant for Christians. Baptism brings a new order that dissolves these old prejudices. Indeed, many think that it was this open attitude that attracted so many gentiles (non-Jews), slaves and women to the new religion.

The idea of gender equivalence is also evident in other letters of Paul. In 1 Corinthians he speaks of the balanced, mutual rights of husband and wife:

The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. (1 Cor 7:3-4)

Paul also indicates that women were given important roles alongside men within the early church. He calls some women his “co-workers”:

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Phil 4)

At the end of his most important letter (written to Christians in Rome) he lists many women, as well as men, some of whom are called “deacon” and “apostle”:

 I commend to you our sister Phoebe , a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.

Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life... Greet also the church in their house.

Greet Mary , who has worked very hard among you.

Andronicus and Junia , my compatriots who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles. (Rom 16)

Similar roles are mentioned in another New Testament book, the Acts of the Apostles, authored by Luke. Women are given the gift of prophecy along with men:

In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18)

He (Philip) had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. (Acts 21:8)

Wealthy women open up their houses so that Christians could gather for prayer and other activities:

... to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying” (Acts 12:12-13)

Women such as Priscilla (who is always named before her husband Aquila) accompany Paul on his journeys and act as teachers and trainers for new missionaries:

Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. (Acts 18.18 )

He (Apollos) began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. (Acts 18.26)

Subordination

In contrast to texts that speak of equivalence between men and women in the home (roles of husband and wife) and in the church (various roles of leadership and teaching), there are also New Testament passages that reflect a theology of subordination. This view considers it proper that the man is the “head” in the family and in the church, and that women should obediently accept this. It is considered to be the “natural order” willed by God and it is usually substantiated by Genesis 2 where Eve is created “after”, “from” and “for” Adam. Furthermore, proponents add that Eve was the first to take the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3 and, thus, she carries the greater guilt. They warn that rejection of this order is tantamount to rebellion against God and will only lead to social chaos.

God creates Eve from Adam’s rib

The passages that reflect this theology of subordination of women tend to be in later sections of the New Testament and, indeed, this tendency further increases in the post New Testament period. It is possible that with the fading of the belief that the world would soon end (it didn’t end of course), Christians began to abandon the “eschatological mentality” and settle into this world for the long haul. This meant adopting many of the prevailing patriarchal structures of the surrounding Roman culture. Prayer meetings became less spontaneous and charismatic, and more formal and ritualised. Leadership roles were clarified, further defined and many of them eventually limited to men only. And the husband-wife relationship began to be described as “love patriarchy” where the husband loves but also rules over his wife.

Even though we saw some very explicit comments by Paul about equivalence, there are also passages in his early letters that reflect subordination:

Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife and God is the head of Christ. Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head.... For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. For this reason, a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head. (1 Cor 11:3-15)

Paul is saying that it is fitting that women cover their heads while praying and prophesying, but not men. It clearly implies that women were allowed to speak at prayer meetings but the rationale for her wearing a veil is that she is under the authority of her husband who is her “head”. Paul cites Genesis 2 and explicitly states that the male is the image of God, whereas the female is the merely the image of the man.

In the very same letter, he goes on to make this statement:

As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. (1 Cor 14:34)

According to this passage, women are not allowed to speak in church, apparently contradicting what was said earlier. For this reason, some scholars think that these verses were inserted by a later editor.

Early Christian communities to whom Paul wrote letters

Paul’s later letters to the Colossians and Ephesians show further erosion of the equivalence model in favour of subordination. In Colossians 3:11 he wrote:

You have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

This is a repeat of the famous equivalence formula found in Galatians 3 above, but with one glaring omission. Although race and social rank are mentioned, the statement about gender equality has vanished (there is no mention of “male and female”).

In the same letter he compares the husband-wife relationship to that of master-slave and parent-child:

Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. (Col 3:18-4:1)

And in the letter to the Ephesians (written about the same time) he compares the husband-wife relationship to the Christ-Church relationship, which demands love from the husband and obedience from the wife.

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church... Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. * ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband. (Eph 5:22-33)

The last group of letters traditionally ascribed to Paul are called the “Pastoral Letters”. These were addressed to Timothy and Titus, who were newly appointed “bishops” in Ephesus and Crete.

