User:Maddogg345/Gender and religion

Christianity[edit]
Within Christianity, the two notable views on gender roles in a marriage are complementarianism and egalitarianism. The complementarian view of marriage is widely accepted in Christianity, where the husband is viewed as the leader and the wife is viewed as the follower. Essentially, the man is given more of a headship role and the woman is viewed as a supporting partner. In Genesis 3, Adam named his wife Eve ("life") because she "was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20).

In mainstream Christian tradition, the relationship between a husband and wife is believed to mirror the relationship between Christ and the Church. This can be seen in Ephesians 5:25:"Husbands love their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."Christian traditionalists believe that men are meant to be living martyrs for their wives, "giving himself up for her" daily and through acts of unselfish love. The women, on the other hand, are meant to be their helpers.

While complementarianism has been the norm for years, some Christians have moved toward egalitarian views. As the nature of gender roles within societies changes, religious views on gender roles in marriage change as well. '''The relationship between man and woman is compared to the one between Christ and the Church. In the way Christ loved and cared for the Church, a man is expected to do the same for his wife . Brown says that this is what makes a marriage a holy union, rather than a simple contract between the two. According to Paul, husbands and wives had rights that they could expect from each other . After the death of their husband, women are expected to not marry again because, on the day of resurrection, no one will 'claim' her as their wife.'''

'''Marriage, according to Augustine, is a second resort to not being able to remain celibate and a virgin. The role of virginity is one that heavily impacts marriage in general according to Augustine. Virginity and celibacy are extremely important ideals that Christians must carry, but they can marry if they cannot do so. Within a marriage, women were predicted to be more likely to be unfaithful. This left the task of being sure that the wife remained faithful to the husband . Augustine states that although men have dominance over women, they must implement it with compassion and love .'''

'''In relation to Augustine's views on marriage and virginity, women typically preferred the celibate lifestyle in order to gain freedom from male control. Dennis R. Macdonald estimated that groups of widows and unmarried virgins had an impact on the patriarchal society. Researchers believe that, from a sex and gender view, remaining a virgin was a form of rebellion against male domination. The most direct way for men to dominate women was through marriage, and in remaining celibate, these women did not have that domination over them. '''