Faith and Feminism

I am a Christian, but I am also a feminist. This may not seem like a big deal to some people. But where I come from, being a feminist is tantamount to being a God-hating, man-eating baby-killer. I've never understood why that is the case.

I am a feminist, but I do not automatically think that must mean I’m pro-choice, or that I can’t be a Christian anymore. I think people get confuse as to what being a “feminist” actually means, which is simply that I believe in the equality of the sexes.

I think God designed men and women as equals, and I believe that in practice as well as in theory. I've heard Christian men where I come from say on the one hand that men and women are equal, but in the same conversation ridicule a woman for being the type of woman who “don’t need no man.”

And I think to myself, wait a second…why is this a bad thing? Why should she need a man? Why does any grown person “need” someone else to take care of them? Why do we all automatically assume that single women are in need of rescuing, Christian or otherwise? What is so bad about a woman wanting to be independent, that it makes men feel threatened enough to lash out? Especially if that woman is a trusting believer in God, trusting that He will take care of her. Why should any Christian man feel threatened by that?

Recently I have started becoming more and more outspoken about feminism. I have started seeing flaws in the way that many Christians approach their treatment of women, particularly feminists, and I feel that this needs to change. Don’t get me wrong, the Church has come a long way. Many denominations now ordain women (even if sometimes the women have to fight for that ordination), and let women speak and hold office in Church.

However, many churches still see women as needing to be subservient to men. Women still receive messages that their bodies are somehow instruments used to lead men astray. The message of the submissive woman and the message of modesty have been twisted. And many women still don’t feel that they are in charge of their own body, especially in the church. I do not believe that this is what God originally intended.

The church is still falling short in its treatment of women, when it can and should be one of the main resources that women should be able to use to receive empowerment. If something as simple as a woman wanting to take care of herself is enough to offend anyone, something is terribly, terribly wrong. We as the body of God are supposed to be reaching out to the marginalized, just like Jesus did, not working hard to keep them where they are because we’re more comfortable with that.

I will be speaking more in depth on this subject in the coming weeks. Next week I will take an in-depth look at modesty, what the Bible says about it, what the church teaches today, and how our concept of it plays out in today’s culture. The Bible might say something different about it than you think it does.