Anyone know of any religions where women are equals and higher powers are considered female and male also.?

Question

Im looking into different religions b/c I dont believe females should be treated as less than men. I also would like to know about religions that involve meditation.

Ive received some responses about wicca does anyone have a website I can research this religion?

Answer 1

Try Wicca.

Answer 2

I agree with those who say that religion is mostly about interpretation. It's true, many religions do not place one sex above the other. However, religions can be used to achieve the ends of those with power, and historically, those people have been men.

The Taoist and Zen communities are pretty good about treating people equally, by and large. The pagan community also is fairly equal, although women do sometimes seem to be placed higher than men (which is, I think, just as bad as the opposite). Having a look at many religions is a great idea. Keep an open mind, and try to find the truth that each has to tell.

Edit:
There is a great website to research Wicca as well as any other religion you might have in mind:
http://www.religioustolerance.org
That site is an unbiased look at many, many religions. It's as good a starting place as any. There are some really good Wicca books as well. Some of the beginner-type books by Scott Cunningham are good, for example. Wiccans are pretty open and free about their religion; most of them will happily answer any questions you have.

Answer 3

Funny enough, almost all major religions promote equality among men and women. It is in the practice of religion and the interpretation of religious texts that they are treated inequally. Buddhism gives equal rights and responsibilities to men and women. Although Islam says that men and woman are fundamentally different and are treated differently, they still have the same responsibilities (even though some Muslims have distorted Mohammed's words). Christianity at it's core is a religion of equality but again human's can't help but look out for their self-interest, and the church has been run mainly by men for nearly 2000 years. Baha'i are a little closer to equal, mainly because they haven't been around long enough to build up a good male-chauvinist viewpoint. These are just a few examples. In reality, it is humanity that has skewed the meanings of great teachers.

Your best bet is to follow the golden rule (Treat others as you would like them to treat you) in your dealings with people, and search out people who do the same.

You will be hard pressed to find a religion without the baggage of at least hundreds of years of male-centered society, that has spilled over into it.

-K.

Answer 4

Check into Wicca IT honors both women and men ,the god and the goddess lots of meditation invovled too, some people call it the olde ways i have to agree we women are not beneath men nor vice versa in certain sects of wicca though there is a certain degree of sexism just do your research and look into the different paths but for the most part we believe in the duality of life

Answer 5

80% of the world (about 4 billion) claim to subscribe to an "accepted" religion, of which Islam and Christianity comprise about to better than 50% (2 billion total) and both religions seem to view the male as being top dog.

I recently read an article that an Anglican region elected a woman leader, first in Anglican history and they are now worried how the rest of the world body will react to this as there only a few Anglican women Bishops (this is the American sect of the Church of England I'm speaking of, known elsewhere as the Espiscoplian church).

Some protestant sects have ordianed women as ministers.

Two cults or sects (depending on your definition system) that come to mind would be the Seventh Day Adventists (founded by a man named Miller and many consider themselves Millerites, however a woman expanded and had a profound influence on this religion, which was actually dying out after Miller's predictions of the second coming failed to occur. Her name was Ellen White and she founded a lot of the backbone of the modern practise of this following, most especially their vegetarian approach (which to me seems to be in conflict with the lamb eating Bible) and no liqour (ditto, this seems to be at odds with Jesus "last supper" which was a lamb and wine feast and Adventists are heavy into this Last Supper concept, except with veggies and grape juice).

Then there is also Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science. She founded the basic concepts of this following and her book is required reading.

Aside from these "cults" the rest of the posters are correct. I suppose ancient Pagan systems offered some women high rankings, however it seems like in all of them men are always the more superior diety...

Hinduism should be looked at, as India was one of the first nations in the world to sport a woman leader.

If you take notice there have been few women leaders of countries or nations historically as compared to male leaders.

America, the so-called "greatest nation on Earth" seems far off from ever electing a woman president and can't even pass an equal rights amendement, meanwhile the UK, India and a few others nations have all had women Prime Ministers or Presidents that the American male counterpart has had to deal with.

