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Shirley
Carmen Shirley

Professor Kate Kimball

ENC 1135

Monday, October 3, 2022

The way Feminists view women in contrast to the views of women in Christian faith is a

topic society fails to acknowledge. Because of this, both social groups have developed opinions

and perspectives of the opposing side that are often based in both fact and misinterpretation.

Over the years, Feminists and Christians have not only held vastly different views of women and

their role in society, but have also been publicly non-supporting of the other’s views. However,

research shows that they’ve gotten these opposing views of each other more wrong than right.

Since the 1870s, the word “Feminism” and its values has become a widely accepted idea

amongst women and some men. This idea grew significantly in the 1970s and 1980s, drawing

attention to the role of genders. In an article written about Feminism core values, “The Core

Ideas and Beliefs of Feminism,” the author states that the aim of Feminism is to reach equality

for all women since men’s rights have already been cemented into our society (Lewis). The goal

of this movement is to protect the political, social and economic rights for women as they fight

for equality. Feminism is not made to have negative effects on the male role in society today but

it also does not benefit men. Now, aside from the beliefs of Feminism, Feminists tend to have a

set view on women in general. In a survey I conducted amongst two different age groups, 18-20

years old and 25-60 or older, when asked what words or phrases come to mind when they think

of Feminism, the most common responses were “powerful,” “strength” and “empowerment”

(Women in Christianity and Feminism Survey, 2022)From these words, it is clear that feminists

see women as preeminent individuals who are capable of taking care of themselves as well as
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leading others. Women are seen as individuals who have the strength and power to do anything a

man can do.

On the other hand, within Christianity, there are two main views on women: The

Traditional view and the Egalitarian view. Defined by an academic journal of CBE International,

the Traditional view entails that a women’s role in relation to the Church, home and society is to

submit to her husband and be almost fully dependent on him (Gasque). Although still being able

to have her own private life and some things that she’s in control of, this view restricts women

from practicing certain aspects in the church and ultimately declares women to be lessor than

men. It is arguable to say that this view is set in place to protect women, however, being

protected does not mean that women need dedicate their lives and everything they do to their

husbands. In some places around the world, this view is taken immensely seriously. For example,

in Pakistan, women were expected to “sit either in the back or in a separate place” and while on

their menstruation cycle, they were not able to participate in worship services because they were

looked at as “impure” (Ali F, Ahmad H, Salahuddin A). Despite the fact that this is an extreme

case of following the Traditional view, this example shows how damaging this view can be on

women. Not only can this be detrimental to the political and social side of women, but it can also

have highly negative effects on the mental health of these women. Which in turn, has a

possibility of leading to extreme cases of anxiety and depression. Thankfully, in today’s society,

this view is not widely accepted.

Alternatively, the Egalitarian view is quite the opposite. This view “argues that there is

no scriptural reason for women not to share in leadership in the church, or to participate in a

marriage relationship that is based on a principle of mutual submission and interdependent love.”

(Gasque). In this view, women are seen equal to men. They both have responsibility over each
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other and share responsibilities both in the home and the church. Instead of the women being

fully dependent on her husband, both the women and the husband are called to be dependent on

one another. As this view becomes increasingly accepted among Christians, more and more

women are given leadership roles in the church. In an interview that I conducted with Derrick

Shirley, a pastor of 27 years, when asked if women should lead at all levels within the church

and the home, He said that it is “biblically supported that women can lead at all levels in the

church” (Shirley). Although there are distinctions between male and female leadership, these

differences do not mean that a man is greater than a woman or a woman is greater than a man.

Distinctions simply mean there are God given similarities and differences between men and

women within marriage, the home and a church body that God created.

In modern society, especially with today’s generation, it is common for a good number of

Feminists to disagree with the Christian view of women, but there is evidence to demonstrate

why this view is often times wrong. In the same survey that was mentioned above, this time only

looking at the results from the 18-20-year-olds, when asked, “How do you think Christianity

portrays women?”, the most frequent answers were “lesser than men,” “submissive to men,” and

“weak.” That same survey also found that when looking at Christianity, 53.1% of the students

who participated, believe that women are not equal to men (Women in Christianity and

Feminism Survey, 2022). The biggest reason why Feminist tend to disagree with Christian views

is because of miscommunication and misinterpretation. Most of the time, verses from the Bible

are used to support the idea that women are lessor than men.

