Know About It

In the early nineties more than 4,000 U.S. women died from conjugal battery alone, since then the number has only grown. Guidorf suggests, “the church must take some responsibility for the ethos in which such violence occurs.” I would argue we all need to take some responsibility, because we live in a society that tolerates sexual violence in a myriad of ways and we need to recognize that violence can happen in any relationship regardless of the bonds of marriage.

Fortune and Enger state, “both the Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures contain story after story of violence against women: e.g. Dinah (Genesis 34), Tamar (2 Samuel 13), the Levite’s concubine (Judge 19), Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11), Vasti (Esther 1), Suzannah (Daniel 13), and probably the persistent widow in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 18).”

When doing some research for this Know About It, I found many great articles that address violence in various religions and cultural disciplines. Two articles in particular captured the essence of religion as it related to violence against women and what the church can do to help combat sexual violence.

Fortune and Enger understand, “A comprehensive exploration of the relationship between religion and violence against women is beyond the scope of this article.” However she puts forth the following charges to secular leaders, “one, to recognize that religious beliefs, texts and teachings can serve both as roadblocks and as resources for victims of violence and two to deepen our examination of religious texts and teachings and explore new interpretations so that we minimize the roadblocks and maximize the resources for women.”

Guidorf espouses six principles that she believes need to happen within the church. First, the church needs to “explicitly condemn sexual violence”, two, both clergy and lay people could be trained in crisis intervention and available resources, third, “churches could renounce the tradition of defining masculinity and femininity in terms of domination and submission”, next teaching the congregation appropriate ways to recognize and respond to victims of sexual violence, fifth, the church has the responsibility to espouse and defuse the” racism embedded in the topic of sexual violence”, finally “the church must become more critical of how it interprets the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” She goes on to state that many Christians are told that “this cross of theirs should not be shirked”. “Either by its silence or its instruction, the church has too often communicated to battered women that they should stay in abusive relationships, try to be better wives, and “forgive and forget”” (Guidorf, 1994).

Both brought an interesting perspective to what each believed the role of the church is when addressing sexual violence. The literature on this topic is vast and when discussing religion as it relates, it can get complicated. In conclusion, I’ll end with a couple quotes that I think capture the essence of what I accept:

“We need to being articulating a faith that will provide women with resources for strength rather than resources for endurance. We must articulate a theology of empowerment rather than a theology of passive endurance.” (Bussert, 1996)

“Victimization is never God’s will but rather fullness of life.” (Fortune and Enger, 2005)

References:
Bussert, J. (1986). Battered women: From a theology of suffering to an ethic of
empowerment. Minneapolis, MN: Division of North America, Lutheran Church in America.

Fortune, M., Enger, C. (2005). Violence Against Women and the Role of Religion.
VAWnet. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

Guidorf, Christine. (1993). The Worst Sexual Sin: Sexual Violence and the Church.
Christian Century. Retrieved August 8, 2006 from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ml1058/is_n1_v110/ai/13344283/


October 1st - Violence Against Men