Religion deals with spiritual matters, but influences some social attitudes and behaviour

Major religions are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. These have an impact on societies so they are dominant.

They offer moral values and norms. People are exposed to these values even if they don’t worship.

Rituals and ceremonies have traditionally been seen as a force of social unity.

Marriages, funerals and baptisms unify people and remind them of their social values.

They also use moral code (ten commandments) to guide behaviour.

Women have always been the biggest ‘consumers’ of religion, on the whole they have been portrayed badly, despised and oppressed by religions themselves.

In most religions, to be born a woman is viewed as a punishment, either for misdeeds in a previous life or for the sins of the first women, ‘The Original Evil Temptress’.

The only recourse is to become a well-behaved, submissive wife and a mother in order to be reborn.

(Puttick-1997)

The Christian religion is a resolutely male affair in its symbolism as well as its hierarchy.

While Mary, the mother of Jesus, may sometimes be treated as if she had divine qualities, God is the father, a male figure, and Jesus took the human shape of a man.

Woman is portrayed as created from a rib taken from a man.

Giddens 1997

Islam

Spiritual equality, responsibility and accountability for both men and women is a well developed theme in the Quran.

Spiritual equality between men and women in the sight of God is not limited to purely spiritual, religious issues, but is the basis for equality in all temporal aspects of human endeavour.