Gender, Sexuality and Christianity

Few issues generate more debate within contemporary Christianity than questions of gender and sexuality. The role of women in the Church, the ordination of women, the moral status of homosexuality, and the question of same-sex marriage have divided denominations and dominated headlines. This lesson examines these debates, considering the biblical texts, theological arguments, and changing cultural attitudes that shape them.

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The Role of Women in Christianity

Biblical Perspectives

The Bible contains texts that can be used to support both the equality and the subordination of women.

Text	What It Says	How It Is Used
Genesis 1:27	"God created humankind in his image... male and female he created them"	Both men and women are created in God's image — the foundation of equality
Genesis 2:18–23	Woman is created from man's rib as a "helper" (ezer)	Traditionalists: woman was created second and for man's benefit. Egalitarians: ezer implies strength, not subordination (the same word is used of God in Psalm 121:2)
Genesis 3:16	After the Fall: "Your husband... shall rule over you"	Traditionalists: a divinely ordered hierarchy. Egalitarians: a description of the fallen world, not God's intention
Galatians 3:28	"There is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus"	The strongest egalitarian text in Paul: in Christ, the distinctions that divide humanity are transcended
1 Corinthians 14:34–35	"Women should be silent in the churches"	Traditionalists: Paul prohibits women from speaking in church. Egalitarians: this may be a later interpolation, or it may address a specific local problem (disorderly behaviour in Corinth)
1 Timothy 2:11–15	"I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man"	The most frequently cited text against women's ordination. Egalitarians note that 1 Timothy may not be by Paul himself, and that the instruction may reflect a specific pastoral situation
Romans 16:1–7	Phoebe is called a diakonos (deacon/minister); Junia is described as "prominent among the apostles"	Evidence that women held leadership roles in the earliest churches

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The Ordination Debate

Arguments For Women's Ordination

Argument	Explanation
Galatians 3:28	In Christ there is no male or female — gender should be irrelevant to ministry
The example of Jesus	Jesus treated women with remarkable respect for his time: he taught women (Mary of Bethany, Luke 10:39), appeared first to women after the resurrection (Mary Magdalene, John 20:11–18)
Early Church practice	Women served as deacons, prophets, and leaders in the earliest churches (Phoebe, Junia, Priscilla)
The Spirit gives gifts regardless of gender	If God calls and gifts women for ministry, the Church has no right to refuse
Justice	Excluding women from leadership reinforces patriarchal structures and is a form of discrimination

Arguments Against Women's Ordination

Argument	Explanation
Jesus chose twelve male apostles	This was not merely a cultural accommodation but a deliberate choice with theological significance
1 Timothy 2:11–15	Paul's instruction against women teaching or exercising authority over men
Tradition	The Church has ordained only men for two thousand years; changing this requires extraordinary justification
In persona Christi	In the Catholic understanding, the priest acts "in the person of Christ" at the altar; since Christ was male, the priest must also be male (Pope John Paul II, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 1994)
Complementarity	Men and women have different but equal roles — leadership in the Church is the man's role, not because women are inferior but because they have different callings

Current Practice

Denomination	Women's Ordination
Roman Catholic	No — Pope John Paul II declared this question "definitively" closed (1994)
Eastern Orthodox	No — though there are discussions about restoring the female diaconate
Church of England	Yes — women priests since 1994; women bishops since 2015
Methodist	Yes — since 1974 in Britain
Baptist	Varies by congregation — some ordain women, many do not
Pentecostal	Varies — many women serve as pastors and leaders, especially in the Global South

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Feminist Theology

Feminist theology analyses the patriarchal structures of Christianity and seeks to recover and promote women's equality.

Key Thinkers

Theologian	Key Ideas
Rosemary Radford Ruether (1936–2022)	Christianity can be reformed from within; the prophetic tradition provides resources for feminist critique; proposed the term "God/ess"; argued for inclusive language in worship
Mary Daly (1928–2010)	Christianity is irredeemably patriarchal; "If God is male, then the male is God" (Beyond God the Father, 1973); advocated leaving the Church entirely
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (b. 1938)	In Memory of Her (1983): reconstructed the role of women in earliest Christianity; argued that the earliest Jesus movement was a "discipleship of equals" that was later suppressed by patriarchal structures
Phyllis Trible (b. 1932)	Texts of Terror (1984): examined Old Testament narratives of violence against women (Hagar, Tamar, the Levite's concubine) to highlight the Bible's complicity in patriarchy and to call for a reading "against the grain"

Key Definition: Patriarchy (from the Greek patria, father, and arche, rule) is a social system in which men hold primary power and authority. Feminist theologians argue that patriarchy has shaped Christian theology, language, institutions, and practice in ways that marginalise and oppress women.

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Homosexuality: Conservative and Liberal Views

The moral status of homosexuality is one of the most divisive issues in contemporary Christianity. The debate centres on the interpretation of a small number of biblical texts and on broader questions about the nature of Christian ethics.

Key Biblical Texts