Harding,+NaQuan

__**Research Question **__  Do all religions have the same sense of sex discrimination?

__**Introduction **__  Throughout history, women have always been viewed as inferior to men. From as recently as the early 1900s to as far back as Christ’s time. Back then in religions, women seemed to have little to no rights. In fact, men seemed to have virtually total control over them. If a woman so much as spoke when not asked to, she could suffer some extreme, unfair consequences. But, are all religions like this? This text will analyze the three major religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Do all these religions treat women the same? It’s time to find out.

__**Interpretation and Analysis **__ //**Christianity: **//  When it comes to Christianity, women didn’t have it easy back then. Just listen to this quote from the Bible, //" A woman should learn in quietness and full submission."// **I Timothy 2:11**. Back then, women in this religion didn't have as many rights as men, at least in terms of leadership. Women could never become the pastor of a Church, or any kind of leader for that matter. In fact, men were viewed as superior to women in more ways than one. Granted, I don’t know what the thought process was for people at that time, and that things could be much worse for them, but that’s not the point. The point is that it's hardly fair for people to be denied opportunities for any reason, especially because of your gender.

 Obviously, I don’t think many people follow quotes like this today. Although, I never did see any female priests in all of the five times I've been to church, so I don't know for sure. But chances are, things aren't that strictly follow today as it was back then. I mean, we have gender equality today, right? That has to mean something. However, there is one group I found who think that there's nothing wrong with women being viewed as the lesser sex. Aka: they think that sexism should be enforced because it's part of the Christian way. Don't believe me? Check out this website: http://www.humanismbyjoe.com/christianity_and_women.htm

//**Islam: **//  Islam. This is where it gets interesting. In this religion, at least from the quotes I’ve found, Islam looks down on women from the top of Mt. Everest. I never thought I’d find such…demeaning, unfair treatment in a religion. I have so many quotes to share, but let me just use one, //“if a women becomes captive in a war, her Muslim master is allowed to rape her” **66:10**//. Isn't that a pleasant thought? Back in those ancient days, this was probably viewed as acceptable, no matter how degrading it was. If the Prophet said it, it was perfectly fine to do. That still hardly excuses that kind of behavior, especially with a POW //(prisoner of war)//.

Compared to modern times, this quote’s just sick and vulgar. I don't even think you're allowed to do that with POW's now. I’m just thankful that hardly anyone follows this kind of thing anymore. Now, I'm not assuming that Islam is a religion strictly for perverted monsters. I even have a few Muslim friends. I'm just shocked that this kind of stuff was allowed back then. Again, I'm grateful that it's not today. But the scary thing is, that with billions of people in the world, there’s that one sick pervert who agrees with this quote.

//**Judaism: **// Now we're at a religion where the women aren't beaten around like punching bags. In fact, they're treated with a degree of respect. Just listen to this //“If anything, Judaism considers women on a higher level than men, in many ways.”// And to add to that, women in Judaism supposedly have a higher chance of becoming holy than men do. Something to do with challah. Long story short, challah is a holy piece of bread taken out of a large batch of dough. Women are similar to that because women were supposedly taken from man in a similar form to the challah. Talk about bragging rights. But despite that, Judaism demands that men and women stay away from each other as to prevent any illicit behavior. I guess that makes sense. Since temptation is a pain to ignore, it helps to keep anything "bad" from happening.

I honestly haven't the slightest clue if this sort of thing is followed today. It doesn't exactly sound like anything bad comes from this. In fact, when compared to the other religions I've gone over, this sounds awesome. Neither men nor women seem to be degraded or disrespected in any way, so why not follow this quote today?

__**Comparisons **__ //**Christianity & Islam: **// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">While they both seem to subject women to some sort of inferiority to men, Islam is far worse in its treatment of women than Islam is. The worse I've seen Christianity treat women is take away their ability to speak their mind in Church and become the pastor of one themselves. But, Islam treats women worse than dogs. Women have so few rights in that religion, they aren't even allowed to enjoy sex. I'll repeat that. Women are NOT allowed to enjoy sex with their husbands. The slightest sign of pleasure is considered a sin. Legal rape, legal unprovoked beatings, legal marriage between a grown man and a prepubescent girl, is there anything that men can't do in this religion? If I had a choice between these two religions, I'd definitely go with Christianity.

//**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Christianity & Judaism: **// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">While Christianity doesn't completely degrade women, they still deny them some rights. Judaism doesn't. In fact, they treat women with a higher degree of respect than men. Women are considered more likely to be holy than men are. Women are able to speak up whenever they want. They actually have a say in things that directly involve them. Christianity on the other hand, while not treating women like complete crap, still do restrict what women can do in that religion. So in the end, through my perspective, Judaism seems like the fairer religion.

//**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Islam and Judaism: **// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">These two religions are complete polar opposites when it comes to how they treat women. Women in Judaism are considered more likely to reach holiness than men. Women in Islam are pretty much nothing but punching bags and objects of pleasure for men. Not that I'm instantly taking sides here (okay, maybe a little bit), but in terms of what was allowed back then, it's clear that Judaism, at first glance, would be the fairer religion.

__**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Final Thoughts **__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Not being the religious type, this has definitely been more interesting than I expected. I made a few surprising discoveries in terms of religious laws. I mean, I knew that women weren't exactly treated as fairly as they should be, but what I found what they couldn't do, and the stuff that was done to them, one question kept racing through my head. How could people think this was okay with God? I know he's God and all, but you still have common sense, right? Back on the subject, it was pretty interesting researching these things. I have to say, I almost had fun. Almost.

__**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Bibliography **__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">New International Version Bible. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Howard Long, ed. Seattle: Biblica, 1979

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"Top 10 Anti-Women Qu'ran Quotes, Explained." (December 6, 2009): n. pag. Web. 2 Dec 2010. <http://ablestmage.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/top-10-anti-women-quran-quotes-explained/>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">.Unknown, Unknown. "Men and Women in Judaism." Being Jewish. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2010. <http://www.beingjewish.com/faqs/men_women.html>

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">"Islam and Women." Prime Choice. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec 2010. <http://www.primechoice.com/philosophy/jihadpages/women.htm>

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">