The #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear Hashtag Is a Sad Reflection on Evangelical Gender Roles April 23, 2017

The #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear Hashtag Is a Sad Reflection on Evangelical Gender Roles

Earlier this week, Christian author Sarah Bessey began tweeting things people in church tell women — and only women — and many others began sharing their own experiences. You can see their thoughts under the hashtag #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear.

It’s a disturbing account of how evangelical Christianity sees women. They’re not considered leaders, but background broodmares who are only as good as the husbands they support, the children they pop out, and the words they don’t say.

It’s tempting to say to these women, “Just leave the church!” But it’s not that simple. They believe in the divinity of Jesus and want to spread the gospel just like everyone else in their religion. The problem is with the men in leadership positions (and women who accept those principles of complementarianism). Unless they’re willing to set better examples and stop this behavior in their own churches, nothing will change. Kudos to the progressive Christian leaders, men and women, who continue putting pressure on everyone else in their religion.

By the way, I’m not posting this so atheists can feel superior to Christians. It’s not like we’re so much better than this. While we may not have the same problems they do, we’re not immune from making similar mistakes. Ask women who regularly attend atheist conferences/Meetups, post their thoughts online, or make videos on YouTube, and you’re likely to hear the same kind of common disturbing themes emerging. (Hell, to any women reading this, go ahead and post #ThingsOnlyAtheistWomenHear in the comments.)

As much as we’d love to pin this problem solely on religion, it’s a societal problem, too. That said, no doubt a lot of religious men love that they can point to scripture to justify their misogynistic behavior.

(via Huffington Post)

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