As I sat down to work on my zine pages I attempted to think about what affected me the most, in my life, at this very moment. What came to mind was the way in which the universal church depicted women. I have grown up as a daughter of a Methodist minister and have had many disagreements with my father when it came to women in the church. True the Methodist church is somewhat more liberal when it comes to the roles of women in the church but there are still many thoughts and ideas that need to be changed. Women within the many church denominations are told what to wear, how to look and what to think. Independent thinking is frowned upon for many women among the church.
Church and religion are two big issues when it comes to women and feminism. Many churches believe women should dress a certain way, no make-up, no extra adornments, no teaching or preaching and to be subservient to the patriarchs within the church. I have found, in my research, there is still a great amount of patriarchal control over women within the church. From my experience, as a minister’s daughter, there is a little less control over the women within a Methodist Church. Women are welcome as ministers to a certain extent. Many of the women who have become ministers had quite a bit of hurdles to cross to get into the church. Women within the Methodist Church are given more freedom to say and do what they feel which is a different situation for women within the Catholic and Pentecostal Church. The Catholic denomination has strict views on procreation as they do not believe in birth control or abortion. They believe in abstinence before marriage and once married children are gifts from God. The problem with this type of thinking is marry teenagers do not abstain from sexual relations and thereby pregnancy becomes an issue along with sexually transmitted disease.
Women within the Pentecostal denomination are to follow and do what is told of them from the men in the church. They are bible literalists. They do not cut their hair, where pants, jewelry or make-up. They are subservient to their husbands and do not teach within the church. Women do have a voice and should be allowed to speak their mind and teach, if they want. It is restrictive of the men in the church to tell the women what to do and how to think. It seems the women are unable to think for themselves and have to be told what is right or wrong for them.
Women are making some strides but they still have a way to go within certain denominations. The Methodist Church has opened doors for them but they still do not accept lesbian women into the pulpit. If the church is to live by what Christianity taught in Jesus time we are not to judge and love each and every person no matter who they are. Some churches have opened their eyes to what a woman can do and have allowed them entrance into the pulpit and teaching. Others still have strides to take to accomplish this goal. I have found life in the church has its down sides and up sides. Being within the Methodist denomination has allowed me to be more liberal in my views and open minded. I would hope that others denominations will take this step to further the understanding of what a woman can do for their church.
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