Comparative Essay on the Roles of Women in Religions free essay sample

Christian women and muslim women submitted to their husbands in both the bible and the quran, it states that men and women are equal in the eyes of God/Allah yet they also say men were the heads of the households and women are to obey their husbands. The bible says in ephesians 6:22-24 â€Å"wives, submit to your own husbands as to the lord, for the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives should submit to their husbands in everything† Even the early day of christianity, Adam was superior to Eve because Eve was made from Adam. Christian women obeyed their husbands in the lord just as the muslim women did. With these examples Christianity and Islam were strong patriarchies. Christianity and Islam were patriarchies because in the era in which the religions emerged women were under men so the religions adapted to the cultures they were discovered in. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparative Essay on the Roles of Women in Religions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To further explain, most civilizations start out with a bunch of tribes having wars and the winners getting to be in charge of everyone. Since males are physically stronger than females, they win all the fights and therefore get to be in charge. The quran also says, â€Å"Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other and because they spend their wealth to maintain them, Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to the beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them†. Muslim women were confined to their homes only being allowed to leave with permission from their male family members. They were lso not allowed to speak in public like christian women were. Also, muslim women could not do or say anything without their spouse’s permission and if they did not have a spouse, that role goes to her father or brother. Other signs of patriarchies were acts such as â€Å"honor killing† of women by their male relatives for violating sexual taboos. Christian women were more active in the church than muslim women, they held title s like prophetess, bishop and apostle. With those titles, they were allowed, public speech by preaching, teaching, leading prayer and sometimes, performing the eucharistic meal. Christian women also played significant roles in group worship. In the bible, women roles seem limited, but due to recent discoveries of ancient texts, we discover that women were one of Jesus first followers. Though they were not granted the title as one of jesus’s twelve disciples, women were very important to Jesus. Mary Magdalene being one of the most significant women in christian history. Mary Magdalene was a friend of Jesus and an apostles of the apostles. She and her sister Mary were the first to discover Jesus’ tomb empty and also two of the women to see him ascend into heaven. Mary magdalene was said to preach the word of God to many people, all of which addressed her as an apostle. It also says in the book of luke in the Bible â€Å"There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe Asher. She did not leave the temple complex serving God day and night with fastings and prayers. and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. † These women Anna, Martha and Mary Magdalene were important in the church of God proving that women had prominent roles in the church. Christian women had bigger roles in the church compared to muslim women. The reason being, women of the muslim faith were sometimes confined to practice their religion at home because the second caliph, Umar, asked women to pray homes. Women were asked to pray in their homes because some men saw women as a â€Å"sexually charged threat† things like these were spread through the hadiths - traditions about the sayings or action of mohammed and women being seen as a sexual threat meant they were excluded from the mosque which led them to have lesser roles. Yet a few women had roles in the mosque, such as mullahs, who were female teachers of the word of Allah. No women however, were ever considered prophets or a caliphs at these times. In conclusion, the roles of women of christianity and islam were similar in the aspect that they were both patriarchies but differed when in came to the roles in the church that being because christian women had a much larger impact in the church than muslim women did.