Sex and Religion: The Woman’s ‘Role’
This is a review of chapters 1-3 of Dag Øistein Endsjø’s enlightening book Sex and Religion: Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths. This is the first part of a series based upon assignments completed in the 2021 fall semester in my Life, Sex and Death class taught by Dr. Doe Daughtrey at Arizona State University. I highly recommend reading this book!
The opening chapters of Sex and Religion (Endsjø 2011) are about how humans in their relationship with either a diety or philosophy attempt to sanctify the body which is presumed in most cases to be a hindrance to holiness. Many major religions consider the body a vessel that souls have been trapped in, an instrument of suffering, or pleasure. Sexual pleasure is often interpreted as sin or excessive desire. Therefore doctrinal boundaries and punishments are established to encourage self-regulation as an effort to protect the human soul from either damnation or a punitive reincarnation.
Patriarchal religions have an alarming amount of control over women’s bodies, and unsurprising leniency toward men’s sexual pursuits, especially in a global context. Women have been oppressed by patriarchal religions to protect family lineages and economic viability for thousands of years. Augustine of Hippo, an early church father of Christianity was the first to make a connection between heterosexual sex and original sin (Endsjø 2011, 35). According to Augustine, all sex was sinful, however, marital sex could be forgiven. The virgin birth of Jesus to Mary in the New Testament gospels, therefore, bypasses the sin of Eve in the garden. This idea elevates virginity as holy and is used to forbid premarital intercourse and promote purity culture which leans heavily toward the women’s purity.
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity), the woman is a possession of her father and when married, becomes a possession of her husband. She is to bear children to further the family lineage. The woman falls into one or another role, either wife and mother or a seducer, and is frequently found at fault in sexual transgressions even in cases of rape. Islamic women should be veiled and covered and aren’t allowed out of the house without a male chaperone. Orthodox Jews segregate women in the temple and in prayer, even requiring women to sit in the back of the bus (Endsjø 2011, 21).
A Hindu woman’s worth is dependent upon bearing sons. Expensive dowries for girls in the family is one of the major cause of female infanticide and gender-based abortions. A widow’s value is almost nonexistent to the point that grieving wives were encouraged to commit sati up to just two hundred years ago. Sati is the Hindu practice of the widow lying on her husband’s funeral pyre to be burned alive with him as he is cremated. Sati was banned in 1829 under British rule and rarely occurs today. (Endsjø 2011, 65).
In Buddhism, the act of bringing a new life into our world increases the amount of suffering. The reason behind abstinence in Buddhist monasteries is to avoid bringing another being into the world in which they would then have to deal with the very passion that produced them. Sex is a passionate act and Buddhists see passion or desire as a hindrance to achieving liberation or moksha. Buddhist women have a duty to be a spouse to men who choose not to practice abstinence. They may choose to become nuns rather than spouses to pursue enlightenment over sexual passion. (Endsjø 2011, 30).
The religious constructs that have been built around the dualistic idea of separating the physical body from the soul have caused mental illness, even violence, suicide, and death. The Roman Vestal priestesses who break their vow of celibacy were buried alive and left to die (Endsjø 2011, 40-41). In Judaism, the act of adultery resulted in the death penalty by stoning and a woman who was raped may be forced to marry her rapist. This goes back to elevating the male lineage and the birth of a child over the woman’s values and worth. This does not occur today in most regions of the Judaic world, however, the implied guilt may still linger.
Emotions run deep on the topic of sexuality as it deals with life itself. Literalism lent to sacred texts keeps these traditions alive by strict adherents, however, when surveying individuals within these faiths most have a more pragmatic view and personalize these mandates within their individual lives, communities, and sects.
In contrast to patriarchal religions, let’s look at a matriarchal society called the Mosuo who live near the border of Tibet and China. The Structure of Matriarchal Societies is from a 1993 study done by Heide Gottner-Abendroth, the founder of women’s studies in West Germany. The Mosuo embrace the natural cycle of life and death and worship the Great Mother. The women run the affairs of the clan, as the economic and political leaders, however, it’s a very democratic and inclusive structure. After a girl’s coming of age initiation ceremony at age 13, she chooses her lover from another clan. He sleeps with her at night and leaves in the morning. He doesn’t share meals with her and all his work is devoted to his own clan. He has no rights to the children they produce. His life as a ‘father’ exists in his own clan his whole life helping to raise his nieces and nephews. (Gottner-Abendroth 1999) This structure avoids the depletion of the family’s economic status by daughters leaving the home (and the payment of dowries as in the Hindu tradition) to contribute to their husband’s family since no one from the clan moves away from the clan. The value of the men and women to the future strength of their clans is equal.
These chapters highlight gender roles in religious history. Religion is heavily embedded in our culture and we need to face it head on, rather than sweep it under the rug as insignificant. Our sexual identities are ours alone to express in our society however we are led to do so. However, that doesn’t happen without resistance. Our expression of faith should not be defined by our gender. Hopefully, as global societies accept gender equality, religions will morph and change as well.
References:
Endsjø, Dag Øistein. 2011. Sex and Religion: Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths. London: Reaktion Books Ltd.
Gottner-Abendroth, Heide. 1999. “The Structure of Matriarchal Societies”. Revision: Winter99, Vol. 21, no. Issue 3,( Winter 1999), p31-36
