Question

How does benevolent sexism and hostile sexism apply to conservative and fundamental religions?

Answer 1

Answer.

By and large, Religious language in scriptures, prayers, and liturgy suggests God is male. In most religious traditions, gender roles are supported as mandated in nature and this has implications for the differences in the social lives of men and women. In such a scenario, feminists argue that there is an increasing need to contextualise the study of women and religion.

The features of fundamental religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. are committed to the authority of ancient scriptures and believe them to be infallible and the followers hold religion to provide a total worldview inseparable from politics. Common to all of them is the tendency to idealize a past when gender spheres were separate and a religious society that required women to be modest and subordinate and regulate their sexuality. Benevolent sexism and hostile sexism are concepts which are applied to these conservative or fundamentalist religions because they are found in key scriptures that are interpreted as the literal word of God. Benevolent sexism is a type of sexism that includes protective paternalism, complementary gender differentiation, and heterosexual intimacy and is more subtle than hostile sexism. However, because of its subtle influence on the gender differences, it poses a stronger challenge to any social reform in women’s lives as it perpetuates a worldview by associating the social order with divinity.