Why Is God Male?
2 The three main monotheistic religions all centre on a single male deity. 2God is seen and described as male in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. ( 3In Christianity, this is further compounded by the addition of Jesus as the son of God.)
4The official position is that God is genderless and that the use of all-male terminology in the various holy books is just a matter of linguistic convenience.
5Whilst this is a very simple and convenient explanation, it doesn t fully address the problem. 6Those who follow these religions are consistently conditioned to believe that their supreme deity is male whenever the words from their holy books are quoted, as well as in visual representations, which reinforces the notion that males are superior to females. 7Perhaps this is the entire point.
Women in Religious Authority
8The idea that God can only be represented by men seems to be an inevitable result of this gender bias. 90nly in very recent times have women been permitted to hold the role of priests and other positions of authority within many mainstream faiths, and even when allowed, usually limited to a few progressive sects or denominations. 1OThe Catholic Church maintains its ban on ordaining women as priests, and there are similar restrictions in Islam and 0rthodox Judaism.
11There are some specific pieces of scripture that are used to justify such treatment:
12For Christians, the main Bible passage that excludes women from preaching can be found in 1 Corinthians, which states:
“Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission as the Law says. If they want to enquire about something, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. (1 Corinthians 14:34 – 35)
13Though there have been many attempts to water this passage down in a less sexist fashion, it remains a clear-cut statement about the role of women in the Christian church.
14The Quran makes no specific mention of women leading prayers at all, but there are some items in the hadith that address the issue of female imams:
“A woman may not lead a man in prayer, nor may a Bedouin lead a believer of the Muhajirun or a corrupt person lead a committed Muslim in prayer. (Ibn Majah 1134)
15It is reasonably straightforward, though it offers the loophole about it being acceptable for a woman to lead a women-only congregation. 16There are other hadiths that also lean towards the banning of women from leading prayer, but they are ambiguous and subject to debate on translation. 170verall, it is not generally accepted that a woman can hold a position of authority within Islam, though some smaller sects do allow them to lead prayers in all-women groups.
18In Judaism, women are only banned from becoming rabbis within groups of Orthodox Jews, who are strict in interpreting one line of non-Talmudic Jewish law. 19In the Shulchan Aruch book of Jewish law, the Choshen Mishpat 7:4 states very simply:
“A woman is invalid to serve as a judge.
20Though it does not actually refer to rabbis or other religious positions specifically, the Orthodox have decided that it applies because rabbis are often in situations where they must act as informal judges in matters of Jewish law.
Polytheistic Viewpoint
21Religions that are polytheistic do not have the same degree of gender bias since they include entire pantheons of both male and female deities. 22But even in such instances, the male gods often have a role of authority over the females.
23In many ancient religions, there was a male god who was seen at the leader of the other deities. 24Zeus was in charge of the ancient Greek pantheon (as was his alter-ego Jupiter for the Romans), and the Norse gods all looked to Odin for authority. 2SThough Isis was a beloved goddess in ancient Egypt, the pantheon was led by a male – Osiris (or later Ra).
26Speaking of ancient religions, they were almost all polytheistic, made up of both male and female figures. 27The notion of having just one god is a relatively new idea. 28The historical viewpoint of polytheism vs. monotheism will be addressed in a later chapter.
29The Chinese and African traditional religions are no different in this respect. 30Despite individual traditions being very distinct from one another, the dominant theme still persists, with male gods generally considered superior to the female ones. 31Usually a reflection of the societies views on the role of men.
Better Gender Balance for Hindus
32One exception to the male-dominated class of current mainstream religions is Hinduism. 33For the Hindu, the most encompassing form of God is known as the universal and genderless force of Brahman. 34But that force is manifested through many other gods and goddesses. 3SThough the deity constructs in Hinduism are extremely complex, there is a triad of gods that are considered ‘great gods . 36They are Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. 37You could consider this another aspect of male dominance, but each of these gods has a female consort who is of equal importance. 38These goddesses are Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati (being associated with Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma in that order).
39All of the female deity elements are known together as Shakti, and are considered to be the central creative force in the universe. 40This is a good balance with the spirit of Brahman.
Genderless Isn’t a More Reasonable Viewpoint
41If you are able to look past the male-oriented presentation of the monotheistic God and truly accept the underlying dogma that God has no gender, that doesn t necessarily clear up the entire issue.
42A non-gendered God may seem perfectly normal and fine for those who follow these paths, but even a slight moment of analysis should make one wonder. 43If God is the creator of everything, and that is supposedly the case, then why are all biological beings reproduced by the joining of two sexes, with the female being the one to create new life?
