Discussion Points: Ruether & Daly

Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 3.10.3

Ruether vs Daly: Sexism, Patriarchy and Christianity

Daly advocates a women-centred approach to society, but Ruether does not believe that it is right to side-line men.

Daly accuses Christianity of being fundamentally sexist, meaning it needs to be abandoned.
According to Ruether, change must come from within.

Daly argues that much of Christianity is deeply and inherently sexist. She argues that Christian images and language about God are male-dominated and serve the interests of patriarchy.
Ruether argues that there are female directions in the interpretation of Christ that have been ignored or marginalised by the Church. Ruether does not interpret Christianity as being as sexist as Daly does.

Ruether argues that Jesus is presented in the Bible as being on the side of the marginalised and oppressed. Jesus is often with the poor and the downtrodden rather than with the rich and successful.
This emphasis on the less fortunate and the oppressed seems far away from the stereotypical male image of the powerful warrior.

Daly thinks that male-dominated Christian imagery has violent results. She thinks it is responsible for what she calls the ‘unholy trinity’ of rape, genocide and war.
Daly thinks that a male-dominated society promotes what she calls a phallic (penis-centred) morality, where values such as competition, rivalry, aggression, sexual virility, and ruthlessness are celebrated amongst men.
Daly argues that this male-dominated imagery is clear in the Old Testament.