Clear evidence of such patriarchy can first be seen in the bible itself. Here we see that Jesus, the Christian savior of the world, was the “son” of God, sent to save humanity from sin. Throughout history, many interpreted from the bible that sin existed because of the great “fall” of man, which of course was caused by an “evil” woman. In the Old Testament, we find that in Genesis 2-3, the creation story tells of how man was created first, then woman from his rib. She was formed as a “helpmeet” or helper to man, but was also the cause of his downfall because she tempted him to sin (MacHaffie 3). Even when God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, He said to Eve, “...thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (Genesis 3:16). This shows how one of the very first commandments ever given to men and women was that women should be subordinate to men, that men have the authority in the hierarchy of life, in the church and home.
For so long, woman has been defined until recently as a being whose duty was to obey male authority both within the home and at church. Several prominent figures in the early church, such as Paul, believed that women should basically “keep silent” (MacHaffie 17). They were not supposed to teach or have authority over men. They could not head the church and make the rules. Those were duties belonging to men of the early Christian church. However, there was evidence that women of the early church were indeed appointed to positions such as deaconesses, who were the “helpers” to the leaders in the churches, but mainly in the area of ministry to other women (MacHaffie 18). It was obvious that women did in fact face great oppression and were subordinate to men under a very patriarchal system in the early Christian church.
Sexism, the ideology dealing with one sex having more authority over the other, was also prominent throughout the history of the Christian tradition as well. This particular ideology deals more with discrimination and stereotyping more than anything else. The main stereotype given to women was that of the “homemaker.” The common belief throughout history was that women’s most important roles were mainly in the home. Their primary roles were as wives and mothers, or typically the “homemakers,” dealing with more domestic matters throughout history. Many questioned, who would “manage the household if there was no woman at home?” (MacHaffie 45). Certainly men were made stronger, and they were not meant to run the home, but deal more with outside matters, which included the church.
If a woman lost her husband and became a widow, she was entitled to the support of the church, but only if they were “sober, chaste, pious and the wives of only one husband” (MacHaffie 19). These widows were not to “discuss doctrine lest they misconstrue it” and certainly could not try to teach others about the church, for the church did not allow women to teach. This would have been against the rules that women obey the authority of men. It would have been “contrary to the example set by Jesus and the biblical injunction that women be subject to men” (MacHaffie 19). Examples like these illustrate the sexism present throughout early Christianity and how women were discriminated against because of their sex. They were put under a specific stereotype and anything that stepped outside of that could have been considered rebellious. For example, during the colonial period, Anne Hutchinson was put on trial because of the fact that she behaved “in a manner that was inappropriate for a woman” (MacHaffie 97). Hutchinson was discriminated against because she was a woman, a woman who held and taught Christian meetings in her home, which the governor told her was not “fitting for [her] sex” (MacHaffie 97).
This sexism and discrimination against women also ties in with and relates back to the whole ascetic ideology, which the denial of sexuality existed. The ascetic movement itself was brought about during the fourth century, and in Christianity, since chastity had always been “the supreme virtue for women, sexual abstinence seemed compatible with the essence of womanhood” (Torjesen 209). Once again, it is obvious here to see that men forced Christian women into subordination. Women had to dress modestly, and not try to tempt men. Of course, it was believed that all things dealing with “passion, sexuality, and body were particularly female,” hence the reason why woman was the initial cause of the fall of man (Torjesen 211).
Christianity never really changed the traditional “cultural meanings of femaleness and female sexuality” and still kept the belief that men were the ones who were rational and had self-control (Torjesen 211). Augustine of course brought about the idea that sexuality was sinful and so women were naturally “evil” because it was their erotic and seductive nature that “led both men and women away from God” (Torjesen 211). It was after this that more and more women joined the ascetic movement and remained chaste. It was assumed that all Christian women followed similar paths, either by remaining virgins and then becoming wives and mothers, or joined the monastic life and remained celibate for life. Some women even practiced celibacy in marriage, so that both they and their husbands could grow closer to God and not be led away from Him because of sexual desires. One woman who practiced this was Melania the Younger, who after grieving the deaths of her two infants “persuaded her husband to join her in a celibate life” (MacHaffie 47). In a way, many just saw this as another form of women’s subordination to men, because women were somewhat forced into thinking that their sexuality and ability to tempt men was sinful and wrong.
However, over the course of history, we can also clearly see that the three ideologies of patriarchy, sexism and asceticism that brought about the subordination of women have been strongly contested by many. In the past, many women fought the ascetic movement by continuing to get married, have children and continue having relations with their husbands. Many believed that God created sexuality for procreation, which was naturally intended for mankind, therefore the practice of asceticism was not necessary to become closer to God. The other two ideologies, patriarchy and sexism, were certainly contested more throughout history, through many people taking action, speaking out and also writing about all the oppression that was suffered because of them.
The recent feminist movement is probably the most prominent movement that has helped women in their stance against sexism and patriarchy in religion, especially Christianity. Women have come a long way in gaining a voice and more authority because of the powerful movement. Today, more and more women are being ordained ministers in several Christian denominations, making Christianity less of a patriarchal institution. Also, more Christian women are stepping up to the front lines and are teaching theology, profoundly helping to eliminate the presence of sexism within Christian education. There are multitudes of writers out there who continue to try and make more Christian women aware of the feminist movement and encourage them to fight for equality with men within their faith. One magazine, The American Baptist Woman, for example, has published articles that urge women to take an honest look at their role in church and society (MacHaffie 207). The fact that writings such as that exist out there in today’s world along with so many people willing to strive for women’s equality, truly strengthens hope for women that sexism and patriarchy can once and for all be eliminated if all women desire it enough and work together to achieve that goal.