User:Leeplu/sandbox

Article Evaluation:

While I don't think that there was any information in this article that distracted from the topic (Christian Feminism), I do think that some topics that were presented were not expanded upon with enough context/information to validate the presence of the topic in the article. Topics in this article that could be expanded on include but are not limited to; Women as Spiritually Deficient, Reproduction and Sexuality, and the Feminine or Gender-Transcendent God. Information on female biblical characters are present, but not expanded upon. Important female figures like Mary are not mentioned, even though Mary is a central figure to many sects of Christianity, and is often viewed as a source of female empowerment. The section titled, Women as Spiritually Deficient, was flagged for only using biblical sources and not using secondary sources that expand upon the bible verses that are listed. The section, Reproduction, Sexuality and Religion touches on the Christian and Feminist politics surrounding abortion, but the section does not discuss sexuality itself, such as the history of purity as it relates to the Bible. The ways in which the Bible contrasts or supports Christian Feminism could be supported. This article does uphold a neutral perspective throughout, but the statements could be supported by more secondary sources than there are currently listed. All the links to alternate sources seem to be functioning, but as mentioned earlier, more sources need to be added in order for this to be a reliable article. In general, The Christian Feminist perspective needs to be expanded upon in this article. The reader is left not knowing enough about what Christian Feminists stand for as a group. The article lacks specificity.

6 Sources to Improve the Article:

1) Hassey, Janette. “A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN FEMINISM.” Transformation, vol. 6, no. 2, 1989, pp. 1–5. JSTOR.

This article will be helpful for my research as it details the history of different sects of Christianity and their views on feminism throughout history. For example, the Quakers and the Lutherans had a tendency to be more liberal in their views of women throughout history than many other sects. This article also touches on historical Christian views of other minorities such as people of color and the LGBTQ community.

2) Harris, Harriet A. “Christian Feminism and Feminist Perspectives on Population Control.” Transformation, vol. 13, no. 2, 1996, pp. 25–27. JSTOR.

This article details the Christian Feminist perspective on birth control and abortion rights, a topic that is not broadly covered or cited in my wiki article.

3) Pinar, William F. “CHRISTIAN FEMINISM and the DESTABILIZATION of GENDER in the LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY.” Counterpoints, vol. 163, 2001, pp. 271–320. JSTOR.

This article also details the history of Christian Feminism from its early formation in the 19th century. This article is over 50 pages, and therefore, goes into great detail in the history of this movement. The wiki article currently lacks names of founders, historical landmarks of the movement, etc... All of which can be found in this article.

4) Friedman, Sandra, and Alec Irwin. “Christian Feminism, Eros, and Power in Right Relation.” CrossCurrents, vol. 40, no. 3, 1990, pp. 387–405. JSTOR.

This article details the feminist movements relation to power and the ways in which Christianity is connected to the women's movement, the LGBTQ movement, racial movements, and the movements of other minority groups. The wiki article does not currently discuss the ways in which Christianity has had an effect on these movements, and I believe it is an important piece of this article. Hopefully with the help of this piece, I will be able to gather more information on this topic.

5) PLASKOW, JUDITH. “Christian Feminism and Anti-Judaism.”CrossCurrents, vol. 28, no. 3, 1978, pp. 306–309. JSTOR.

This article covers a belief that is present in the Christian Feminist movement, which is the idea that the Jewish community is at fault for creating the patriarchy. While this belief is central to many scholars of the Christian Feminist movement, the wiki article does not delve into this topic. If this is an idea that is held by many followers of the movement, it should be covered in the article.

6) Gallagher, Sally K. “The Marginalization of Evangelical Feminism.”Sociology of Religion, vol. 65, no. 3, 2004, pp. 215–237. JSTOR.

This article speaks to the bold emergence of Christian Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, and the ways in which Christian Feminist has not found success in ridding Christianity of white/ heternormative and patriarchal ideals.

Christian Feminism

Christian feminism is a school of Christian theology which seeks to advance and understand the equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually, and in leadership from a Christian perspective. Christian feminists argue that contributions by women in that direction are necessary for a complete understanding of Christianity. Christian feminists believe that God does not discriminate on the basis of biologically-determined characteristics such as sex and race. Their major issues include the ordination of women, biblical equality in marriage, recognition of equal spiritual and moral abilities, reproductive rights, and the search for a feminine or gender-transcendent divine. Christian feminists often draw on the teachings of other religions and ideologies, biblical evidence, as well as Christian Evangelical texts throughout history which advocate for women's rights.

The term Christian egalitarianism is often preferred by those advocating gender equality and equity among Christians who do not wish to associate themselves with the feminist movement.

History

Some Christian feminists believe that the principle of egalitarianism was present in the teachings of Jesus and the early Christian movements, but this is a highly contested view by many feminist scholars who believe that Christianity itself heavily relies on gender roles. These interpretations of Christian origins have been criticized by secular feminists for "anachronistically projecting contemporary ideals back into the first century." In the Middle Ages Julian of Norwich and Hildegard of Bingen explored the idea of a divine power with both masculine and feminine aspects. Feminist works from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries addressed objections to women learning, teaching and preaching in a religious context. One such proto-feminist was Anne Hutchinson who was cast out of the Puritan colony of Massachusetts for teaching on the dignity and rights of women.

