Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr

Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr
TRS 2243: Women and Religion Final Paper Assignment Paper Topic: For this paper, choose ONE of the following questions and write a thoughtful, 5-7 page analysis: How would you describe the current situation of women in religion? When looking at the situation of women in religion, what has or is changing? and What still needs to change? What might the situation of women in religion suggest about the situation of women in the world at large? Instructions: This paper invites you to do more than report on the course topics – it requires that you think critically about the subject matter and ask thoughtful questions. Instead of simply lifting up ONLY the positive or ONLY the negative, ask difficult questions about contributions and limitations. [The weekly journals and syntheses have been preparation for this assignment.] This is not a research paper, so only use the sources from the course, including those used for synthesis assignments. Guidelines and Tips: Think of yourself as an investigator – who is trying to learn as much as possible about women and their religion and then helping the audience/reader (not the professor) to understand this topic. Epistemological Humility – epistemology is the study of knowing – epistemological humility encourages not overstating what one knows or going beyond what can adequately be said about a subject given limited knowledge. This course has only allowed an introductory knowledge – so beware of how your own worldview, your own cultural context limits your knowledge. SUPPORT any claim or observation that you make using the assigned texts, videos, readings for the course. One of the purposes of the journal assignment is to help develop skills for larger writing assignments like this – so analyze texts and ideas – much as has happened in the journals. This is NOT an opinion paper, so please refrain from agreeing or disagreeing or liking or disliking. Instead, offer ANALYSIS. In other words, say what you think and have learned, and support these claims. Requirements: The paper must be a minimum of 5 FULL pages and no more than 7 pages (the title page and the bibliography do not count in this page requirement). Start page numbering on the first page of text – NOT on the title page. Please use 1” margins, Times New Roman, and do NOT double-space between paragraphs. On a cover page please put name, title, and your thesis statement. Note that a thesis statement is not: an “in this paper I will” statement. I strongly encourage reviewing the writing resources provided in Blackboard. Format and organize the paper as any research paper should be formatted – i.e. number pages, introduction, conclusion, proper citations (even when paraphrasing) etc. Please use MLA for citations and bibliography. There should be no more than 2 (single-spaced) block quotes in the entire paper. Use the library and the writing center resources. A paper with strong content and poor citation, mechanics and grammar will receive a grade no higher than a C. Grading: Overall, performance is considered in light of these key activities: Comprehension of the material: apprehension and understanding of the facts, terms and concepts in the readings and material; Synthesis of the material: ability to relate items of a given text or idea to other texts and ideas, creating new ideas in the process. Analysis of the material: ability to understand the structure of and relationship between the parts of a given text and subject matter. Ability to approach material from an objective and critical perspective which asks questions of implication.
Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr
Name Women and Religion Name 08/20/2021 Journal 6: Islam Quote: “…security requires people to show their faces when appearing in public places. A second, closely related argument says that the kind of transparency and reciprocity proper to relations between citizens is impeded by covering part of the face.” A Catalonian legislature recently referred to a burqa as a “degrading prison.”(Nussbaum 2010) Question: The content shows that security authorities’ demands people to show their forehead when appearing in public areas. This text focuses specifically on the burqa worn by Muslim women that covers parts such as the mouth, nose and ears. The burqa is tied to Muslim regions and traditions, and on some level, it seems to be affecting security authorities’ roles. Is the arguer referring to Muslim women only or to all women who wear the burqa? Why is it that the veil is a necessity in the Muslim religion? Do women accept the burqa in the Muslim denomination, or it is oppressing the minority? Would banning the burqa help reduce insecurity cases? Response: Chapter seven on “Women in Islam” is attractive and provides valuable information because it offers a relevant understanding of ladies from the Islamic religion and the desires of the security people. In the Islamic denomination, wearing the veil is a requirement, and various reasons accompany it. On the other side, the security people do consider the burqa a necessity when people appear in public areas. Over the past years, the face has been used as the only identity security person checks for details such as passports and driving licenses. According to the author’s arguments, he does not only refer to Islamic women but even men who wear the veil to symbolize the thingification of women. In my opinion, if someone does not have adequate knowledge on the use of the cover in the Islamic religion, then they should not refer to it as a “degrading prison.” If the women are not complaining about it, they should practice their religion and respect their God (Tasz 115). The veil is a necessity in the Islamic religion and traditions since it helps in preventing males from desiring sex. It also reflects submissiveness to God and binds people to the belief of their denomination. Also, to the Islamic religion, it helps lower cases of harassment when a woman is in public places. Moreover, the social security person should accept the burqa and stop being against the Islamic denomination and tradition if they do not have knowledge about it. According to their religion, I find the veil necessary, although