The reason that this does not work is because the verse is taken out of context.

Individuals will pick a Bible verse that sounds belittling to women and will only use that verse to

create an opinion on the Christian view instead of reading the full context of that verse and
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understand what it is really trying to say. From the same interview that was mentioned earlier,

Shirley said that the most common Bible verse that is taken out of context is Ephesians 5:22-23,

which reads- “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head

of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” Shirley

then goes on to provide another verse that appears right after this one, Ephesians 5:28 and 33, “In

the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies… However, let each one of

you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Derrick also

said, “What most people don’t read is the prior verse of scripture, Ephesians 5:21, that reads –

‘…and further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,’” (Shirley) Reading the

scripture in full context completely throws away the idea that women are “lessor than men.” The

idea here is both the women and her husband are to come together as one in Christ. They are

both called to be loyal and care for one another as God would care for us. Women are equal to

men in creation and as heirs to God’s promises.

In addition, there is a lot of scripture to prove that women are strong and powerful,

instead of weak. In an article that is titled, “Women in the Bible: What can they teach us about

gender equality?”, the author, Christian Bosterud, gives multiple different examples of how

women are strong and dependable. One of those examples is about a woman named Esther who

was able to handle conflict and the political games of power. She was willing put herself in

danger to save the people around her (Bosterud). Many of these women that were talked about

show leadership skills and have the deep courage to lead in life. Characteristics such as strong

leaders, compassionate, intelligent, and trustworthy are all shown through women throughout the

bible.
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The same thing goes for the other side. Christians tend to not support the views and

beliefs of Feminism because they believe it goes against what they stand for. In an article that

focuses on Feminism in Reformed Christian online media, the author says that in the Reformed

Christian media, Feminism is deemed as aligning with ideas and beliefs that contradict God’s

word (Hobbs 15). This is where it become touchy. If we are talking on the topics of abortion and

same-sex marriage, then yes, Feminism tends to contradict with what Christians believe.

However, that doesn’t mean that Christians have to throw away the whole idea of Feminism,

because there is more to it than just those two topics. That same article states, “several writers

point out that feminists are sometimes right, identifying such issues as standing with the

disempowered, caring for the environment, opposing patriarchy, and sexual harassment,” (Hobbs

13). The main goal of Feminism is to make society a better place for women. That includes fair

opportunities, same pay and overall focusing on the protection of women. Christians don’t have

to support every belief of Feminism, but it is unfair for Christians to judge a movement based on

one belief, the same way it is unfair for Feminists to judge Christianity based on one Bible verse.

Again, Feminists and Christians hold vastly different views of women and their role in

society, and still continue to publicly be non-supporting of the other’s views. The main reason

for this is misinterpretation and failing to acknowledge all parts of each opinion on women. The

only way we can get better at understanding each side is taking the time to learn every part of the

belief instead of picking and choosing what we want to hear or comprehend. If both groups

understand that they both want what’s best for women, they could work together and make the

world a better place for women, instead of making the divide between the two even larger than it

already is.
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Works Cited

Ali F, Ahmad H, Salahuddin A. Christian Feminist Theology in Pakistan. Feminist Theology.

2022;31(1):9-19. doi:10.1177/09667350221112871

Bøsterud, Christin E. "Women in the Bible: What can they teach us about gender equality?" In

die Skriflig, vol. 55, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2021, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A674587912/AONE?u=tall85761&sid=bookmark-

AONE&xid=31c84362. Accessed 19 Sept. 2022.

Gasque, Ward W. “The Role of Women in the Church, in Society and in the Home.” CBE

International, 1988, https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/priscilla-papers-

academic-journal/role-women-church-society-and-home

Hobbs, Valerie. “Characterizations of Feminism in Reformed Christian Online Media.” Journal

of Media and Religion 14.4 (2015): 211–229. Web.

Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Feminism: Ideas, Beliefs, and Movements.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 31

Aug. 2021, https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-feminism-3528958.

Shirley, Carmen. “Women in Christianity and Feminism Survey”. Questionnaire Ages 18-20, 19

Sept. 2022.

Shirley, Carmen. “Women in Christianity and Feminism Survey”. Questionnaire Ages 25-60 and

older, 19 Sept. 2022.

Shirley, Derrick. “Women in Christianity with Pastor Interview”. 16 Sept. 2022