Puppets of Faith

Inequality is the disparity of distribution or opportunity and can be looked at through many positions from a sociologist standpoint. This paper will look at the basics of gender inequality within marriage through three different religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Looking at the basics of gender inequality one can ascertain that it is a learned behavior beginning at the developmental stages of childhood. According to Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development under the preoperational period (2-7 years of age) during the intuitive phase (4-7 years of age) a child’s “speech becomes more social…has an intuitive grasp of logical concepts.” In addition “concepts formed are crude and irreversible” which makes a child extremely susceptible to social perceptions set in place by the parents who in-turn are governed by their perceptions according to their particular faith. A part of a child’s upbringing involves what I call “social programming” which adheres to Piaget’s stages of development chart. This social programming happens when the parents pass on their behaviors to their children during the intuitive phase. For example something as simple as religion can be a product of social programming. By taking a child to a specific church consistently he or she will come to identify themselves as a part of that particular religion. Within that religion they will learn what their parents have learned and that is how they are to behave in accordance with their gender.

Without going into specifics on the three religions that will be discussed we can identify some of the obvious commonalities between them. Each of the religions sees the male as the dominant of the two genders and the female of the lesser being of course. Also they all have set in place roles that each gender is assigned to perform. Each of them have the male being placed in the superior role. These roles are especially true within a marriage.

What is marriage? According to Webster’s Dictionary a marriage is “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law.” It can also be stated for those of the same sex, but for the purpose of this paper it will be examined from a heterosexual standpoint.

In a heterosexual marriage you will find conflict between the husband and the wife and this is where religion is supposed to help out. Each particular religion being discussed has specific rules for the roles of men and women and if they abide by these rules and accept them happily, the end result should be a blissful unification throughout their holy matrimony. But many have stated otherwise and this brings the notion of inequality in the marriage.

In this paper we will look at and analyze what causes the notions for inequality in a marriage through Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. In addition we will seek to see how much of a factor religion does play within marital inequality. Inequality no matter how you look can cause feelings of displeasure and discontent causing a moral conflict within oneself if that person does not accept it pleasingly. Another question to ponder is: does the unhappiness of marital inequality contribute to the ever increasing divorce rate? Below you will see a table of divorce rates as set in place by divorce rate.org.

Age at marriage for those who divorce in America

Age Women Men

Under 20 years old 27.6% 11.7%

20 to 24 years old 36.6% 38.8%

25 to 29 years old 16.4% 22.3%

30 to 34 years old 8.5% 11.6%

35 to 39 years old 5.1% 6.5%

The divorce rate in America for first marriage, vs second or third marriage

50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce, according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri.”

According to enrichment journal on the divorce rate in America:

The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%

The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%

The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%

According to Anthony J. Centore, he purposes that married couples can benefit from religion to put troubled marriages on the right path. This is done through “specific religious practices, namely, being part of a religious community, prayer and meditation, forgiveness, scripture reading,”