Women in Western Religion Today By Leslie Kincaid, John Michael Reyes, Max Altshuld, & Subhan Ayoubi

Presentation Content Rules of different branches of Judaism, Christianity, & Islam Specific women in western religions today Scriptures and how they relate to change in each religion

Women in Christianity Today Different branches different rules: –Protestant Women can be pastors Women are treated equal to men in almost every aspect of the church –Orthodox Cannot be priests Cannot be any type of clergy

Women in Christianity Today Today have more leadership than before the 2 nd Vatican Council Women cannot be priests Women can hold offices that are nearly equal to that of a priest Because of the decline of priests, lay women (religious or laity) have stepped up to lead communities and organizations. – Roman Catholicism

Women in Catholic Leadership Elizabeth Lilly - Paid, Professional Minister since Graduate of numerous universities in the country - Appointed “Administrator pro tem” for Sacred Heart Parish, Saratoga CA in Served on City-wide (“Diocesan”) commissions Episcopal Master of Ceremonies since Faculty for the Institute for Leadership in Ministry (San José, CA) - National speaker for the North American forum on the Catechumenate - Founded lay leadership group for Diocese of San José in Minister of Parish Life ( ) Central parish leader who has overall administrative and Catholic Charities of San José – Director of Community and Parish Partnerships (2006 – present)

Some Statistics… U.S. federal labor statistics indicate that the number of women who describe themselves as "clergy" increased from 16,408 in 1983 to 43,542 in As of 1996, 1 in every 8 clergy is female in the U.S. The percentage of female graduate students at 229 North American Christian schools of theology has risen from 10% in 1972 to 30% in In some schools of theology, over 50% of the students are women. (

Advancement for Women How Far Have They Come? Christianity –Ephesians 5:21 – 32 & 6: 1 – 9 –What is the Bible trying to say about the way people should treat one another? –Has this changed over time? How so?

Women in Judaism Today Different branches different rules: Reform/Reconstructionism: –Not uncommon to see female Rabbis or female Cantors. – Women can have equal roles in leading prayers, as well as reading Torah. Conservative: –Uncommon to see a female Rabbi/cantor, but not unheard of. –Men and women may be separated.

Women in Judaism Today Orthodox: –Women are not allowed to be rabbis/cantors, –Cannot read Torah, or even be on the Bima during services. –Women and men sit separately.

Advancement for Women in Judaism Esther 1: 12 – 20 shows how women were treated in the biblical days. –How has this changed for each Jewish denomination today? –Orange on the Seder Plate

Jewish Women in Leadership Today Rabbi Melanie Aron of Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos relayed a much more heartening story about a lay-led Reform community in Eastern Europe. Worshippers had grown to the point where they felt they needed a rabbi, so they selected one member of their community and sent her to rabbinical school.

Women in Islam Today Women under Islam are fully emancipated They enjoy all rights and privileges, that their counterparts-men have Contrary to common belief, women under Islam are not second grade members of community They are entitled to all rights on the basis of equality- -rights to property, speech, expression and even politics. Women have played a vital role in all times, in peace and war. “Today, the modern Muslim woman is like any other women in the world, striding shoulder to shoulder, with man” (Jacket).

Women, as well as men, are encouraged to become as educated as they can There is nothing wrong with women becoming scholars However, the right to have an official position in a mosque is disputed by many –Women Imams?

Advancement for Women in Islam Recent events –On February 20, 2007 a female Pakistani minister, Zilla Huma Usman was shot dead by a Muslim man Mohammad Sarwar who stated "I have no regrets. I just obeyed Allah’s commandment," adding that Islam did "not allow women to hold positions of leadership.“

Leadership of Islamic Women Benazir Bhutto -first woman to lead a post-colonial Muslim state Muslim -Bhutto was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988Prime Minister of Pakistan1988 -controversey and corruption -"When I first got elected, they said, 'A woman has usurped a man's place! She should be killed, she should be assassinated, she has committed heresy!'"--Bhutto -“I had faith in myself. I had always felt that I could become Prime Minister if I wanted."--Bhutto

Questions: In your opinion, in the three western religions today how have women become the more involved? In which branch of Christianity are women allowed to become priests? Why do people debate over women not being Imams?

In which more traditional practices are women kept separate for prayer today? In which branch(s) of Judaism are women allowed to be on the Bima during prayer? In which branch of Christianity can women and men hold equal leadership positions? Can Jewish women be Rabbis or Cantors?

What did you find interesting about women in the three religions today? According to Islam are women fully emancipated? Are Muslim women allotted equal rights as men?

Other Questions?? The End