Timothy and Titus

The letters were probably written late in his career since Paul was “in prison” and some scholars speculate that these epistles may even have been composed in Paul’s name after he died. The author might be the same person who inserted the controversial passage in 1 Corinthians 14 above, since these letters also demand silence from women in church, and forbid them from teaching or having authority.

Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty. (1 Tim 2:9-15)

Within the home, women are to be submissive to their husbands for the sake of Christianity’s reputation:

Encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited. (Titus 2:4-5)

So, the New Testament texts suggest that an earlier theology of gender equivalence based on Genesis 1 and inspired by the eschatological sense of a new order was gradually overtaken by a theory of gender subordination based on Genesis 2 and reinforced by the realisation that the world was not about to end, giving impetus to the need to adapt to the Roman world.

THE PATRISTIC and MEDIEVAL PERIODS

Attitudes to women

The gradual eclipsing of a theology of equivalence in favour of a theology of subordination that was found in the early New Testament continued into the subsequent Patristic period. This was a time when prominent bishop-theologians, known as “Church Fathers”, began to define Christian belief and practice in much greater detail. Naturally this process was not without disagreement and debate, and often the conflicts were settled by gathering of bishops known as councils. As the term “Patristic” suggests, almost all of the influential writers were male, partly because the role of bishop (and other roles as well) was limited to men.

The attitude of the Church Fathers towards women has been described as “ambivalent” by some and “downright sexist” by others. The amount of material involved here is enormous – literally bookshelves of letters, tomes, dialogues and decrees. In general, there is a tendency to quote Genesis 2 rather than Genesis 1; to see Adam primarily as God’s image; to blame Eve primarily for the original sin; to see women as sources of sexual temptation; to insist on the wife’s submission to her husband; and so forth. There are also some very negative statements such as these four egregious samples:

Tertullian Clement Ambrose John Chrysostom

The curse God pronounced on your sex still weighs on the world. You are the devil's gateway. You are the first that deserted the divine laws. All too easily you destroyed the image of God, Adam. Because you deserved death, it was the son of God who had to die. (Tertullian)

The consciousness of their own nature must evoke feelings of shame. Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she is a woman. (Clement of Alexandria)

Adam was deceived by Eve, not Eve by Adam, so it is right that he whom that woman induced to sin should assume the role of guide lest he fall again through feminine instability. (Ambrose)

The male sex enjoyed the higher honour. Man was first formed; and elsewhere he shows their superiority. God wishes the man to have the pre-eminence in every way. (John Chrysostom)

One of the most influential writers in the Western church was Augustine (died 420 CE). Like many Church Fathers, he was heavily influenced by Plato’s suspicion of the material world, especially sexual activity. He himself had been obsessed with sex as a young man and had a love child with a long-term concubine before his conversion. Augustine argued that Eve was subordinate to Adam even before the first sin (commonly called “the Fall”). In his thinking, the serpent approached Eve first because she was frailer and more gullible than her husband. He also believed that Adam was the true image of God, and that Eve was made in the image of Adam, rather than God directly. He wrote:

The woman together with her husband is the image of God, so that the whole substance is one image. But when she is assigned as a help-meet, a function that pertains to her alone, then she is not in the image of God. But as far as the man is concerned, he is by himself alone the image of God. (De Trinitate 12.7.10 )

Augustine

These ideas continued into the medieval period, even though Christian theologians turned away from Plato and began to use the newly rediscovered writings of Aristotle instead. The most famous medieval theologian is Thomas Aquinas (died 1274 CE), who borrowed from Aristotle’s biological theories when discussing the status of women. Unaware of the existence of the female ovum (only discovered in 1825 by K.E. von Baer), the theory claimed that the male seed provides the “form” of the new being, while the female womb provides the “matter”. Moreover, daughters arise because of a “defect” in the process. In other words, a girl was a “misbegotten male”, intellectually inferior and psychologically less stable. Nevertheless, Aquinas argued that women were capable of reaching heaven where all gender-based hierarchy disappears. In the meantime, however, it is a very different situation on earth. (See Aristotle, The Generation of Animals II.4.20-21; Aquinas, Summa Theol. I.92.1)

Thomas Aquinas

The prevailing sexism of the day was noted by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales. In the

Wife of Bath Prologue he wrote:

For take my word for it, there is no libel

On women that the clergy will not paint,

Except when writing of a woman saint

By God, if women had but written stories

Like those the clergy keep in oratories

More had been written of man’s wickedness

Than all the sons of Adam could redress.

