Hindu Women Banned From a Famous Temple




A story in the New York Times tells of violence in India over banning of women from a temple during their years of menstruation. Girls and older women can enter, not women during their child bearing years.

We could read about this in Hinduism and conclude correctly this does not happen in Christianity. But why is there any differentiation between women and men in the practice of religion?

If we accept that any religion reflects the culture of the society that invented a religion, it makes sense. Men have been larger than women at least for the last few thousand years. That meant men could beat up women. This put women in an inferior status. If women could have beaten up men maybe they would have put men in a inferior status. That men were considered superior was a view assigned to invisible gods and included in religions.

Prehistoric religions may have been different. Cave drawings, going back about 35,000 years before recorded history, seem to depict female god-like characters. Perhaps this was the case because only women had babies and it gave them mysterious powers that men did not possess.

Currently, women are rising in power and influence. Our cultural attitudes about gender are changing.

If this continues we can expect religions will follow suit and gods will become female. Hindu Temples will be a feminist meeting place.

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