Transcript Women in Western Religion Today

Women in Western
Religion Today
By Leslie Kincaid,
John Michael Reyes, Max Altshuld,
& Subhan Ayoubi
Presentation Content
• Rules of different branches of
Judaism, Christianity, & Islam
• Specific women in
western religions today
• Scriptures and how they relate
to change in each religion
Women in Judaism Today
Different branches different rules:
• Reform/Reconstructionism:
– Not uncommon to see female Rabbis or
female Cantors.
– Women can have equal roles in leading prayers
and reading Torah.
• Conservative:
– Uncommon to see a female Rabbi/Cantor,
but not unheard of.
– Men and women may be separated.
Women in Judaism Today
• Orthodox:
– Women are not allowed to be rabbis/cantors,
– Cannot read Torah, or even be
on the Bima during services.
– Women and men sit separately.
Advancement for Women
in Judaism
• Esther 1: 12 – 20 shows how women
were treated in the biblical days.
– How has this changed for each Jewish
denomination today?
– Orange on the Seder Plate
• 2 Kings 22:14 - 17
Jewish Women in Leadership
Today
• Rabbi Melanie Aron of
Congregation Shir Hadash in
Los Gatos relayed a much
more heartening story about a
lay-led Reform community in
Eastern Europe. Worshippers
had grown to the point where
they felt they needed a rabbi,
so they selected one member
of their community and sent
her to rabbinical school.
Women in Christianity Today
• Protestant
– Different branches, different rules:
– Conservative Branches
• Still have ALL male clergy
– Liberal Branches
• Women can be pastors
• Women are treated equal to men in almost
every aspect of the church
Women in Christianity Today
• Eastern Orthodox
– Do not allow women to enter the
priesthood
– Currently cannot be ordained as a
deaconess
– Cannot be priests or any type of
clergy
Women in Christianity Today
• Roman Catholic
– Today have more leadership than before the
Second Vatican Council
– Women cannot be priests
– Women can hold offices that are nearly equal to
that of a priest
– Because of the decline of priests, lay women
(religious or laity) have stepped up to lead
communities and organizations.
Women in Catholic Leadership
• Elizabeth Lilly
-Paid, Professional Minister.
-Administrator pro tem for Sacred Heart Parish,
Saratoga CA in 2002
- City-wide (“Diocesan”) commissions
- Faculty for the Institute for Leadership in
Ministry
-National speaker –
-Founded lay leadership group for Diocese of
San José in 2001
- Minister of Parish Life (2005-2006)
Some Statistics…
• U.S. federal labor statistics indicate that the number of
women who describe themselves as "clergy" increased
from 16,408 in 1983 to 43,542 in 1996. As of 1996, 1 in
every 8 clergy is female in the U.S.
•
The percentage of female graduate students at 229 North
American Christian schools of theology has risen from
10% in 1972 to 30% in 1997. 1 In some schools of
theology, over 50% of the students are women.
(http://www.religioustolerance.org/femclrg6.htm)
Advancement for Women
How Far Have They Come?
• Christianity
– Ephesians 5:21 – 32 & 6:1 – 9
– What is the Bible trying to say about the way
people should treat one another?
– Has this changed over time? How so?
Women in Islam Today
•
•
•
•
•
Fully emancipated
Enjoy all rights and privileges that men have
Are not second grade members of community
Entitled to all rights on the basis of equality
Women have played a vital role in all times, in
peace and war.
• “Today, the modern Muslim woman is like any
other women in the world, striding shoulder to
shoulder, with man” (Jacket).
Women in Islam Today
• Women, as well as men, are encouraged
to become as educated as they can
• Women becoming scholars
• Right to have an official position in a
mosque is disputed by many
– How about Women Imams?
• Surah 24:31
• Surah 4:34
Advancement for Women in
Islam
• Recent events
– On February 20, 2007 a female Pakistani
minister, Zilla Huma Usman was shot dead by
a Muslim man Mohammad Sarwar who stated,
"I have no regrets. I just obeyed Allah’s
commandment," adding that Islam did "not
allow women to hold positions of leadership.“
Leadership of Islamic Women
• Ingrid Mattson
- New president of the "Islamic Society of
North America"
- Professor of Islamic Studies and Director
of Islamic Chaplaincy at the Macdonald
Center for Islamic Studies and ChristianMuslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in
Hartford, CT.
- Dr. Mattson earned her Ph.D. in Islamic
Studies from the University of Chicago in
1999. Her research is focused on Islamic
law and society.
Questions:
• In your opinion, in the three western
religions today how have women become
the more involved?
• In which branch of Christianity are women
allowed to become priests?
• Why do people debate over women not
being Imams?
• In which more traditional practices are
women kept separate for prayer today?
• In which branch(s) of Judaism are women
allowed to be on the Bima during prayer?
• In which branch of Christianity can women
and men hold equal leadership positions?
• Can Jewish women be Rabbis or Cantors?
• What did you find interesting about women
in the three religions today?
• According to Islam are women fully
emancipated?
• Are Muslim women allotted equal rights as
men?
Other Questions??
The End