Church Leadership

As the early charismatic prayer meetings of Christianity gave way to more institutional forms of worship, a threefold clerical hierarchy began to emerge and became the norm during the Patristic period:

1. Bishop (episkopos)

2. Priest (presbyter)

3. Deacon (diakonos)

One of the main proponents of this structure was Ignatius of Antioch who wrote a number of letters in the early second century advocating a single (male) episkopos in each local church. This triple hierarchy is still the basic structure for the clergy in many mainstream Christian churches today, including Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican.

The question for us is whether women were ever included in these ranks. There is no doubt that there were women deacons in the early church but the issue of whether women were ever ordained as presbyter (priest) or episkopos (bishop) is still debated. There is not a lot of evidence for the existence of women priests and bishops but these four items are usually cited in literature on the topic:

1. Testamentum Domini: A 5th century document which speaks of female “presbyters” who fast and pray with their local bishop each day.

2. Tomb inscriptions in Phrygia, Egypt and Sicily that commemorate female “presbyters”

3. Frescoes in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome could be interpreted as depicting a woman leading a Eucharist (the sacred meal of bread and wine) and a bishop ordaining a woman (the three figures on the left in the second image).

A woman leading Eucharist? A bishop ordaining a woman (on left)?

4. A mosaic in St Prassede Church in Rome depicts a person titled “Episcopa Theodor(a)”, although some argue that that this was an honorific title for the mother of the current pope.

Episcopa Theodora

A number of 2nd century Church Fathers condemn the thought of a woman performing the functions of a priest or bishop, quoting the letters to Timothy and Titus, which ultimately are based on Genesis 2.

It is not permitted for a woman to speak in church. Neither may she teach, baptize, offer, nor claim for herself any function proper to a man, least of all the priestly office. (Tertullian)

Even if it is granted to a woman to show the sign of prophecy, she is nevertheless not permitted to speak in an assembly. When Miriam the prophetess spoke, she was leading a choir of women; for, as Paul declares, “I do not permit a woman to teach," and even less to tell a man what to do. (Origen)

There is also a series of official statements condemning the practice of ordaining women as presbyters (priests):

1. The 3rd century Syrian document entitled “The Teachings of the Apostles” (Didascalia Apostolorum) permitted women deacons but they were only allowed to minister to other women, not men. It also prohibited women from teaching or preaching.

2. In 364 CE a local Council at Laodicea decreed: “so-called presbyteresses or presidentesses are not to be ordained in the Church". (Canon 11)

3. A century later in 495CE, Pope Gelasius wrote to Christians in southern Italy: With impatience we have heard that divine things have undergone such contempt that women are encouraged to serve at the sacred altars, and that all tasks entrusted to the service of men are performed by a sex for which these [tasks] are not appropriate. Some argue that Gelasius was only condemning the practice of allowing women to act as altar-servers, while others think that he meant women acting as priests.

Pope Gelasius

Commentators note that the very existence of these bans may suggest that women were given priestly roles of sorts in certain places. In any event, the series of bans were ultimately effective and the issue of women priests (and bishops) would not surface again until modern times.

Nuns

So, if women were effectively excluded from the main ecclesiastical ranks of authority, what did they do, apart from being wives and mothers? The basic answer is: they became nuns. Paul speaks of “virgins” in 1 Corinthians 7. These were women who, like Paul, had opted for a celibate lifestyle out of dedication to the church; the story of Thecla is a good example (see earlier video). During Patristic times, the Church Fathers praised the “order of virgins”. Seen as “spouses of Christ”, they cut their hair and took the veil, dedicating themselves to prayer and service. Although they were not presbyters (priests), they were given special honour and received communion before the laity.

