Feminism is the movement that initially started purely in relation to suffrage: giving women the right to vote. At that time, both men and women felt that women had a specific place in society, being the home maker, but women felt that this role meant they should be allowed a degree of influence on policy and politics that affected them. From this movement developed feminism as we know it today: the struggle to have complete equality between men and women.

In religions, particularly, this struggle can still be very much ongoing, despite the United Nations passing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Feminism and Catholicism

In the Catholic Church, women still play a lesser role than men. They are also not allowed to vote for the Pope, which is done by Cardinals who are all men. Women can also not be ordained to the highest positions in the Church, although some great progress is being made in this field. Feminism and religion in relation to Catholicism focuses on the claims of moral deficiency of women as written in the Bible (it was Eve who was tempted by the snake…).

Feminism and Judaism

In particular in the Orthodox Jewish church, some very strong restrictions are placed on women. For example, a man is not allowed to shake a woman’s hand so as not to arouse any potential sexual feelings. Nor is a woman allowed to have contact with any man (including her husband) when she is menstruating.

Feminism and Islam

Many restrictions are placed on women in Islam due to interpretation of the Koran. These restrictions are often in relation to dress code, education, marriage and divorce, custody and suffrage. In particular sharia laws are very women unfriendly.

Dianic Wicca or Wiccan Feminism

Dianic Wiccans are a female and goddess centered sect who feel that witchcraft is the right of every woman.

Secular or Atheist Feminism

If pressed, leaders of almost every religion will claim that women and men have different roles in society according to their religion, but that these roles do not mean one is worth less than the other. In practice though, we can see that women are often left in situations where they are dominated by and subservient to men. Atheist feminism criticizes religions for being male dominated, for having oppressive rules against women, and for their texts being misogynistic.

It is often hard to find a way to help feminism and religion go hand in hand. Religions often are long standing institutions that have evolved to be what they are now. When religious women talk about feminism and religion, they often do not strive for pure equality between men and women; they will agree that each has their own role to play. However, they do feel that women and men should have the same rights to education and life, and that women should be able to have positions of authority within their religious organization.

Feminism and religion still has a long way to go, however, particularly in certain religions that are more oppressive than others and where women still lose their lives for standing up for their beliefs of equality.