Catholicism and Oppression of Women

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Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13). The church and its teachings instil low self-esteem and low self-worth in women; it creates false identities that are supposed to be God’s plan (Daly 3). One has to wonder why women participate in the church and follow its teachings, and how women can overcome the oppression in the church.
The first story in the bible, which is the creation of everything, is the main source of justification for the oppression in woman in the church. The passage tells the story that God created all animals, implying that He created male and female animals; however when creating humans, this was not the case. God created man in the image of God but did not create woman at the same time nor in the same way. God felt that man was alone and it is not suitable for him not to have a mate (Genesis 2:18), so God created women. God created man by taking clay from the earth and breathing life into him (Genesis 2:7), however when creating woman he took one of Adam’s ribs and formed it with flesh (Genesis 2:22). Adam then say...

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