By the 3rd century, these women were living in community residences and took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Augustine even developed a special rule for these women and, in time, many different orders of nuns emerged. By the middle ages, their numbers had increased dramatically as many women saw this career path as an attractive option to married life and motherhood. It offered women education, status and economic security. Although under the ecclesiastical control of a bishop, most female religious orders were relatively autonomous. These were women living in communities under their own elected abbesses: “a self-governing female world” as Rosemary Radford Ruether describes it. Abbesses themselves became powerful and influential figures alongside bishops and kings. Like abbots, they were allowed to carry the shepherd’s staff (crosier), which is also used by bishops as a symbol of pastoral leadership. For much of history, nuns spent most of their time within the convent and their main task was to pray and meditate – much like their Buddhist sisters. They also engaged in arts and crafts to supplement donations, offered advice to visitors and some even published works on a variety of subjects, both religious and secular. After the Protestant Reformation, new forms of religious life appeared that allowed nuns to leave their convent and perform “apostolic” work, mainly in the fields of health, education and social work.

An abbess holding her crosier

For most orders, Mary (the mother of Jesus) was held up as the perfect model. This may seem strange given that Mary was a wife and mother. However, based on the birth stories in Matthew and Luke, Christians generally believe that Jesus had no human father. In other words, Mary conceived him miraculously without loss of her virginity. This is technically known as the virginal conception of Christ (it is often confused with the “immaculate conception” of Mary that we discussed earlier). Moreover, the Orthodox and Catholic Churches believe that Mary never consummated her marriage to Joseph and remained a virgin for the remainder of her life, hence the common titles “Ever Virgin Mary” or “Blessed Virgin Mary”. The mid-2nd century work known as the Protoevangelium of James was one of the first texts to promote this theory. Thus, Mary is a paradoxical figure in mainstream Christianity: simultaneously a model for wives and mothers, as well as for virginal nuns.

Modern Christian feminism has mixed thoughts about the institution of convents and nuns. On one hand, it represented a genuinely liberating option for women apart from the traditional, and often enslaving, roles of domestic wife and mother. It also gave women the opportunity to pursue study and engage in intellectual and practical activities otherwise not available. On the other hand, like their Buddhist sisters, nuns were ultimately under the authority of men (male bishops) and did not enjoy the same status and authority as the ordained clergy.

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

General traits

Christianity had always experienced internal tensions and many splinter groups had broken away from the mainstream church since the first century. However, a major split occurred in 1054 when Eastern and Western Christianity separated, but both branches retained a male-only clergy (actually women deacons existed in the Eastern Church until the 12th century). Towards the end of the Middle Ages, theological tensions within Western Christianity intensified and this resulted in a massive fragmentation of the Western Church in the 16th century. We now turn to that period with an eye to see what the new Protestant churches said about women in general and their proper ecclesiastical roles in particular.

One general trait of Protestantism was its criticism of celibacy and the abuses that were related to it. In Protestant theology, clerical celibacy was no longer required or even endorsed, and the entire monastic tradition (for men and women) was effectively abandoned. For example, Martin Luther was a monk who married a nun, Katharina von Bora. The keenness of the Protestant reformers to return to the original form of Christianity, as outlined in the New Testament, may have initially given women hope that the theology of equivalence might make a comeback and replace centuries of subordination. However, key Protestant leaders, such as Luther and Calvin, did not take that path. Female ordination was not on the agenda and the New Testament texts that were highlighted were often those that enshrined the idea of male headship and female obedience. Moreover, the closing of monasteries and convents removed that important career option for women as well.

Luther did teach that Adam and Eve were both made in the image of God but he added that Eve still bore primary guilt for the Fall. This meant subordination for all women according to Genesis 3:16 (“He shall rule over you”) in terms of “children, kitchen and church”. For Luther, Eve’s punishment was not just the pain of childbirth but also restriction to the domestic sphere:

Woman is like a nail driven into the wall. She sits at home and should stay at home and look after the affairs of household. In this way Eve is punished. The natural order does not assign woman any other function than what corresponds to her sexual and procreative organs. (Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis)

Although Calvin appreciated the refining influence of women, theologically he was even more negative than Luther. He agreed with Augustine that Eve was subordinate even before the Fall. This was the original order of creation, even prior to sin. He also closely followed the New Testament household codes that stressed the husband’s headship over his wife. In his view, this was a positive system designed by God to keep order and to avoid sin. Each person, and each gender, had its appointed place.

