why in religion is it that a woman in her menses is considered unclean?

Question

Gumby -ask your own questions and leave mine alone!

Answer 1

Ooh. I'm sticking around for this one. *pops some popcorn and offers free sodas*

Answer 2

Well, some answered that it was due to bacteria etc. contained in the blood. That's not really true. That argument is more along the lines of why pork wasn't allowed to be eaten etc. The taboo against women in her menses had a far more spiritual meanings. It had to do with fertility, with females' spirits being "stronger" during the menstrual time. Older religions that the Abrahmic religions separated women for other reasons than uncleanliness. If you really want to know what churchmen, popes, etc. had to say about women, go google it. There's wealth of information there which clearly demonstrates how misogynistic attitudes used to be; and in some places still are. I mean, they had a council to vote whether women had souls, for crying out loud! But anyway...

Answer 3

Ancient taboos, usually created by men.
In the Hebrew Scriptures abominations included sex during menses, mixing cotton and wool, planting different crops in the same field, eating pork, labor on the Sabbath, etc.
Some taboos might have their origins in the practices of the people the early Hebrews were sharing the lands with, as they were suppose to be a separate nation and so anything your godless neighbor did was something you should avoid.

Answer 4

menses are a sign of a woman's fertility. the men who invented primitive religions could not understand why god had been foolish enough to give the most precious of human gifts to the women who were inferior to them.

in catholic theology all seven sacraments are held to originate from the seven wounds our saviour bore on the cross. christ becomes spiritually fertile by bleeding, thus proving that he is even better at menstruating than any woman.

it is cracked thinking - but isn't that the definition of 'faith'?

[edit]

the menstruation taboo is certainly not confined to abrahamic religions. segregation of women who are on is just as severe in mayan and hindu rites, and far more extreme for zen buddhists.

Answer 5

At least in Christianity, that was only in the Old Testament. The whole reason for it was that they didn't exactly have pads and tampons back then, and like Last Entwife said, blood does contain a lot of bacteria.

Nowadays, we have SOAP (cannot stress the importance of soap enough, lol), antiseptic, pads and tampons. It's a lot cleaner now.

The whole seven days thing was to allow the bacteria to dissipate slightly, and then the person had to go cleanse themselves in "living" or running water.

It actually makes sense if you look at it in historical context.

P.S. They also couldn't have known about quarantine back then, but they did. It was that method of quarantine that was used to end the Black Plague.

Answer 6

For one thing, it raised the most intimate relations of marriage to the level of sanctity, teaching both mates self-control, a high regard for the reproductive organs, and respect for the sacredness of life and blood. The hygienic benefits that accrued from scrupulous observance of these regulations have also been commented on.

The Law’s requirements pertaining to the functions of the reproductive organs taught men and women self-discipline, restraint of passions, and respect for God’s means of propagation. The Law’s regulations forcefully reminded creatures of their sinful state; these were not merely health measures to ensure cleanliness or prophylactic safeguards against the spread of diseases.

Le 15:1-17, 19-33; 20:18; Le 12:1-8

Answer 7

disregarding any religious connetations.... As humans, the female mensus is frakly unclean, your avitar suggests that you are female, so think about it..... We spend a fortune in feminine hygene products to be more clean but until recent times those products were not available.... So honestly as a woman, would you not consider mensus as a "not so clean" situatuation that females have to deal with....

Answer 8

because most religions are made up by men and men are frightened of what they don't understand. menstruation must have freaked men out since they had no understanding of why women's bodies do what they do so the holy men decided that women bleed once a month because women are cursed by a god. ignorance, superstition and an excuse to keep women shamed, guilty and under an oppressive heel.

PS. don't don't give me that "bacteria" routine. back in them olden days they had no clue about germs, bacteria or sanitation.

Answer 9

Religion has never been very kind to women. The men who invented gods and founded religions were-- and ARE-- scared to death of women, so they rely on their upper-body strength to assert they are "superior." Menstruation is a mystery to most men, and they fear most what they understand least and consign it to evil.
It's not likely to change anytime soon.

Answer 10

Actually, this is only true of the Abrahamic religions.