10: Gender and Theology
Post-Christian Religious thinking that abandons traditional Christian thought
theology
Reform Religious thinking that seeks to change traditional Christian thought
feminist
theology
Feminist The justification of male dominance and female subordination in theology; the exclusive
theologians’ use of male language for God; the view that men are more like God than women; the
question: view that only men can represent God as leaders in the church and society; the view
that women are created to be subordinate to men and if they reject this they are sinning
Daphne Believes that Christianity is neither true nor moral (in not being gender-inclusive), she
Hampson believes the overcoming of patriarchal religion is fundamental to human emancipation.
She contends that the Christian myth must be discarded and believed that Christianity
and feminism are incompatible
Mary Daly Taught at a Catholic University. A radical feminist who calls for a radical reordering of
society in which male supremacy is eliminated. She blames Christianity for our patriarchal
society and believes that women should move beyond it in order to liberate themselves
from oppression
Daly's views She argues that men have sought to oppress women throughout history and religion is
on the used as a tool to enforce this oppression. God is traditionally referred to with male
maleness of language. 'If God is male, then male is God'. Daly believed that the view of God as male
God and in inadequate and that the maleness of God should be removed. She believed the
female symbol of God the father spawned mechanisms for the oppression of women - the
oppression husband dominating the wife, represents God itself. She believed that the entire system
of ethics and theology is the product of males and they tend to serve the interests of the
sexist patriarchal society overtly, explicitly oppressing women in the prosses
Mary Daly 'Rapism' is a culture of rape. The mentality of rape creates a pervasive culture of
Unholy Trinity: violence that is difficult to break out from. The media, culture, religion, politics and the
Rape professions erase female power. She called the gross inequality against women
'gynocide'. She identified rape in the Bible - in Judges, for example, some scoundrels
arrive at a house demanding to abuse a guest, the host offers his daughter and
concubine as a replacement, and the scoundrels rape the concubine to death. Daly
also identifies 'armchair rapists' who metaphorically rape women by watching porn -
using it to enhance their sense of power
Mary Daly Rape is the cultural manifestation of the sexual caste system - the hierarchy that gives
Unholy Trinity: men and women unequal power. Men and women are conditioned to be
Genocide dominant/submissive. Rape objectifies all those who can be cast into the role of victims
and violence. It makes the raped person the objective victims of the rapist and takes
away their individuality. She believed rape is an act of one group against another, of
male against female. She compares the groupthink of the Nazis and the groupthink of
the Catholic church, believing the groupthink of the church is responsible for the
patriarchal culture
Mary Daly She argues that there is a connection between the mentality of rape and the
Unholy Trinity: phenomenon of war. She identifies accounts of conflicts in which rape was a product of
War war e.g. the rape of hundreds of thousands of Bengali women by West Pakistani soldiers
in 1971. She believed that war was the inevitable result of male-dominated politics. The
horrors of war are associated with manly and adventurous virtues. She believed that
language has been corrupted when killing off born humans in conflict is called 'just' and
the killing of unborn humans during an abortion is called 'unjust'. War is defended by a
'phallic mentality' She believed women need to seek liberation from this moral hypocrisy
What Daly She believed that women need to be radically deviant in the fact of patriarchal
thinks women expectations placed on women in order to be liberated. They should reject all moral
should do standards because they have been constructed by men and used by men to subjugate
women. A full-frontal assault on patriarchy requires complete demolition of the
expectations placed on women. She argued for a total revolution of the moral and
social standards of the day
'Quintessence' She uses the word in the highest sense, the spirit that permeates all nature, giving life and
vitality to the whole universe. She believed this can be damaged/blocked by violence,
pornography, poverty, etc. She argued people should turn away from the maleness of
God towards the spirit of quintessence
Post-Christian Religious thinking that abandons traditional Christian thought
theology
Reform Religious thinking that seeks to change traditional Christian thought
feminist
theology
Feminist The justification of male dominance and female subordination in theology; the exclusive
theologians’ use of male language for God; the view that men are more like God than women; the
question: view that only men can represent God as leaders in the church and society; the view
that women are created to be subordinate to men and if they reject this they are sinning
Daphne Believes that Christianity is neither true nor moral (in not being gender-inclusive), she
Hampson believes the overcoming of patriarchal religion is fundamental to human emancipation.
She contends that the Christian myth must be discarded and believed that Christianity
and feminism are incompatible
Mary Daly Taught at a Catholic University. A radical feminist who calls for a radical reordering of
society in which male supremacy is eliminated. She blames Christianity for our patriarchal
society and believes that women should move beyond it in order to liberate themselves
from oppression
Daly's views She argues that men have sought to oppress women throughout history and religion is
on the used as a tool to enforce this oppression. God is traditionally referred to with male
maleness of language. 'If God is male, then male is God'. Daly believed that the view of God as male
God and in inadequate and that the maleness of God should be removed. She believed the
female symbol of God the father spawned mechanisms for the oppression of women - the
oppression husband dominating the wife, represents God itself. She believed that the entire system
of ethics and theology is the product of males and they tend to serve the interests of the
sexist patriarchal society overtly, explicitly oppressing women in the prosses
Mary Daly 'Rapism' is a culture of rape. The mentality of rape creates a pervasive culture of
Unholy Trinity: violence that is difficult to break out from. The media, culture, religion, politics and the
Rape professions erase female power. She called the gross inequality against women
'gynocide'. She identified rape in the Bible - in Judges, for example, some scoundrels
arrive at a house demanding to abuse a guest, the host offers his daughter and
concubine as a replacement, and the scoundrels rape the concubine to death. Daly
also identifies 'armchair rapists' who metaphorically rape women by watching porn -
using it to enhance their sense of power
Mary Daly Rape is the cultural manifestation of the sexual caste system - the hierarchy that gives
Unholy Trinity: men and women unequal power. Men and women are conditioned to be
Genocide dominant/submissive. Rape objectifies all those who can be cast into the role of victims
and violence. It makes the raped person the objective victims of the rapist and takes
away their individuality. She believed rape is an act of one group against another, of
male against female. She compares the groupthink of the Nazis and the groupthink of
the Catholic church, believing the groupthink of the church is responsible for the
patriarchal culture
Mary Daly She argues that there is a connection between the mentality of rape and the
Unholy Trinity: phenomenon of war. She identifies accounts of conflicts in which rape was a product of
War war e.g. the rape of hundreds of thousands of Bengali women by West Pakistani soldiers
in 1971. She believed that war was the inevitable result of male-dominated politics. The
horrors of war are associated with manly and adventurous virtues. She believed that
language has been corrupted when killing off born humans in conflict is called 'just' and
the killing of unborn humans during an abortion is called 'unjust'. War is defended by a
'phallic mentality' She believed women need to seek liberation from this moral hypocrisy
What Daly She believed that women need to be radically deviant in the fact of patriarchal
thinks women expectations placed on women in order to be liberated. They should reject all moral
should do standards because they have been constructed by men and used by men to subjugate
women. A full-frontal assault on patriarchy requires complete demolition of the
expectations placed on women. She argued for a total revolution of the moral and
social standards of the day
'Quintessence' She uses the word in the highest sense, the spirit that permeates all nature, giving life and
vitality to the whole universe. She believed this can be damaged/blocked by violence,
pornography, poverty, etc. She argued people should turn away from the maleness of
God towards the spirit of quintessence