More egalitarian models

However, with time, more egalitarian models of home and church life began to emerge. These were not without precedent. In the 12th century, a movement in southern France and northern Italy, known as the Waldensians, had advocated a simple lifestyle and allowed women to preach. Inspired by Joachim de Fiore’s theory that the Third Age of the Holy Spirit had arrived, the Waldensians (named after their founder Peter Waldo) abandoned the traditional clerical hierarchy and preached a “priesthood of the people”. They were declared heretical and heavily persecuted for centuries but their gender inclusive ideas were taken up by a number of 17th century reformers, including some outstanding women.

One of those women was Margaret Fell (1614 -1702), the co-founder of Quakerism in 17th century England. Officially known as the Society of Friends, the nickname “Quaker” arose because fellow founder George Fox, whom Margaret eventually married, made a magistrate “quake” at God’s word. Indeed, charismatic prayer meetings and powerful preaching was a key element in the Quaker movement, which rejected sacramental rituals and a hierarchical priesthood. Despite persecution by the Anglican establishment, Quakerism spread rapidly throughout England and in the American colonies. One of Margaret Fell’s important achievements was a treatise published in 1666 entitled

“Women’s Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed of by the Scriptures. Her arguments included:

· The existence of women prophetesses in the Old Testament

· Christ overturned the subordination of women that resulted from Eve’s sin and restored equality between the sexes

· Women were the first witnesses to the Resurrection and brought the good news to the apostles

Thus, in the Quaker marriage ceremony, the wife did not promise to “obey” her husband, but rather both promised to obey God. Today many churches omit the word “obey” in the bride’s wedding vows although more conservative groups retain it.

Margaret Fell and her famous treatise

During the 18th century a new movement emerged from the Quakers called the “Shakers” led by Mother Ann Lee (1736-1784). In this more radical form of Christianity, God was considered to be androgynous and, thus, a female incarnation was needed to complement the male incarnation that had occurred in Jesus Christ. The Shakers believed that Mother Ann Lee herself was this second (female) incarnation. As with the early church, the Shakers believed that the end of the world was imminent and practised celibacy. The movement literally died out but one feminist author comments:

“it is the most explicit effort of mystical Christianity to work out a theology of equivalence in terms of doctrine of God, anthropology, christology and church polity within the framework of eschatological transcendence of patriarchy as the order of fallen creation” (Rita Gross)

Mother Ann Lee

Witch-Hunts

This period of Christian history was also characterised by an outbreak of witch-hunts across Europe and North America. Prior to the 16th century, the Church denied the reality of Satanic witchcraft and associated witches with pre-Christian pagan custom. Under Charlemagne, the persecution and burning of supposed witches was condemned and was punishable by death. However, in 1486 a German priest named Heinrich Kramer published a treatise called Malleus Maleficarum ("Hammer of the Witches"). Its double aim was to prove that Satanic witchcraft did exist and to provide the means to identify and convict witches. In fact, Kramer found little support from the official Church, which condemned his book in 1490. Nevertheless, it gained widespread popular support, especially via the newly invented printing press, and was reprinted more than 30 times until 1669.

The Hammer of the Witches

It argued that God allows the Devil to wield power in this world and witches are his assistants. This power is mainly channelled through sexual temptation and women were considered to be weaker in this area and, thus, more susceptible to be enlisted as his servants. The upshot of this was the rise of organized witch-hunts that affected tens of thousands of people. The hunts targeted both sexes but it is estimated that about 75% of the victims were women. The most famous incidents in Europe were:

1590 Berwick, Scotland

1603 Fulda, Germany

1609 Basque, Spain

1675 Torsaker, Sweden

In North America, witch-hunts occurred in New England including the Massachusetts Bay Colony where 13 women and 2 men were hanged, and Salem (1692-3) where 150 people were imprisoned, with 14 women and 5 men being executed. The latter is the setting for Arthur Miller’s famous play, The Crucible. The phenomenon eventually faded and disappeared during the late 18th century although the British 1735 Witchcraft Act was not officially repealed until 1951.

Looking back on the entire episode, modern commentators identify various causal factors. Many “witches” were in fact independent, single minded women who were seen as defiant and dangerous to the social order. There were also issues of property, family feuds, inheritance and even romantic entanglements. In the case of Salem, there are theories that the so-called witches were actually suffering from a medical condition such as ergot poisoning, Lyme disease, encephalitis or even post-traumatic stress disorder after recent French and native American attacks.

