Perhaps the answer is the same as why do the poor & illerate believe in god & religion most passionately. The more educated a person or society the less religion is present. On the other scale the less educated and more repressed, the more they willingly believe. Unfortunately many women are stuck w/ their lot and the last thing they have is some belief in a better world & god who cares even though he doesnt.
Why are the moms so attached to religion?
by ILoveTTATT 39 Replies latest jw friends
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Retrovirus
ILove TTaTT,
Just a thought from a non-jw - due to the patriarchal mindset relatively jw women work outside the home and those that do often have grunge jobs. Therefore they are denied a social outlet and a reality check, a different perspective that more men have. Additionally, they do the lion's share of caring for children, family and sick cong members, as well as housework and "service". So the friendships and belonging are immensly important.
And yes, I know this is both speculation and generalisation.
What to do about it - pretty much as Steve Hassan suggests. Introduce alternatives. And it may be difficult because the poor jw has been conditioned to believe that any activities outside the "Truth" ( ) are the lures of Satan.
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jgnat
Careful, guys, your generalizations smack of misogyny. Women are poor and illiterate? Stuck at home with low-paying jobs? Insecure? Not analytical?
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jgnat
I'd like to turn the tide on where this thread is heading. Not everyone involved in religion or caught in cults are ignorant chumps. If that were so, what does that make the ex-JW community? Bunch of awakened idiots? I give you all a great deal more credit than that.
Consider that Steve Hassan, an intelligent man, was caught up by the Moonies. Both Blondie and her husband (a convert), arguably intelligent and sensitive people, were caught up for a time. I believe that cults just happen to be more adept at catching people in a cognitive trap. It starts with a statement along the lines of, "I am telling the truth."
I also believe that religions take care of a need in society for community, tradition, and belonging. Otherwise, they would not be so pervasive.
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adamah
jgnat said-
I also believe that religions take care of a need in society for community, tradition, and belonging. Otherwise, they would not be so pervasive.
Not only that, from the looks of comments contained in this thread, religions seemingly serve as a magnet for modern-day misogynists, since the Bible contains passages written BY misogynists to rationalize and perpetuate their personal misogyny; hence partly why misogyny continues to the present day.
Perhaps we should study Mein Kampf, too, since it also contains a few grains of truth in it, too, and it even contains proscriptions for practices that the Bible endorses (eg genocide, misoyny, slavery, etc)?
Why people cling to hurtful, morally-bankrupt writings in this modern day and age is just mind-boggling, and how woman can overlook the OBVIOUS depictions and modern-day "fruits" of its misogyny is just as amazing. You'd think women would be FIRST ONES (as well as blacks, with a greater awareness of the evils of slavery) to see the repugnant nature of the ideas found in the Bible.
<sigh....>
Adam
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jgnat
....religions seemingly serve as a magnet for modern-day misogynists...
Then would it follow that many women are modern-day misogynists, since there are more women than men attending church? Remember that not all religious come from the Judeo-Christian ethic. There are Muslims (who hang on to the concept of women as property), Buddhists, and Sikhs.
I do agree that by trying to hang on to an imagined (historical) ideal, religions are holding back women.
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adamah
jgnat said-
Then would it follow that many women are modern-day misogynists, since there are more women than men attending church?
That's precisely my point: why do women TOLERATE and EVEN TEACH their own sons and daughters a "God-given" morality that perpetuates misogyny, an attitude and practice that only harms them?
Add it to the lengthy list of the self-inflicted HARM that results from being a JW, joining the list of shunning, a practice that results in psychological and emotional damage only to THEMSELVES, when they're expected to shun their own children or be shunned themselves.
Remember that not all religious come from the Judeo-Christian ethic. There are Muslims (who hang on to the concept of women as property), Buddhists, and Sikhs.
Sure, many religions are NOT based on the Abrahamic Judeo-Christian tradition.
However, misogyny is NOT exclusive to the OT/NT, but is found in other "Holy" books, as well; these others often perpetuate the idea of a belief in possessing all the answers, forcing followers to adopt some unquestionable belief under the banner of claiming it contains ancient "wisdom".
And that's precisely why clinging to ANY morality by setting it into stone and declaring it as unchangable is very foolish, since morality needs to be allowed to grow, to change over time.
Adam
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jgnat
This brings to mind Betty Friedan's observations in the Feminine Mystique. Women (generally) willingly left the factories for domestic "bliss", leaving room for the returning soldiers to take up their husbandly duties. College-educated women stayed home with their babies and suffered mysterious depression. They were living the "ideal", why weren't they happy?
Is it possible that generations go through cycles of reform and conservatism? I think with the ageing baby boomers, we are heading for a new Victorian age. The new sins? Destroying the environment, carelessness with health.
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TD
There are Muslims (who hang on to the concept of women as property), Buddhists, and Sikhs.
That's an interesting observation, which is why I think Marta Trzebiatowska's explanation makes the most sense.
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mP
Adamah
Perhaps we should study Mein Kampf, too, since it also contains a few grains of truth in it, too, and it even contains proscriptions for practices that the Bible endorses (eg genocide, misoyny, slavery, etc)?
mP:
Plus Hitler was the first to ban smoking in public places.
