Women in an Abrahamic Faith and Where Their Position Is Why Churches Fear Gay Marriage my linking in ij hasn't been exactly solid so the actual site address is: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/11/25/proposition_8_religion/index.html in case this link is bad. EDIT: I first came across this article through wildhunt, which has a subscription that moondancer provides in the comments below. In the future I'll add these to the original post, but as I'm not very good with editing posts, I'll through the mention up this time, with the understanding from now on I'll link.
It's a neat article that interviews Robert Rodriquez and asks in his opinion why the church is so anti-gay marriage. Rodriquez interestingly enough relates the church's fears of gays as a displacement for their real fears regarding the rising power and demand for power from women and the "women's movement"
Personally, I'm somewhat torn in what the article says. I agree that the gay rights movement and the feminist movement are connected, for me personally, they are closely connected. I agree that feminism is still alive and pushing buttons. I guess that I just felt like Rodriquez's language was a bit insulting and that he made women out to be farther back from equality that we are. I suppose in the later though, the combination of religious an racial influence might alter my view as opposed to Rodriquez.
Something else that strikes me as odd is that Rodriquez sticks with the Roman Catholic church. Their power structure is built in such a way that he and others won't make a difference in it.
I suppose what struck me personally the most was the talk of male power structure in Abrahamic faith. The reason I had problems with the church was that I could never be a priest or a bishop or pope because of my gender. Not only could I never rise in ranks but nuns can't even perform the same basic duties as priests. Were the gender roles equal in Catholism, it would have been years later, if ever, that I considered questioning the church. Certainly, once I started questioning and reading, there were a lot of flaws and reasons to break away, but honestly the church's stance in feminism, which later connected me to abortion and gay rights, is the factor that turned me away from that faith system.
Because of my own experience and the general numbers in agreement with my choice to walk out, I find i odd that Rodriquez doesn't mention this. Making an issue out of gays instead of women's demands for power does two good things for the church. First if gays leave because of attacks, the church cares less as their place in a traditional family structure doesn't exist, where if women left in large enough numbers, the church would lose any following. Secondly, focusing on a "spiritual war" of any kind forces women and other people dissatified with aspects of the church to put those thoughts on the back burnr while they handle the "problem" at hand.
Those are just some of my thoughts on he article, what about you guys?
PS, I'm sorry that this place has been so inactive, I'm going to try to revive it, but I would love help. Last I checked posting is free and open and any new article, book/movie review, or news opinion piece that relates back to your faith, even vaguely or on a personal level is welcome here. I figure actually limiting posting is something we do after we have too many, not before.