The first wave of feminism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries included an increased interest in the place of women in religion. Women who were campaigning for their rights began to question their inferiority both within the church and in other spheres justified by church teachings. Some Christian feminists of this period were Marie Maugeret, Katharine Bushnell, Catherine Booth, Frances Willard, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. During the 1960s and the 1970s many evangelical women were influenced by the civil rights movement, and began questioning the patriarchal construction of gender norms through an evangelical lens. Women began writiting and publishing articles that addressed reproductive rights as well as inequality in marriage and in the religious hierarchy. In response to these articles, groups such as the EWC or Evangelical Women's Caucus, and the ESA or Evangelicals for Societal Action were formed in order to create a social movmenet in the church towards equality, which was based out of the ideal that God created all people as equals.

Issues

Women in church leadership

Main article: Ordination of women

In both mainline and liberal branches of Protestant Christianity, women are ordained as clergy. Even some theologically conservative denominations, such as The Church of the Nazarene and Assemblies of God, ordain women as pastors. However, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.), as well as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and many churches in the American Evangelical movement prohibit women from entering clerical positions. Some Christian feminists believe that as women have greater opportunity to receive theological training, they will have greater influence on how scriptures are interpreted by those that deny women the right to become ministers.

Women as spiritually deficient

Many of the Christian ideals concerning gender stem from the Bible itself. Christian feminists have often argued that the Bible is problematic, not because of God, but because of the men who have interpreted the scripture throughout time. Some Christian Feminists made the decision to abandon direct scriptural use in their fight for equality, while others relied on verses that opposed patriarchal ideals, pointing out the inconsistencies withtin the Bible. The following passages act as examples of these inconsistencies.

• Galatians 3:28. "There is neither…male nor female for all are one in Christ Jesus."
• Deborah of the Old Testament was a prophetess and "judge of Israel"
• Genesis 2:20. The word translated "help" or "helper" is the same Hebrew word, "ēzer," which the Old Testament uses more than 17 times to describe the kind of help that God brings to His people in times of need; e.g., "Thou art my help (ēzer) and my deliverer," and "My help (ēzer) comes from the Lord." Never once in all these references is the word used to indicate subordination or servitude to another human being.
• Genesis 3:16. "To the woman he (God) said, 'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"
• 1 Timothy 2:12. "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."
• 1 Corinthians 11:7–9. "For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man."
• 1 Corinthians 14:34. "The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says."
• Colossians 3:18. "Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord."
• 1 Peter 3:1. "Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives."
• Ephesians 5:22–24. "Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands."

Reproduction, sexuality and religion

See also: Christianity and abortion

Conservative religious groups are often at philosophical odds with many feminist and liberal religious groups over abortion and the use of birth control. Scholars like sociologist Flann Campbell have argued that conservative religious denominations tend to restrict male and female sexuality by prohibiting or limiting birth control use, and condemning abortion as sinful murder. Some Christian feminists (like Teresa Forcades) contend that a woman's "right to control her pregnancy is bounded by considerations of her own well-being" and that restricted access to birth control and abortion disrespect her God-given free will.

A number of socially progressive mainline Protestant denominations as well as certain Jewish organizations and the group Catholics for a Free Choice have formed the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The RCRC often works as a liberal feminist organization and in conjunction with other American feminist groups to oppose conservative religious denominations which, from their perspective, seek to suppress the natural reproductive rights of women.

In general, many Christian Feminist scholars hope to work towards a society in which female sexuality is not condemned by the church, but acknowledged as a natural part of the human existence. An acknowledgment has been made that men in poweful religious positions have often used the scriptures to both dominate and repress women sexually, a problem which Christian Feminist believe needs to be solved immediately.

Feminine or gender-transcendent God

See also: Gender of God

Some Christian feminists believe that gender equality within the church cannot be achieved without rethinking the portrayal and understanding of God as a masculine being. The theological concept of Sophia, usually seen as replacing the Holy Spirit in the Trinity, is often used to fulfill this desire for symbols which reflect women's religious experiences. How Sophia is configured is not static, but usually filled with emotions and individual expression. For some Christian feminists, the Sophia concept is found in a search for women who reflect contemporary feminist ideals in both the Old and New Testament. Some figures used for this purpose include the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Eve, and Esther. Others see God as entirely gender-transcendent, or focus on the feminine aspects of God and Jesus. A female depiction of the Christ figure, known as Christa, recently arose in an attempt to allow for the power of the Christ figure to be applied to both the masculine and the feminine. Some Christian feminists use and promote gender-neutral or feminine language and imagery to describe God or Christ. The United Church of Christ describes its New Century Hymnal, published in 1995, as "the only hymnal released by a Christian church that honors in equal measure both male and female images of God."

The Birth of Christ