Men are bigger, stronger, meaner and will slap you down if you get to unruly. Is there a relationship between this reality and the fact that the most superior God or Gods are always considered male?

If God was female and created Eve in her image and man was responsible for the original sin, what happened after they got thrown out of Eden? A little re-writing of history from the bigger, stronger, meaner one who has to kill the lamb and till the soil? And if the woman didn't like this there was no Femminist movement or ACLU to go to and get a lawyer to take care of him.

Once must remember science says we are all conceived female and those with the X elements are converted to males before the 8th week, with the male elements evolving from the female elements. A well documented process.

In order to become male it requires release of testosterone (steriods, which build muscles) which accounts for the increase in size and strength that a woman of equal proportions can never equal without doping herself up with steriods.

Hence, top dog status.

Answer 6

Yes, what crazy cat said, except that "Wicca" is the religion & "Wiccan" is the practitioner of that religion.

You also might want to try Buddhism or some Native American paths.

You mentioned "higher powers:" I don't know if you're being encouraged to find a higher power through a 12-step program or not, but beware if that's the case. 12-step programs are based on fundamentalist Christian teachings & might not be what you need to empower yourself as a woman.

Answer 7

Try looking at Novus Spiritus, founded by Sylvia Browne. She has a very interesting book about the female/goddess aspect of spirituality called Mother God. Interesting stuff! She also has many great guided meditations. She comes across as a crackpot on TV and on Montel, but her written work is insightful and intelligent. I think she's for real.

http://www.novus.org/home/index.cfm
http://www.novus.org/home/godfemale.cfm

Answer 8

Man conversing with God: You made woman soo beautiful, but why did you make her so dumb?
God answered: So she would be attracted to you.
Truly, in the Bible it is a woman that led the troops into battle when no competent warrior leader among the men would do it.
Woman is superior to man in so many ways; so don't believe the brain washing that tries to put down women.
I speak as a man. Two books of the Bible named after women, Ruth and Esther.

Answer 9

women are equal to men in Christianity, anyone who tells you differently wants you to suffer a life of eternal torment.

men and women sometimes have different roles, but i've never heard anyone that actually is Christian say that women are supposed to be inferior.

people who try and turn others away from God point out to a strong woman that the Bible requires a wife to submit to her husbands. however, it's important that you dont forget that Christianity requires that a man love a woman with all of his being. and does not allow a man to force a woman to do things against her will. before Jesus set foot on the earth women were property and little more, sometimes even much less. and truthfully in our daily world, men are physically stronger than women, and like it or not the reality (which is sometimes horrible)is that a woman is going to be forced to submit to a man when he really wants her to anyway. and in that aspect men and women are not equal regardless of what you personally believe.

even right now today, in other parts of the world where other religions literally rule over people, women are sexually mutilated as children, they are forced to be silent in the presence of men, they are forced to dress certain ways to make them unattractive and even worse.

so dont kid yourself, there are differences between men and women. and YOU are going to 1 of 2 places when you die. which one you go to is entirely up to you . how you spend your days here in this world is also up to you, dont be a fool. there are no Gods other than God himself. other religions where people believe in godesses and such are not based in truth or reality and will undoubtedly end up in you being treated as an inferior person. probably not at first, but sooner or later something will happen that will ruin your life, even if it doesnt happen til you are sent to hell with the other worshippers of false gods.

meditate on the word of the one true God. the one who will accept you regardless of your gender. the God who will love you forever based on your acceptance of him.

Answer 10

Pretty much ANY religion (other than maybe ISLAM) considers males and females equal... it's all about interpretation.

Even in the Christian bible it says to love woman MORE than yourself (speaking of men).

Also, history was written by men... so we only have their perspective... be a woman, be happy!

Answer 11

You would be looking for pagan religions... baal worship, sun gods, egyptian stuff, etc...

Keep in mind that just because you believe women should be treated a certain way doesn't make it truth or right. God knows what He's doing...when He created us in our roles.