Barefoot, Pregnant, and in Their Place

I just heard a story on National Public Radio about fundamentalist Jews in Israel forcing women to ride in the backs of buses and criticizing them for wearing “immodest” clothing, even to the extent of restricting them from certain streets.

Why am I not surprised? Another conservative religious movement that demeans women.

It doesn’t seem to matter which faith it is – Jewish, Christian, Muslim – they all talk about how things like pornography degrade and abuse women as they – surprise, surprise – degrade and abuse women, keeping them in the back of the church and in the kitchen “where they belong.”

Conservative fundamentalist Christians like to point to one verse out of the entire New Testament as proof women should shut-up and like it; I Corinthians 14:34: “The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.” This allows the men to, with St. Paul’s authority, keep women in their place.

What’s even more astonishing is how the women in these groups have fallen for this bilge hook, line and sinker. If they don’t, of course, they’re called rebels and menaces to the “faith” and unceremoniously kicked out.

Why do we, in this 21st century, still have religions mired in the Middle Ages? The Catholic Church in particular seems determined to stay there come hell or high water. With the shortage of priests so severe it doesn’t appear to have the slightest interest in reexamining its rules. This Pope looks to be even more conservative than his predecessor, and looking down the road I’m not seeing anyone in the hierarchy who would do much of anything to bring the church into even the horse & buggy era. Women won’t be involved in the Church any time soon.

It’s a sad state of affairs in hard-line Muslim countries, but an even sadder one here in the so called “enlightened” West.