Traditional Christian Views on Gender Roles

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Traditional Christian Teachings on Gender Roles

Many of the teachings in the Bible, as well as the views expressed by St Aquinas, on gender roles, are very dated in terms of modern society.

In the 13th Century, Aquinas argued that women are inferior to men in physical strength and also in intelligence.
Aquinas also used the word ‘defective’ of women.
Aquinas noted that there is a special place in heaven for women such as the Virgin Mary and the women who waited at the foot on the cross when Jesus was crucified. He commended them for their love of God.

Some Christians look to the Bible when it comes to the roles of men and women.
But many Biblical teachings are very patriarchal and reflect the context in which they were written – this is particularly the case with many of St Pauls writings.

Other Christians say that they need to look more at the bigger picture and take the Bible for the context in which it was written.
Pope John Paul wrote a letter on the dignity of women, ‘Mulieris Dignitatem’.
This document more closely reflects what the Catholic Church believes the role of women is in today’s society. However, it was still written in 1988, over 30 years ago.

'Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour'
- St Paul's letter to the Ephesians is very conservative and patriarchal in its tone. This was in keeping with the cultural norms of the 1st century. Society then was patriarchal: the father was the head of the family and he had a complete rule of the household.
- This shows how outdated many of the Biblical passages are.

Pope John Paul II wrote an open letter in 1988 on the subject of the dignity and rights of women, called Mulieris Dignitatem.

The letter was intended to clarify the Catholic position on issues surrounding women. The letter was in response to accusations that the Church was sexist and that it promoted injustice by denying women the same rights as men.
- For example, by not allowing women to take a role in the hierarchy of the Church. Women are still not allowed to become Priests/Bishops/Cardinals/Pope in the Catholic Church.

Pope John Paul II wrote about the skills and qualities women have and drew attention to the examples of Christian devotion set by female European Saints.
His position on gender roles was that men and women have different, complementary characteristics given to them by God.
He wanted to emphasise that a woman’s role as a Christian is to be respected.

Pope John Paul II said that although women could not take up leadership roles within the Church, they still played an imperative part in the Church itself.
- For example, in evangelisation and helping the Church to grow stronger.

The Pope went further to imply that we would not have the Church today if it were not for a woman.
He wrote that the turning point of human history happened when God came to earth as Jesus Christ and that this was made possible because of Mary, who chose freely to take on the role of mother of the son of God.
Mary is given a special place within the Church and there are numerous feast days to celebrate her divinity and importance.