THE MODERN PERIOD

Enlightenment Ideals

During the 18th century, the scientific revolution began to affect the way people understood how the world worked. The Age of Reason began to replace the Age of Faith, and the new scientific explanations of the natural world presented serious challenges to the old, faith-based explanations. The two classical examples are astronomy (Copernicus and Galileo) and biology (Darwin). But there were also new challenges coming from philosophy, especially ideas about the fundamental equality of all human beings. It was argued that if all humans are created equal, with the same human nature as well as reason and free will, then all humans have the same fundamental rights. It would take quite some time to work through the implications of this important notion and, indeed, it is still happening today in the early 21st century on many fronts. One obvious application was the question of gender inequality and the extent to which Christianity endorsed and promoted it.

There were many Christians who embraced the new Enlightenment idea of basic human equality as a non-negotiable fundament principle. Thus, they argued that any elements of androcentrism and patriarchy that were found in the Bible or Church tradition were not divinely willed but, rather, human (male) creations that distorted the truth and perpetuated injustice. What was needed was a thorough reform of Christian ideas and structures that enshrined the idea of equality between men and women. They claimed that it was not good enough to wait for heaven in order to enjoy gender equivalence. It should start now, here on earth. This is the philosophical and theological basis of all forms of modern feminist Christian theology.

Christian Feminism

Commentators usually speak about three waves of feminism during the modern period.

a. The First Wave

The first wave of Christian feminism occurred in the early 19th century during the 1830s-1840s. It was closely connected to the Abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement in North America and the Suffragette movement that sought the vote for women. In other words, it was very much linked to concerns about racial and gender equality in the social-political sphere, but these had implications for gender equality within the religious sphere. One of its chief spokespersons was Sarah Grimke who published Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women in 1836. It was a response to the Massachusetts Congregation clergy who had denounced women speaking in churches on behalf of the abolition of slavery. Grimke based her arguments on Genesis 1, pointing out that men and women were created equal and that both shared dominion over nature. Moreover, she argued that the real effect of the original sin was male lust for domination and that woman was the first victim.

In 1848, a watershed convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York state. It was the first serious meeting to be organized by women in the Western world that considered the full list of feminist concerns. Key figures were Lucretia Mott (a famous Quaker preacher) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (a skeptical non-Quaker). The convention produced the famous List of Sentiments: a litany of restrictions placed on women in the areas of political franchise, occupation, property, divorce and education. It also listed areas of concern within the churches themselves:

· In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and purposes, her master - the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty, and to administer chastisement.

· As a teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known.

· He allows her in church, as well as State, but a subordinate position, claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of the Church.

· He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah (God) himself, claiming it as his right to assign for her a sphere of action, when that belongs to her conscience and her God.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton went on to publish The Woman’s Bible in 1895. It was not accepted by male biblical scholars, but it became a popular best-seller and opened up a completely new way of reading the sacred text from a woman’s perspective – one of the key ingredients in 20th century feminist theology. Stanton’s Bible was scathing in its attack on sexist interpretations of the biblical texts and, not surprisingly, it attracted widespread controversy and opposition. She wrote:

If we, who see the absurdities of the old superstitions, never unveil them to others, how is the world to make any progress in the theologies? I am in the sunset of life, and I feel it to be my special mission to tell people what they are not prepared to hear."

Here are some excerpts:

On Genesis 1:26-27 when God creates both male and female in God’s image:

Here is the sacred historian's first account of the advent of woman; a simultaneous creation of both sexes, in the image of God. It is evident from the language that there was consultation in the Godhead, and that the masculine and feminine elements were equally represented. Scott in his commentaries says, "This consultation of the Gods is the origin of the doctrine of the trinity." But instead of three male personages, as generally represented, a Heavenly Father, Mother, and Son would seem more rational.

On Genesis 2:24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife."

The assertion of the supremacy of the woman in the marriage relation is contained in v. 24: Nothing is said of the headship of man, but he is commanded to make her the head of the household, the home, a rule followed for centuries under the Matriarchate.

