Practical responses
Many Christians believe that men and women are equal in the eyes of God, and should therefore be able to adopt the same roles. The term 'Christian feminists' describes those who share this belief that God does not discriminate on the basis of biologically-determined characteristics such as gender.
Christian feminists believe:
- women should be allowed to be priests and bishops
- men and women should be seen as equal in marriage (in many churches, women still agree to 'obey their husbands' in the marriage vows)
- the Church should acknowledge the spiritual and moral abilities of women
- God should be seen as having feminine qualities, not just being called 'Father'
Female Clergy
There are numerous pressure groups campaigning for the ordination of women priests in the Catholic Church - for example, the Campaign for the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church. In the Anglican Church, women can be ordained, but there are far fewer ordained women, and very few female bishops (none in the Church of England, January 2011).
Christian feminists campaign for women's rights to hold the same positions as men. However, this is also about power - most of the rules in the Church, as well as decisions about finance etc., are made by the clergy, and until women are equally represented in such positions of power, they fail to have a voice in the Church.
