A Reflective Diary for Theorel 311- Etina H

 

(For one of my stage 3 Theorel courses I had to create a Reflective Diary covering the topics discussed each week)

Week 2: Studying Religion, gender and sexuality

Who knew that religion would share some intersectionality with gender and sexuality. I, for one, could have never thought this, primarily emerging from a religious background myself. In Hopflingers introduction to Linking Gender and Religion, she stated that the intersection of religion and gender form the framework in which addresses the issues of inclusion/exclusion in society and the complicated power relationships (Hopflinger, 2012). I agree with this statement, but this is not to say that religion itself is the sole perpetrator of marginalisation and sexism in society. I think religion, or anything in that matter, in the wrong hands can have harmful consequences. Nevertheless, I agree with Hopflingers stance because I have seen religion excusing gender disparities and empowering only certain groups of people. I am reminded of an article Caroline shared with me that discussed rape in Samoa. I remember that it was the village women who were blaming the victim and excusing the predator. I remember feeling angry and asking myself, ‘who gave these people that much power? So much power to marginalise a person who did nothing wrong? So much power to get away with rape?’. I have concluded that these people refuse to see that there is any intersectionality with religion, gender and sexuality. 

Week 3: Purity and Modesty

This week was all about purity and modesty. Purity, in my opinion, is a social construct built by religious people to prohibit any type of sexual immorality, especially before marriage. Of course, there is nothing wrong with remaining ‘untouched’ before marriage, but purity causes division and gives people the power to judge who is worthy and unworthy. Modesty, on the other hand, is a mode of dress which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in men. This topic had me all riled up as I had to watch ‘Christian’ men blame women for their lustful desires. This is exactly what builds up to the admissibility of rape and sexual violence as now its explained as ‘men merely giving in to their temptations’. What’s even more appalling is that we already have evidence of this occurring in the Pacific. All I have left to say is that women should be able to wear whatever they please, as men are. 

Week 4: Heterosexuality

In this weeks lecture, we were looking at some of the ways religious traditions attempt to prescribe and proscribe our bodies and behaviour, particularly when it comes to the issue of sex, sexual desire, and reproductive choices. What I enjoyed the most in this weeks lecture was Endsjo’s discussion on sex before marriage. He claimed that a man could have many sexual partners yet it does not present a moral problem however a woman who has sex with men other than her husband presents a significant challenge for many (p.55). The disparities in the way men and women are treated so obviously emerge from religious texts and teachings and purity doctrines that objectify and degrade women and empower men. 

Week 5:Queer identities and religious (in)tolerance

 

Queer identities are probably the most demonised in society, especially in the strictly Christian Pacific communities. Patrick Thomsen’s article spoke on this precisely. One of the most potent phrases quoted in Thomsen’s states, “For Pacific Islanders, the story of Christianity and how it came to dominate our islands is far more sinister than many of us realise, owing in part to a ruthlessly efficient pairing of Christian ideology and the forces of colonisation” (Thomsen, 2017, pg 1). I think most Pacific Islanders forget that the coloniser brought over Christianity. Not only this, but it was Christian missionaries that rebuilt our cultures and forced us to eliminate certain aspects of our culture due to it not aligning with Christian morals and values. Religious intolerance produces nothing but unkindness and segregation. We are seeing people and companies asserting an option to segregate by declining to offer types of assistance to LGBT individuals. An example of this is Bridal salons, photo studios, and reception halls, closing their doors to same-sex couples planning their weddings. 

Week 6: Queer spiritualities

Queer Spirituality. These two words have a multiplicity of meaning alone, much less when they are put together.  Both words have had negative connotations attached to them in the course of history, but today they are being reclaimed as positive words. While many mainline sections today keep on battling with sexuality and spirituality, more Queer individuals are grasping their spiritualities and rehearsing it in Queer friendly churches. During an excavation trip for one of my Theorel classes, we visited the Auckland rainbow church. The Auckland rainbow church is a place where Queer individuals have had the option to rediscover experience their spiritualities in freedom. Although Queer spiritualities are still being labelled as ‘unnatural’, there is a growing community of Queer religious people who are binding together and normalising this phenomenon. 

Week 8 and Week 9: Gender violence and religion

Gender violence is very much associated with religion. Religion teaches women that they are inferior to their male counterparts and must obey them at all times. It also forbids women of speaking in congregations or leading the family in any way. This creates the stigma that males and females are very different from each other and have additional capabilities. While men are portrayed as powerful, dominant and essential, women are portrayed as inferior, gullible and dangerously seductive. These stigmas lead not only to violence but more dangerously ‘excused’ or explicable violence. This topic is very near and dear to me as the Pacific Islands is a hub for violence influenced/excused by biblical teaching.