On Gen 3:6: Eve taking the fruit:

Then the woman, fearless of death if she can gain wisdom, takes of the fruit; and all this time Adam standing beside her interposes no word of objection. "Her husband with her" are the words of v. 6. Had he been the representative of the divinely appointed head in married life, he assuredly would have taken upon himself the burden of the discussion with the serpent, but no, he is silent in this crisis of their fate. Having had the command from God himself he interposes no word of warning or remonstrance, but takes the fruit from the hand of his wife without a protest.

b. The Second Wave

The first wave of feminism subsided once women began to gain the vote in Western countries. This occurred first in New Zealand in 1893, followed by South Australia in 1895, the new Australian federation in 1902, Norway in 1913 and the USA in 1920 (France did not grant women the vote until 1944). Commentators claim that the 1950s represented a new “low” since women’s participation in the professions was minimal and most girls were taught to be good wives and mothers. One catalyst for a new wave was Betty Frieden’s The Feminine Mystique published in 1963. In it she examined “the problem that had no name” – the deep-seated unhappiness of the female “happy homemaker”:

The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the 20th century in the United States. Each suburban housewife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries … she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question — “Is this all?” (Betty Frieden)

The book launched a second wave of feminism that coincided with the civil rights movement in the USA, but also with the invention of the contraceptive pill. Whereas first wave feminism focused mainly on the vote, second-wave feminism broadened the debate to a wider range of issues: sexuality; family; workplace; reproduction; legal inequalities; and domestic violence. In Christianity it led to the emergence of a fully-fledged feminist theology, pioneered by scholars such as:

Mary Daly: The Church and the Second Sex (1968) and Beyond God the Father (1973)

Elizabeth Schussler-Fiorenza: In Memory of Her (1983)

Rosemary Radford Ruether: Sexism and God-talk: Toward a Feminist Theology (1993).

Mary Daly Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza Rosemary Radford Ruether

Commentators also point to a third wave of feminist thinking that emerged in the late 20th century, which moves beyond the specific issues of heterosexual, white Western women. This is also being reflected in third-wave Christian feminist writers such as Ada Maria Isasi Diaz, a Cuban-American theologian.

The method of feminist theology works from the non-negotiable premise that men and women are created equal in the eyes of God. This principle of fundamental gender equality is then applied back onto the scriptures and later Church traditions as the ultimate “litmus test” for what is true, just and divinely willed. Patriarchal mentalities residing in the texts themselves or traditional interpretations are identified and criticised – much like Elizabeth Cady Stanton did in her Women’s Bible. It also means rediscovering forgotten or overlooked elements (passages, stories, characters) that bring greater balance to the overall perspective. Not everyone in Christianity is happy with this approach and the debate continues to this day in many churches, often with feminists citing Genesis 1 and the New Testament equivalence passages on one hand; and traditionalists citing Genesis 2 and the New Testament subordination passages on the other.

In general, most Christian rituals have been gender neutral since the earliest days. For example, in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the “seven sacraments” constitute the most important ceremonies in one’s life. Six of these are equally available to women and men: baptism, confirmation, holy communion, confession of sins, anointing of the sick and marriage. However, the seventh sacrament - priestly ordination - is a storm centre of debate in terms of gender discrimination today. For many contemporary Christian feminists, it is THE litmus test for true gender equality.

Women’s Ordination

Since the ban on women presbyters during the Patristic period, the question of whether women should be allowed to undertake the role of priest, bishop or other ordained ministry effectively disappeared for centuries. As we have seen, persons like Margaret Fell successfully argued for preaching and teaching roles within their communities but these churches were usually ones that had abandoned the traditional clerical hierarchy for a common “priesthood of the people”. For example, in 1851 Antoinette Brown Blackwell was given a license to preach and act as minister in a Congregational Church in the USA.

Antoinette Brown Blackwell

The question is whether the mainstream churches (Orthodox, Catholic and some Protestant) that retained the offices of bishop and priest would reconsider the issue of ordaining women in modern times. After a century or more of debate, the current situation is that most Protestant churches allow female ordination whereas the Catholic and Orthodox Churches do not. Let us look at two cases: Anglican and Catholic.

