In most Christian congregations and organizations, women are not equal to men in the sense that they cannot hold certain positions of leadership or authority.
Ironically, many Pentecostal women are ordained and may serve as senior pastors. In the history of the modern Pentecostal movement going back to the early 1900s, women were evangelists and missionaries. I address sexism in Chapter 8 of Counseling and Psychotherapy with Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians. In this post I provide some examples of sexism in the church or religious organizations.
I do not specifically address the biblical texts used by religious leaders to justify sexism. My focus is on identifying the discrimination. If people choose to live according to an interpretation of scriptures, they may legally do so in some cultures where they have religious freedom. I am not including sexual harassment or sexual abuse in this discussion of sexism because that topic deserves a separate discussion.
Christian women have had to deal with sexism as have their counterparts in secular society. I use the term sexism to mean discrimination that causes or is likely to cause measurable harm. The act of discrimination is based on sex. Usually, but not always, the person who suffers the harm is a woman.
When it comes to Christianity, it's probably best to use examples. The problem with examples is they do not cover all possible ways that one group can harmfully discriminate on the basis of sex. Nevertheless, examples can help people begin to recognize discrimination. As you will see, some acts can produce more harm than others.
1. The wife of a male clergyman is expected to carry out various activities within the church without pay or without equal pay.
2. A woman is denied a leadership position such as pastor or priest because of her sex. The decisions are usually based on interpretations of scriptures including a favourite Adam and Eve analogy quoted in 1 Timothy 2: 9-15.
3. A woman is forced to wear traditional clothes such as dresses and skirts not suitable for bitter cold weather in congregations where pants are consider male clothing and thereby a violation of scriptures requiring different clothes for women and men (e.g., Deuteronomy 22:5; 1 Timothy 2:9).
4. A woman is denied equal pay because she may not speak as a guest preacher or conference speaker in cases where only men may have that role or they are paid less because they have never been given the opportunity to build a reputation as a desirable speaker.
5. A woman is denied working as a seminary or Bible college professor because only men are permitted to teach theology or Bible courses (refer to 1 Timothy 2:12).
6. Women are preferred over men for teaching positions with young children.
7. The women in a meeting are ignored compared to time given to the ideas of men.
8. Women in an organization receive more hostile comments than do people of men.
9. Women are taught to be submissive to their husbands as the authority in a household based on men as head of household text (Ephesians 5: 21-32).
10. A married woman receives instruction or "counselling" to meet the sexual needs of her husband based on scriptures even when she finds particular acts disgusting.
11. A married woman is counselled to forgive an emotionally abusive husband and remain married to him based on a belief that adultery is the only biblical basis for divorce.
12. A married woman is counselled to forgive a kind but adulterous husband and remain married if he does not want a divorce.
13. A woman who wants counselling following sexual abuse is automatically sent to a woman rather than a man because it is assumed that is what she would want. And men are sent to see male counsellors. The senders do not consider that the abuser might be of the same sex.
Benevolent Sexism
Not all sexist acts appear overtly hostile. The term benevolent sexism refers to comments and acts that seem kind but maintain a stereotyped subordination of women. This includes a protective paternalism and complementary roles presented as of equal importance.
1. Women may be assigned tasks or duties with children because men view women as more caring and nurturing than men. Individual skills, traits, and interests are ignored.
2. A woman's devotion to her family is honoured in comments about her but a similar level of devotion by a man is ignored because devotion to family is not a stereotypical thing to say about men.
3. A woman may receive a complement on her appearance. That may feel good but the downside can be a focus on a superficial characteristic that ignores her contributions based on more substantial factors.
Read more about benevolent sexism in this Scientific American article by Tannenbaum.
Some Data
In 2012, women led 11% of US congregations (CAP)
In 2014 (Pew):
more women (69%) than men (57%) were certain of their belief in God.
more women (59%) than men (47%) reported religion as "very important" in their life
more women (40%) than men (31%) attended services at least once per week
more women (64%) than men (46%) pray at least daily
more women (64%) than men (53%) report feeling spiritual peace and wellbeing at least once per week
more women (76%) than men (67%) believe in heaven
slightly more women (59%) than men (56%) believe in hell
A closing quote from Leah Payne:
“…in order to lead from a sense of calling, you need followers. So you need people who are going to recognize God’s call on your life to be a leader. And so what happens in the case of women as ministry leaders, for example, they may feel a sense of calling but unfortunately the community doesn’t have the imagination to recognize that calling. (Lee, 2019)
References
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory:
Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 70(3), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037
/0022-3514.70.3.491 [For more on sexism and the differences between hostile and benevolent types.]
Kenyon, H. N. (2019). Ethics in the age of the spirit: Race, women,
war and the Assemblies of God. Eugene, OR: Pickwick. [Kenyon includes a section on the ethical treatment of women in an American Pentecostal fellowship.]
Lee, M. (2019, August 15). The limits of Pentecostal women leaders. When
the tradition’s unique understanding of calling meets societal norms of
leadership. Christianity Today Podcasts. https://www.christianitytoday.
com/ct/2019/august-web-only/pentecostal-women-leaders-calling-charistmatics.html
Sutton, G. W. (2021). Counseling and psychotherapy
with Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians: Culture & Research |
Assessment & Practice. Springfield, MO: Sunflower. ISBN-13 : 979-8681036524 AMAZON [See chapter 8 for sexism and genderism with implications for counselling and psychotherapy.]
Sutton, G. W. (2016). A house
divided: Sexuality, morality, and Christian cultures. Eugene, OR: Pickwick. [This book examines sexism and other related topics from the perspective of morality and interpretations of scripture.
Williams, C. (2018, September 10). For black women at church, it’s more
than the Aretha eulogy. Denver Post.
https://www.denverpost.com/ 2018/09/10/black-women-church-sexism/
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