Christian Beliefs about Rights, Equality and Social Justice » Equality and the Role of Women in Christianity

Love and the value of the individual

In Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Disability: Rights, Opportunities and Bias you met the general ideas of equal rights, equal opportunities and bias. In Christianity and Human Rights you saw that Christians believe every person is made in God's image. This lesson applies those ideas to equality and to the role of women in the Church.

Christians believe God loves every person, so every person has great value, whatever their sex, health or background. Jesus taught his followers to love their neighbour as themselves (Mark 12:31) and gave a new command: love one another as he has loved them (John 13:34). Many Christians say that if people are loved by God, treating them as lesser is a failure to love.

Jesus also taught that how we treat people who are overlooked is how we treat him. In Matthew 25:40 he says that whatever is done for "the least of these" is done for him. Christians often use this teaching to argue for the rights of people who are pushed to the edge of society.

Key terms:

• Priest: a person ordained (set apart by the Church) to lead worship, especially Holy Communion (the service that remembers Jesus' last meal), and to care for a community.
• Ordination: the ceremony in which a person is accepted by the Church as a priest, minister or bishop.
• Minister: an ordained leader of a church, the usual word in many Protestant churches.
• Bishop: a senior church leader in charge of many churches in an area.

Christian support for equal rights and opportunities

Christians have often supported equality, although the Church has not always done so. Some examples:

Many Christians also work for girls' education and fair pay, and they point to Jesus' own example. Jesus taught women openly, and in John 20 Mary Magdalene is the first to meet the risen Jesus and is sent to tell the other disciples. Christians who want greater equality often say this shows women were trusted with the most important news in Christianity.

Christians who support the Church's traditional teaching on women's roles also say they support equal rights in society. They argue that being equal in value does not mean having identical roles. You will see this "equal but different" idea again below.

Different views on women as priests and bishops

The biggest disagreement among Christians is whether women can be ordained.

Not all Protestant churches agree. Some churches, often called conservative evangelical (Protestants who stress a strict reading of the Bible), accept only men as ministers and church elders (senior lay leaders). Some Church of England parishes also do not accept women priests, so views differ within one denomination as well as between them.

Reasons for an all-male priesthood

• Jesus chose twelve male apostles (the twelve men he picked as his closest followers). Catholics and Orthodox Christians believe the Church should follow this example.
• Tradition. Priests have been men throughout the Church's history, and these Churches believe tradition must be kept.
• The priest represents Christ. Catholics teach that a priest acts in the person of Christ at Holy Communion, and they believe this role belongs to men.
• 1 Timothy 2:12. The writer says he does not allow a woman to teach or have authority over a man. Some Christians read this as a lasting rule for the Church.

Supporters stress that this does not mean women matter less. They believe men and women are equal in value but have different roles, as the Church has always taught.

Reasons for women priests, ministers and bishops

• Galatians 3:28. Paul writes that there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, because all are one in Christ. Supporters say this means all can serve equally.
• Women in the New Testament. Paul names Phoebe as a deacon (a church helper and servant-leader) in Romans 16:1, and women such as Priscilla helped to teach the faith. Supporters say this shows women held leadership roles in the earliest churches.
• Culture. Many say 1 Timothy 2:12 was written for one early church in its own time, not for all churches always. Jesus chose twelve men, they argue, because of the customs of his day.
• Fairness and gifts. If God calls a woman to be a priest, they say, the Church should not stop her.

Disability and inclusion in church life

Christians believe people with a disability are made in God's image and are loved by God, so they have equal value. Paul uses the picture of the Church as one body in 1 Corinthians 12, where every part is needed and the parts that seem weaker are essential. Jesus also taught his followers to invite people with disabilities to a feast, rather than only their friends (Luke 14:13-14).

Many churches try to put this into practice by including everyone in worship:

• ramps, lifts and accessible toilets so people who use wheelchairs can come in;
• hearing loops, large-print or braille books and sign language interpreters;
• welcoming people with learning disabilities or mental health difficulties, and letting them take part, for example by reading or helping to serve;
• the L'Arche communities, started by Jean Vanier in 1964, where people with and without learning disabilities share their lives.

Not every church is fully inclusive. Old buildings can be hard to adapt, and some people with disabilities still feel unwelcome. Many Christians say the Church must keep improving.

Exam-style question

Paper 1, Section 4 (AO1, AO2)

(a) Identify three ways a church can include people with a disability in worship. [3 marks]

(b) Choose one religion. Outline two reasons why some people in this religion support women as priests. [4 marks]

(c) Choose one religion. Explain why there are different attitudes to the role of women in this religion. [6 marks]

(d) "The Church should allow women to be priests and bishops." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]