this should not limit women from enjoying their freedom in jobs and public places. The arguer should respect all citizens and consider using excellent technologies such as biometrics, including eye and fingers recognition, to ensure safety and transparency at checkpoints. Those against the veil should not propose to ban all these objectifying actions because they often participate in them. Nevertheless, banning such actions based on equality would be an intolerable invasion of liberty. In my opinion, if the use in India can help prevent dust, reduce risks of skin cancer, then it is lawful to force women to stop wearing it. I see it as an injustice if the security people propose that all Muslim women should not wear the veil. Generally, suppose they are comfortable, and their denomination does not oppress them because they know what a burqa means in their religion. In that case, they should not be swayed by the new lifestyles and people’s opinions. Even though the arguer rejects the different arguments reflected by the author, I see it necessary to respect the Islamic denomination and tradition because they are the critical factor that brings unity and disrespecting the veil shows a lack of honor to their culture and maker. Work Cited “Veiled Threats? – The New York Times.” $site. . $publisher, Web. August 19, 2021. https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/veiled-threats/ Tasz, S. G. Veiled Threats: Dead Mall Part Two. 2021.
Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr
Name Women and Religion Name 08/25/2021 New Religions Quote: “… Their ideas fed into the stream that became the “New Age” movement, the term used by Alice Bailey (1880-1949), leader of the Arcane School. Despite the leading roles of women in such movements, the Arcane School often uses male-oriented language, such as “men” for “people” (Fisher 282). “…Over time; religious movements come and go. Relatively few have become global movements with millions of followers. In the past few centuries, many spiritual messengers have appeared; some have developed a large and sustained following. Women’s status within these organizations varies considerably, but some have room for them in leadership positions and have enhanced appreciation of women…” (Fisher 270). Questions: The two quotes from the text reveal the place of women in religious movements. Does the author imply that even though women were accorded high positions in religious movements, they were still religious chauvinism? Did these movements end the oppression of women by religion? Reflection: Upon reading Chapter Nine on “Women in Western Spirituality Movements”, I gained a more transparent comprehension concerning how different religions perceive women in leadership positions. Fisher highlights how different religions are opinionated about women leading in religious places or movements. I was intrigued by the idea that Muslim women were not allowed to hold a position in the mosques’ authority and that some mosques do not allow women to pray inside (Fisher 258). I am quite conflicted by this idea because I fail to comprehend how this is religiously appropriate. It paints the religious system as being chauvinistic. However, when women started holding authoritative positions in spiritual movements, the oppression of women by religion was minimized. For instance, some of these movements created room for women to be appointed as leaders (Fisher 270). Being a female, I feel like these movements were phenomenal in stopping women from being oppressed by religions because they somewhat embraced and demonstrated equality. This is evident when Bahiyyih Khanum was given the name ‘The Greatest Holy Leaf’ due to her excellent leadership roles. Therefore, I believe that spirituality movements marked the diminishment of religious oppression of women because they appreciated women by allowing them to be in leadership positions. Work Cited Fisher, Mary Pat. Women in religion. Pearson Longman, 2007.
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Women In Indigenous Traditions Name Women and Religion Name 07/24/2021 The full enjoyment of indigenous women’s human rights is fraught with difficulties. Indigenous women face a wide range of discrimination, including limited access to education, health care, and ancestral lands, as well as disproportionately high rates of poverty and violence, including domestic violence and sexual abuse, particularly in contexts of human trafficking and armed conflict(Baines, 2020). Globalization, as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) has pointed out, poses extra problems in many parts of the world. The loss of natural resources and the deterioration of ecosystems, their transformation into cash economies, changes in the local, social, and (Baines, 2020)decision-making processes, and a lack of national political significance have all undermined indigenous peoples’ responsibilities. In my own perception, several nations’ human development indices show a rise in the socioeconomic gap between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. Indigenous men and women follow a similar path of human development and empowerment(James, 2018). “It appears to me that the important role of indigenous populations in today’s global debates is to remind us all of what we have forgotten, namely that indigenous cultures are based on gender complementarity a symbiotic relationship that values both women’s and men’s business, ensuring mutual respect and balance.”( Sadgopal, 2009) However, the rapid commercialization of indigenous economies, the rapid expansion of communications and other technology, the spread of government institutions and development actions, the inevitability of mainstream socialization and urbanization have meant that gender is an important factor that has destabilized the status of Indigenous women. Reference Baines, P. (2020). Seeking justice: traditions of social action among Indigenous women in the southwest of Western Australia 1 (pp. 56-91). Routledge. James, S. (2018). Indigenous epistemology explored through Yoruba Orisha traditions in the African Diaspora. Women & Therapy, 41(1-2), 114-130. Sadgopal, M. (2009). Can maternity services open up to the indigenous traditions of midwifery?. Economic and Political Weekly, 52-59.
Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr
Name Women and Religion Name 08/12/2021 Journal 5: Christianity Quote: The book by Hans Kung titled Women in Christianity says that “We cannot tell whether the title apostle was also given to women in Jewish Christianity; things would be different in the Gentile-Christian sphere “(Kung, 7). Question: There is no doubt that women have always been considered inferior to men in almost everything; politics, family, leadership, to mention a few. Even in religion, women remain subordinate to men in one way or the other. This is evident in most churches. For instance, the Catholic Church welcomes both men and women in service to Christians, but what roles do women play? Men are appointed brothers, priests, bishops, popes. Women can only be nuns with a minor role to play. Response: Ideally, women are not as masculine as men, but that does not mean they cannot perform duties by men in the church. Many women ask what makes them so different from men that contribute to their inferiority or feel subordinate to men. In my opinion, the inferiority accorded to women is becoming unnecessary. However, it is good to see women standing out to be even more productive in roles, duties, and responsibilities. In some churches, they don’t have problems having women as their pastors or leading the congregation. Some women have identified themselves as prophets. However, they are more or less the same as men of late. Some people argue that women should not be active in the church or not lead a religious congregation. Their argument is always based on the fact that no woman led the community or who was a pastor in the Bible. My point of view is different altogether. Everything that happened during the time of Jesus or before the Bible was written happened for a reason. By then, God was manifesting Himself mostly in men. We have to accept the fact that anyone, irrespective of gender, can do evangelism. Women are supposed to be encouraged to participate in evangelization at their own will. Work Cited Küng, Hans. Women in Christianity. A&C Black, 2001.
Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr
Name Women and Religion Name 08/07/2021 Journal 4: Judaism Quote: The article says that “religious institutions thus mirror the existing social patterns of control of women by men” (Fisher 4). This indicates that in most religious platforms, women are not considered in the leadership docket. Questions: What most people need to ask themselves is what big difference lies between men and women? We have seen in the current world that women have dominated most jobs that were considered for men earlier on. Women have also been seen to perform well in other political leadership areas. Why then can’t women take part in the leadership of the church or religious group? Response: First of all, it is essential to note that people need to understand gender and sex. These are some of the reasons people tend to confuse gender roles in society. Then, again, it is good to build confidence in women, the same enthusiasm we have in them on political platforms. It is authentic leadership that comes from God. This alone should be a driving factor to build trust and belief for women. The other reason is that there is no difference between men and women in terms of academic performance. Everyone has their intellectual capabilities, together with leadership skills. The article shows that most people view others in terms of sex instead of gender. It goes without saying that in most cultures, women are regarded as less superior to men. This has led to the oppression of women since most women are not allowed to lead a group of people or generally to head elective positions. This has extended, and it is clear that only men can be priests even in the Catholic Church. An essential factor that might be contributing to the inferiority of women is culture. Most cultures state that women should not take part in elective positions. However, it is essential to note that change is inevitable. Therefore, we should embrace and accept that women can also be at the top of religious groups. Work Cited Fisher, Mary P. Women in Religion. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2007. Print.
Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr
Name Women and Religion Name 07/18/2021 JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT (Women and religious traditions and Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression) Quotes: “……Within each tradition, there are women who are themselves suspicious of how women have been treated. There are also women who do not see that suspicion as important and who are content to remain within their own tradition without questioning the status and roles of women” (Anderson and Young). “There is no getting around it. After all this time, the term “feminist” makes many bright, ambitious, intelligent women embarrassed and uncomfortable. They simply don’t want to be associated with it” (Hooks). Questions: In the reading, the writers explore the interactions and the roles of women who possess major world faith traditions. I think a particular tradition will have issues such as family structures, sexuality, the status of women, rituals, social change, among others. The traditions in religion are depicted from the existing major believes and this plays a critical role in defining how women perceive their religious traditions. “Feminism in America has come to mean anything you like, honey” (Hooks). What is the real meaning of feminism? Does it mainstream the inequality between men and women? Do the diverse traditions affect how women perceive religion and their practices? Why is it difficult for women to unite for liberation? Is it because of their difference in social classes or ignorance? Responses: According to my understanding and belief, women and men are all human and equal before the eyes of God. Therefore, it is incorrect to state that women cannot unite and form a movement in solidarity to fight for their rights. Consequently, the failure to cooperate could be attributed to the fact that male-dominated cultures hinder most women. Feminism is viewed as a way to make women equal to men, enjoying equal rights as humans. I agree that the women in the lower social classes, especially nonwhite, would not view feminism as a way to gain social equality with men because not all women share common social status. According to (Hooks), the term feminist makes many bright, intelligent and ambitious women embarrassed and uncomfortable. I think it’s because they do not share common interests and they belong to different social classes. A lot has been depicted from this book, especially about many other religious traditions such as women in Hindu, Judaism, Buddhist, Chinese, Christianity. Islam, Sikhism, Indigenous and the western spirituality movement. It doesn’t matter what the women or anyone believe or how one believes it; understanding how such beliefs affect women is essential. It is important to note that such beliefs on women will affect how they perceive religion and their traditions. According to (Anderson and Young), women have been obliterated, disregarded, and diminished for eras, often due to male-controlled systems of power that were endorsed by religious traditions. In my view, the authors have provided a critical view on each tradition, with the intention to give a woman-centric perspective on board. The diverse traditions affect how women perceive religion and their traditions. For instance, there is sufficient evidence that Hindu women participated in the rituals which significantly affected their religious beliefs (Anderson and Young). “Although feminists have worked together to identify their position and status of women, there is no manner in which their concerns have to be addressed.” Feminists’ methodologies have focused on issues of power, and the way power manifests itself in any given social context (Hooks). This has been a privilege to a few and a disenfranchising agent to others. Despite the diverse religions highlighted, different aspects of women’s religions have been considered, such as their identity and participation in the religion. According to the text, “Biological sex becomes the marker for assigning particular gendered religious and moral roles and expectations” (Anderson and Young). I completely agree with several aspects of the impression about feminism, as restricted by bell hooks. Sexism within religions is a subject that must be looked into profoundly and eradicated from society. Feminism and the battle for women’s equality are active. Works Cited Anderson, L. M., and P. D. Young. Women and religious traditions. OUP Canada, 2010. Hooks, Bell. Feminism: a Movement to End Sexist Oppression. 2014.
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WOMEN AND JUDAISM Name Women and Religion Name 07/21/2021 Religion refers to the trust in and reverence of superhuman controlling supremacy, particularly an individual God or gods. There are several beliefs globally. In various global religions, women play different roles. This article explores women and religion in Judaism. Judaism is a monotheistic religion that has its roots in the prehistoric Hebrews. The major characteristic of Judaism is a certainty in one supreme Deity who gave a revelation of himself to people like Abraham, Moses, and Hebrew prophets. This was done religiously and following the words written in the bible and the rabbinic customs. In this religion, the role of women is determined by the Hebrew holy book, the spoken rule which sometimes is referred to as the Corpus of rabbinic writings, traditions, and traditional dynamics. In Judaism, women are portrayed as conquerors, front-runners, and superwomen. This religion presents women with qualities that the nation of Israel had to imitate. Examples of women who displayed such qualities include Hagar, Tamar, Miriam, Rahab, Deborah, Esther, and Yael. According to Judaism, they are among the many female leaders in Israel who brought a lot of victory to the generations of their time. Despite this, Judaism has high levels of discrimination against women. Religion puts a lot of emphasis on men than women. In several places of worship, men conduct their prayers separately from women. Orthodox men thank God for not making them women. In Judaism, women are not allowed to divorce formally and they are also not allowed to remarry. Women who belong to orthodox rabbis are also encouraged to create new dynamics. According to Talmud, teaching women the Torah is inconsequential. The religion holds that men are supreme and they can perform better than women. This is social discrimination which is strongly condemned by the orthodox. The orthodox have gone the extra mile of developing academies to train rabbi women to take leadership positions. This is an initiative that has gained a lot of popularity amongst several orthodox groups. References “Does Judaism Discriminate against Women? | Dan Rickman.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 June 2009, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/jun/10/judaism-women-feminism-orthodox.
