by Naomi Foster

Feminist theology is a theological movement primarily within Christianity and Judaism that is intended to reexamine scriptural teachings on women and women’s roles from a woman’s perspective. Feminist theology attempts to counter arguments or practices that place women in inferior spiritual, moral, or social positions. It not only speaks about and listens to the voices of the unheard, but also challenges “the whole social symbolic order that it observes from this liminal vantage point, questioning the order, rules, terms, and practices of the center” (Johnson 22). Women of both religions are isolated as the system of religion itself affirms the patriarchy through androcentrism and the portrayal of women. Significantly, even as it presents a challenge, contemporary Jewish and Christian feminist ideals also affirm traditional views. Feminists and theologians in both traditions are presenting age-old ideas, which in turn highlights the oppressive relationship between men and women as it stands to reflect the strain between women and God.

In her work, She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, Elizabeth Johnson discusses feminist theology as a concept and later delves into specifics about women’s experiences with Christianity. She provides an analysis of sexism, explaining the ins and outs and its persistence in every vein of life including the Christian faith. This idea that “persons are superior or inferior to one another on the basis of their sex” makes for a very unequal society(Johnson 23). More often than not it is the “persons of the male sex [that] are inherently superior to persons of the female sex by nature…and it has acted in discriminatory

ways to enforce this order” (Johnson 23). Johnson goes on to compare racism to sexism in that both “isms” prioritize bodily characteristics to count for the whole essence of the human being. In other words, the person’s entire worth is dependent on physical characteristics that they cannot alter. Sexism does not simply live within individuals but makes itself known through very important social structures and institutions. This is what’s known as the patriarchy, a form of social organization in which power is always in the hand of the dominant man, with others ranking lower and lower (women happen to be at the very bottom of patriarchal structures). As it relates to faith, religion maintains patriarchal ideals, as well. Johnson claims that religious patriarchy is one of the strongest forms of the patriarchal structure, as it understands itself to be divinely established. There is this idea that men are morally superior, therefore their rule is “delegated by god” and “exercised by divine mandate” (Johnson 23). The Christian faith has this idea that the strongest most powerful men ought to lead while the rest of society follows, no matter what. Unjust as it may be a good Christian does not question the matter as it was ordained by God himself. Johnson states that “Women, children, and men who do not fit the standard are not considered human but secondarily so, in a way derivative from and dependent upon normative man” (Johnson 24). This androcentric worldview promotes the idea that men are normal, or the standard, thus alienating the female sex and categorizing her as other.

In her discussion of androcentrism in Christianity, Johnson briefly mentions Aquinas and how his views linger in the rest of the Catholic Christian community. Aquinas believed that “men, who are the pinnacle of creation, would produce their perfection and create sons”. Johnson does not hesitate to mention that on behalf of the time they generate daughters who fall short of the game of perfection. His idea in Christianity that man was the pinnacle of perfection is where androcentrism jumps out. When observing the actual story of creation it becomes more apparent

what Christians think of women. After God had created Adam and all other things in the world, he used the rib of the man to create the woman. She is a mere extension of him. “Woman is created for a very specific purpose namely reproduction, which is the only thing man cannot do better without her help” (Johnson 24). In the scriptures, the woman seems to ruin everything. When the woman, Eve, “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked” (Genesis 3:6-7). The woman is portrayed as a temptress of sorts. Her purpose was to serve Adam and instead, she betrayed him and God by following the words of the serpent. In his anger, God said to the woman, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16). This idea of men ruling over women in an unjust way is nothing new. The misogynist and androcentric world we know today is simply a punishment from God. From the very first story, women were perceived as evil and not worthy of trust.

In the story of Job, a woman is presented as a temptress yet again. After losing his servants, cattle, and health, Job refused to curse God. Instead, he prayed and rejoiced in the lord’s name. In the midst of his praise, his wife says to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:9-10). Paying close attention to the language used, the woman is described as foolish. She is less than. There is something that Job knows that she does not and for that reason she is inferior and a bad influence as she is encouraging a man to sin, much like Eve. Stories like this only affirm traditional views of women held by men like Aquinas. He claimed that a

woman’s soul is “likewise deficient, her mind weak in reasoning, and her will fragile in choosing good. She needs to be governed by those wiser than herself…” (Johnson 24-25). From this Johnson concludes, “whether consciously intended or unintended, bias against the humanity of women is not superficial but is intrinsic to inherited religious structures and paradigms that are firmly placed. In other words, tradition holds true. These are not simply microaggressions against women, these are deep-seated beliefs that God cursed women to be inferior and therefore they are meant to submit and serve.

Beyond sexism, Johnson discusses the erasure of women from Christianity as a whole. Certainly, sexism contributes to women not feeling included because of harmful stereotypes and narratives imposed on them, but it goes deeper than that. Johnson states, “women in the Catholic community are excluded from full participation in the Sacramento system, from ecclesial centers of significant decision making…and from official public leadership roles, whether in governance or the liturgical assembly. They are called to honor male savior sent by a male God, whose legitimate representatives can only be male, all of which places their persons precisely as a female in a peripheral role” (Johnson 26). How is a woman expected to be one with Christian Faith is she constantly pushed to the sidelines? Women are not allowed to be active members of the community, just by tradition. Traditionally, men have been in authoritative positions, while women remain subservient. With God being portrayed as male, it creates more distance between women and their faith because that’s just one more man to be subservient to. God is yet another man who views them as inferior beings. In fact, this is the same man who cursed them during childbirth and cursed them to live under the rule of man, so once again this distance on the woman’s behalf is justified.

In Melissa Raphael’s “The Female Face of God in Auschwitz: A Jewish feminist theology of the Holocaust”, the author explores his idea of the distance from the perceived male god. Raphael begins by discussing the potential science of God during the Holocaust, whether or not the male God was actually present or if was instead the God-She or the Shenikah. Raphael clings to this idea of a feminine God saying that while the Jewish people were crying out in the pits of Auschwitz, the Shenikah never left their side (Raphael 52). The masculine God may have been absent but the feminine side of God was ever-present. Because femininity is seen as a flaw in the Jewish community, the feminine side of God was overlooked altogether, thus an absent god. Additionally, Raphael argues that the “absence” of God may have different effects on men and women. Women were used to coping “without a male presence and were sometimes familiar with male violence. The assumption of masculinity of God had further acclimatized them to experiencing him at one remove” (Raphael 53). This androcentric view of God caused women to subconsciously and consult reject God. He was something to fear. This affirms traditional views in the sense that this Old Testament God, known for dealing out punishments and using brute force was understandably not a safe haven for women.

Raphael takes it a step further claiming, “some women’s sense of exclusion from the immediate presence of God was already affected by their exemption turned exclusion from the study of the Torah” (Raphael 53). Orthodox women of the Holocaust period would not have enjoyed the same sort of proximity and intimacy with male God, simply on the basis that he was male. It’s not so much a gendered thing, but the implications and notions associated with the female and male sex that create such a distance between the two.

By calling attention to misogyny and mistreatment within Christianity and Judaism, feminist theologians call for change. By bringing attention to the issues, Raphael and Johnson force us to not only consider the plight of religious women but see past the veil placed upon them. We begin to question if a woman is truly the temptress and deceiver she is made out to be. Highlighting that there is a distance between women and God is the first step in mending the broken relationship between women and God. While feminist theologians use tradition to establish principles, this acknowledgment of tradition also inspires change within the community and opens up a new path for women of each respected faith.