Women in the Clergy

For a number of years the issue of women’s role in the church has divided the Christian community. Their ascent through the ranks of the Anglican clergy has angered the more conservative Roman Catholic sect of the church. Feminists have also condemned the church’s archaic sexist views, highlighting the fact that such policy would not be allowed in any other aspect of modern life.

When feminist theology began in the 1960s, women began to complain about the church’s male dominated language and sexist attitudes. They complained that God is always referred to as a man, and claimed this was wrong because they argued that the creator of everything must have been both male and female, and hence it is wrong to always refer to him as a he. But it has been hard for Christian feminists because sexism has been evident in church since its birth, and there are many examples of sexism in the bible. Firstly and most obviously is the creation of original sin in genesis, when Eve is responsible for humans’ removal from the Garden of Eden. In addition the book contains quotes such as ‘I permit no woman to teach or have authority over man, she is to keep silent in1Timothy 2:12’ and in 1Corinthians 14:13-35 ‘the head of every woman is man’. Feminists also argued that because women are equal to men in God’s eyes, women should be allowed to preach the word of God, and become members of the clergy. The issue split the Christian community almost completely in half. Roman Catholics staunchly opposed it, while Anglicans have allowed women to become priests causing controversy amongst their own followers.

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Roman Catholics do not believe women should be allowed to become members of the clergy for many reasons. Firstly, they support their argument with evidence from the teachings of Jesus. They think that because Jesus chose 12 men as his apostles, they are not free to break that tradition and consequently all preachers should be male. They also cite the fact that Jesus did not call any women to the priesthood. Also, when celebrating the Eucharist (during holy communion), the role of the priest is to represent Christ himself, and the imagery of this ritual is disturbed if a ...

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