Anglican

In 1971 three women were ordained as priests in the Anglican diocese of Hong Kong – the first in the Anglican world. Many other Anglican dioceses around the world followed but the decision to admit women to the priesthood in Australia and England took another twenty years. In 1992, in Perth, ten women were ordained to the priesthood. By 2017, 20 out of 23 Australian dioceses allowed women to be ordained as priests (the exceptions are Sydney, Murray and NW Australia). In 1994 in Bristol, the first English women were ordained as Anglican priests. Their subsequent experiences in parish life inspired the TV series “The Vicar of Dibley”.

Bristol 1994 “The Vicar of Dibley”

The next question that the Anglican Church had to face was whether women could also be ordained as bishops (the highest rank in their church). After further debate, the first female Anglican bishop, Barbara Harris, was ordained in 1989 in Massachusetts. In 2008 Kay Goldsworthy was the first woman to be ordained as an Anglican bishop in Australia; in 2018 she was ordained as Archbishop of Perth, becoming the first female archbishop (senior bishop) in the worldwide Anglican communion.

Bishop Barbara Harris (USA) Archbishop Kay Goldsworthy (Australia)

In England, as recently as 2012, the General Synod of the Church of England rejected the proposal that women be allowed to be ordained as bishops. It was passed by the House of Bishops and the House of Clergy but rejected by the House of Laity, falling just 6 votes short (see first video). However, just two years later, in 2014, the proposal was passed with a dramatic change in the attitudes of the members of the House of Laity. There was one important proviso: an “opt out” clause that allowed a particular diocese to not appoint a woman bishop if it chose (see second video).

2014 Church of England General Synod votes in favour of female bishops

Catholic

There were women deacons (the first rank of holy orders) in the Orthodox Church until the medieval period and some Orthodox churches have recently restored the practice. In 2016, Pope Francis ordered a study into women deacons in the Catholic Church, which may result in ordinations in the near future.

However, the roles of priest and bishop are still strictly reserved to men in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Growing calls from some parts of the Catholic Church in recent decades have prompted a number of responses from the Vatican. The first was the 1976 Declaration by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This Vatican department was then headed by Josef Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. The declaration stated: “The Church does not consider herself authorized to admit women to priestly ordination”. The main reasons given for this position were:

1. The Church must remain faithful to its constant tradition

2. It is a question of fidelity to Christ's will

3. The "sacramental nature" of the priesthood requires that a male performs the role

This last point refers to the idea that the priest is someone who takes the role of Jesus, especially as the one who presides at the Eucharist (the sacred meal of bread and wine that re-enacts the Last Supper). Put simply, because Jesus was male, it is argued that it is not appropriate that a woman perform this role.

However, the issue did not go away and so in 1988 Pope John Paul II released an apostolic letter entitled Mulieris Dignitatem (The Dignity of Women). In one section he addressed the question of female priests, citing the fact that women were not included among the Twelve:

In calling only men as his Apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and sovereign manner. In doing so, he exercised the same freedom with which, in all his behaviour, he emphasized the dignity and the vocation of women, without conforming to the prevailing customs and to the traditions sanctioned by the legislation of the time.

Finally, in 1994, the same pope issued a decree named Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (On Priestly Ordination) in which he stated:

Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance…

I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.

Catholic protest groups at the Vatican Pope John Paul II

Catholic theologians debate whether or not this is an “infallible” (irreversible) teaching. Certainly, the language of the pope suggests that he wanted all discussion to end. However, it has not ended and the debate continues to be one of the most important testing grounds for women’s rights in the Catholic tradition.

Videos

Video 1

Church of England rejects women bishops. Nov 2012

Watch to 4:33 only

Listen for

· the attitudes of the old and new Archbishops of Canterbury

· points made by the following persons

· Jane Patterson

· Colonel Armisted

· Mary Judkins

· Fr Houlding

· Canon Harper

· Jane Hedges

· Dianna Gwilliams

Video 2

Church of England votes for women bishops. July 2014

Time: 2 minutes

Listen for:

The idea of “mutual flourishing”

The “opt out” clause

Video 3

Father Wojciech Giertych (theological advisor to the Pope) explains the traditional Catholic position on women priests. Jan 2013

Watch all 4 mins.

Listen for his reasons for the rejection of Catholic women’s ordination.

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