There are plenty of elephants in feminist classrooms, as we’re all aware. As a woman of color, there have been times when I was one of those elephants. White, middle-class feminism’s overlooking of race, class, queer identities, ability…this leads to a classroom full of elephants that many students and instructors are unable to see or unwilling to discuss.
These issues have slowly gained legitimacy within the white middle-class feminist classroom. In Intro to Feminism courses, there are discussions, speakers, and readings assigned about womanism, the queer movement, etc.—if the teacher is a half-decent one, anyway. They may be small discussions, they may only raise awareness without creating understanding, but the elephants are acknowledged.
There are still a few elephants left, however. The elephant I’m going to acknowledge today is religion (including spiritually and belief systems).
Religion is brought up in classrooms when anti-Semitism is discussed. Religion is brought up when female genital mutilation is introduced. Religion is revealed to be part of the dominant structure of Judeo-Christian patriarchy in the U.S. Religion is often talked about in classrooms as part of “the problem.”
How many times have we been in feminist classrooms and heard, “I think all religions are oppressive to women.” Or seen it on a feminist blog?
What does this statement do? It dismisses religion and feminists who have one. Feminist interpretations of all major world religions are increasing. Here’s a great website where you can find a bibliography for feminist theology and interpretations of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and then some. Why is it acceptable to dismiss the belief systems of these feminists?
Belief systems are how we frame our entire world, and the entire world adheres to some type of belief. Here you can see a really rough breakdown of the world’s main belief systems. Not a definitely authoritative source, but the most illustrative and incredibly thorough. That’s a lot of people, and half of these adherents are women.
The idea that “religion is oppressive” is deceptive, because “religion” as it is discussed is reduced to the rules & regulations of said religion. We’re not talking about a connection with God or the universe, here. We’re talking about eating fish on Friday or wearing a wig to cover your hair. Dismissing an entire faith (and/or all belief systems) dismisses those who believe in this faith. Not to mention those of us who believe the male-defined rules, interpretations, and applications are the problem, not the faith itself.
Religion is a belief system. An idea. And idea cannot actively oppress someone. A holy book cannot chase women around and tell them do this or that—the Bible doesn’t go around physically stopping homosexuality; the Torah doesn’t physically measure the length of an Orthodox Jewish woman’s skirt. The interpretation and application of ideas (by male scholars and male-centered religious schools of thought) is what gets us in trouble. Interpretations that keep men in power and deny women agency are the problem. You know what these interpretations are? Patriarchy. Not God or faith in God. Patriarchy poses as religion in interpretations that say that women shouldn’t use birth control or that marriage is only for one man and one woman.
But the rules get confused with God. And then God gets pegged as the bad entity, instead of patriarchy. And that leaves the religious/spiritual feminists in class and on the blogosphere staring at each other, wondering, “Ain’t I a feminist, too?”
The blanket idea that all religions are oppressive is also often an uninformed one. Can someone who has not studied all belief systems (not just The Big Three, but all belief systems, including atheism, animism, wicca, etc., as well as more well-known Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) put forth this idea? Often, those doling out judgment on religion only focus on The Big Three (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), ignoring other belief systems like Buddhism, agnosticism, or Rastafarianism. These are religions, too: people frame their viewpoints with these in mind.
And even within The Big Three, there are endless sects. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have differing sects within them, and sects with sects. None of these religions can be described as monolithic. Sects within these religions can be incredibly strict and severe (like Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saint Christians, Salafi Muslims, and Haredi Jews), and they can be incredibly liberal, accepting female ministers, imams, and rabbis, and following interpretations that allow homosexuality, for example.
Can one fairly dismiss something without understanding it? Without reading a religion’s holy book, the scriptures, and laws, as well as understanding their historical interpretations and applications, without knowing the intricacies of sects within a religion and the differences between them, how can someone really know any belief system is oppressive and make a statement as such?
Reducing a belief system to its male/patriarchal interpretations and dismissing a religion because of a lack of knowledge is bad enough. But dismissing religion also dismisses the spirituality of an adherent. Their connection with the universe and/or their higher power. Take away a person’s religion may take away their source of comfort. It may take away their strategy for dealing with patriarchy and traumatic events. It’s taking away a support system; who has too much support in a world that often victimizes us because of our gender, skin color, or sexuality?
“You’re just brainwashed because you believe in God” sounds a lot like, “You’re just hysterical because you’re a woman” or “You’re just lazy because you’re Mexican” to me. Despite the fact that these are different types of discrimination, they all result in discrimination, barriers, and disunity. Yes, there are people who don’t question their belief system and may aptly be described as brainwashed. I don’t advocate this, but dismissing faith (and those of us with a faith) is exclusionary.
For many religious feminists, belief in a higher power and a religious lifestyle is a choice. But it’s also part of someone; it’s the way we look at things, the way we respond to situations, the way we deal with events and people in our lives. It’s part of our psychological make-up. Feminism, as I learned it, is about respect and dignity for all people. I think that should include feminists who have faith.