Christian Views on Gender Roles & Family

Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 3.9.3

Christian Views about Gender Roles and Family

Christian responses to modern secular views about gender roles and the family differ significantly.

Some very conservative Christians believe that it is a wife’s duty to obey her husband. Biblical passages like St Paul's letter to the Ephesians promote this kind of attitude.
Similarly, some conservative Christians believe that the man should be in charge of the household and have responsibility for looking after his wife and children and providing financial support for the family.

Some conservative Christians argue that there should be a dominant partner in relationships for settling disputes, and this dominant partner should be a man.
Some conservative Christians use the argument that men are physically stronger than women, and women are the ones who give birth and breastfeed, to justify the argument that men should have leadership roles in the family and women should have more caring, supportive roles.

Other Christians believe that these views are too old-fashioned for the modern world.
The Bible was written a long time ago and society has developed since then.
Many women nowadays don't promise to obey their husbands as part of their marriage vows.

Many Christians believe that men and women should have equal opportunities in the home and at work. They say that the couple should share the childcare and housework and that the couple should both go out to work if they want to.

Some Christians might support this view by drawing attention to the Bible, which says that everyone is equal and created in the image of God.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3: 28.
This passage suggests that Christians should not look at the differences between one person and the next and should recognise that they are all united through Jesus and his death upon the cross.

When it comes to different types of family, different denominations of Christianity vary.
Some more conservative Christians emphasise the importance of heterosexual married couples raising their family as one unit. This is based on teachings found in the Bible.

Other Christians believe that because all humans are created in ‘the image of God’, same-sex parents create equally loving environments to raise children up in.

Why do some very conservative Christians argue that heterosexual relationships need a dominant partner?
What are some very conservative Christian beliefs about gender roles?