44With only a few exceptions, all life on Earth is born from the female after mating with the male. 45This natural reality seems to strongly contradict the idea of a single genderless creator being. 46A more reasonable position would be that our deities follow a similar form to us (union of both male and female), with the female as the ultimate creator of life. 47Many older religions adopt this natural world-view, just not the modern monotheistic ones.
48There is one mysterious Bible quote that seems to hint at this:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. (Genesis 1:26)
49A single deity would hardly refer to himself as us and our , so why such odd phrasing here? 50Perhaps God had a partner (or partners) in creation after all (refer to the Gospel of Judas).
The Divine Female
51Now, to be fair, there are several elements of divine femininity in some of the mainstream religions, though they all come secondary to God himself.
52In Christianity, the role of Mary has added a female element, though her status within the religion is somewhat ambiguous. 53There were actually two Marys who have continued to be viewed as divine figures in Christianity: Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene, whom some consider one of Jesus s followers. 54Each has her own role within modern religious views.
55Mary who was the mother of Jesus is held in very high regard, often referred to as the Virgin Mary or the Madonna. 56For those who consider Jesus to be God that also makes Mary the mother of God hi m sel f. 57She holds a unique role within various branches of the Catholic Church, but is not worshipped in the same sense within Protestant denominations.
58If you re not familiar with Mary, there is more to her story than just being the mother of Jesus. 59She conceived him as a virgin, and was herself conceived without original sin. 60This means she was born with a unique level of grace, not that her mother was a virgin as many people believe. 61Beyond that, she was also taken bodily to heaven after her death (the Assumption of Mary).
62Praying to Mary is prominent amongst Catholics (especially women), who ask her to intercede on their behalf with God. 63Though she is considered to have remarkable power in granting prayer, it is ultimately God who does the work. 64She is only a go-between. 65Though people pray to her, she is not considered to be a goddess in any sense and is still definitely below God in the religious hierarchy of the Catholics. 66So even though she has her own prayers, shrines, and feast days, Mary is still not a true deity figure.
67And next we have Mary Magdalene. 68While the first Mary was important because of Jesus s birth, Mary Magdalene played an important role during his later life. 69She was with Jesus during the crucifixion, his burial and resurrection. 70Mary was also listed many times as a favoured disciple and mentioned by name many more times than any other woman in Jesus s life. 71There is additional mystery surrounding Mary which will be covered more appropriately in the chapter on the Hidden History of Christianity.
72Most people have a general impression that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, although it is not a fact presented in the Bible. 73It was first suggested by Pope Gregory in 591 CE because Luke refers to someone named Mary as a sinful woman . 74With such flimsy reasoning, it seems as if this determination was more an effort to demean the position of women in Jesus s life than to create an accurate picture of her. 75In 1969, Pope Paul VI declared that the sinful woman spoken of by Luke was another woman entirely, Mary of Bethany. 76Even though Mary Magdalene has been cleared, the idea of her prostitution past still lingers today.
77In the Apocrypha, there is a Gospel of Mary which is believed to have been written about Mary Magdalene. 78The text is fragmentary, but current interpretations have Mary recalling certain teachings from Jesus that the other disciplines had not been privy to. 79This continues to highlight her importance in his life.
80Like Jesus s mother, this Mary has also been given feast days but is not prayed to in the same manner. 81Some Anglican denominations have elevated her to a higher position and pray to her for intercession just like the Virgin Mother, but it is not a widespread practice.
82So far, this discussion has centred on Christianity, mainly because of the unique roles held by these two women. 83There are no comparable female characters in other mainstream religions, though Mary (as the mother of Jesus) is included in the Quran since the events of Jesus s birth are part of that holy book. 84She is praised in the Quran and usually named Maryam. 85Still, she holds a very minor role in Islam.
86Wicca and other neo-Pagan religions have embraced a more natural viewpoint about the main creator deity being female. 87Though the pantheons of other cultures may have been adopted by modern Pagans in their worship, the over-arching idea that the ultimate deity is a Mother Goddess is common. 88She has the consort of the Horned God, which embodies the male half of the universal energy.
89Interestingly, this is also the case with Mazuists, who worship the goddess Mazu (literally Mother Ancestor), goddess of the sea and protector of fishermen. 90Born as Lin Moniang in Fujian around 960 CE, she was deified following death. 91She is widely worshipped in the south-eastern coastal areas of China, as well as Taiwan and Vietnam, all of which have strong maritime traditions.
Means of Subjugation
92As we ve seen, the need for a single male God seems to be a relatively unique stance within monotheistic religions, even though it goes counter to many other natural or historical facts. 93Has it developed as a means of men keeping power over women? 941t certainly appears so. 95There is no other logical explanation for this contention.