Reviewing assignments and course notes from the term. Be sure to closely read the assignment instructions and review the sample papers provided Writing Guides: Online Writing Resources: Follow the “Wr
Ahmed4 Name Name Women and Religion 08/05/2021 Introduction The issue of whether a mother should legally terminate a pregnancy or not has been a point of discussion for several years. Various religious groups point out that it is immoral to terminate a pregnancy whereby it is considered murder. An example is in Christianity whereby religious leaders have been against the act. However, several feminist activists have looked into the issue in the past with the view that pregnant mothers should be allowed to make decisions freely on whether to keep on terminate the pregnancies. A prochoice theological Argument by Margaret Margaret wrote the article in the year 2018 touching on the issue of pregnant women. Her argument is that a pregnant woman should be identified as a being who possesses the right to make a choice of terminating a pregnancy without being judged negatively in the society. (Margaret, p.3) She points out that for a woman to keep on taking care of the growing foetus, she must be self-conscious and also prepared to take responsibility for the child once it is born. This will give a chance to take care of the child without having to strain on motherhood responsibilities that will occur after the birth. Such an acceptance will lead to mother-child bond since the mother was psychologically set to take care of the child. In cases where the mother is not ready to bond with the child, she might not be willing to take proper responsibility for the child. (Margaret, p.5). The author also points out that the pregnancy acts as a turning point for the mother’s life. Because of this, she must be given the freedom to choose whether to let go of the unborn child or not. The author explains that society should consider the situation of the mother before judging such a woman. One of the most significant arguments that are used to defend women’s decision towards whether to abort the unborn child or not is to separate the personhood of the unborn child from the choice that will be made by the mother. This means that it is not important to look at the unborn child as a real human being meaning that aborting the child should not be considered equal to a crime such as killing another human being. This way, the woman should be left with the decision on whether to keep the child or not. This argument is entirely based on profiting the woman and paying no attention to the woman. As long as she is happy with the decision then a child is not significant.. The argument considers the information that has been shared in the book of St Luke where the virgin Mary carried a baby without having to decide on whether she wanted the baby or not. According to the feminists, the people of Mary’s era had little say on whether they wanted to keep a baby or not. The most significant factor was that they were supposed to follow the laws that the community had set and also what the community felt should be right. It is important to look at the events during the era of Mary and the current era. Today, society has empowered women which means that they cannot only be allocated the responsibility of taking care of the family but also are expected to work to earn a living. An example is a situation where both men and women have the platform of working hard to acquire a managerial position. A woman in such an incident is expected to put similar efforts to what the male counterpart is doing. Because of that, a woman who gets pregnant will have a difficult choice to make between keeping the fetus or doing away with it so that to focus on her main goal. If she feels that she is not yet ready to take on motherhood responsibilities, then she might have no other alternative but to abort the baby. From her perspective, she has done it to achieve a greater goal. However, societies that are governed by Christianity morals will consider this as immoral hence creating a negative image of the women. There are other goals that the woman might be targeting such as education opportunities where the woman might be aiming to achieve high education goals so that to improve her career. The choice between living her dream and following the moral standards that have been set by society might greatly impact the decision that she is likely to make. At the same time, others might become pregnant in the process of having fun which means that they necessarily do not have a significant goal that might be pushing them to abort the child. If such a woman is not willing to move on from the life that she feels is the best for her, then society should not judge her for committing an abortion. Those are some of the views that have been given by the author and then supported by other groups of feminists. Critiquing the journal The author’s argument should be looked at using a critical analysis dimension whereby we are in a world where equity has become a major factor for both men and women. It is right to say that women cannot be left to only take care of the family since we are living in a society that has paid attention to empowering them. This means that to solve the problem, it is important to create a friendly environment for women to develop themselves although they will take time to take care of their newborn. This includes offering allowances and other opportunities that will make them appreciate the importance of becoming a new mother. The problem can also be solved through educating society on the matters of abortion so that to let everyone understand its setbacks before committing it. Work Cited Kamitsuka, Margaret D. “Unwanted Pregnancy, Abortion, and Maternal Authority: A Prochoice Theological Argument.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 34, no. 2 (2018): 41-57.