Women in World Religions - Assignment Example

It shall consider why most classical and contemporary sociological theories of religion masked the experience of women. It would also discuss how they are constructed when they were studied and why women are often rendered less visible in public, and arguably in social scientific discourse. Since most of the discussions on religion are based on elements of private and public, the discussions have become generalized, mostly relating to equality and power. This essay would focus on feminism and how it has been challenged by theological discussions and the emergence of faith as a growing source of empowerment for women.

Different related discussions from different religions would be included in this paper in order to provide contextual bases for the topic issue. In general, this article shall seek to provide a balanced discussion on the topic, using diverse and well-supported discourses from various analysts in the sociological and religious landscape.There are two points of discussion in this article. The first argument would consider the point that religion, piety, and purity serves to empower women. The second argument is that it serves to entrap women.

Religion, piety, and purity can be seen as empowering women. This argument can be initiated by the finding that religious traditions are actually egalitarian, especially as these traditions support the concept of men and women being equal with each other (Scovill, 2009). This egalitarian understanding is seen in the different world religions, with some concepts bearing similarities with each other. For Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the idea of equal creation brings to fore the egalitarian perspective for both genders.

These religions support the fact that since men and women are created in the image of the Lord, they are equal and therefore must be treated with the same amount of dignity owed to all beings (Scovill, 2009). For Hinduism and Buddhism, the egalitarian element supports the fact that for men and women, they are able to secure liberation through rebirth.