from Anglican Futures
Inviting people to the recent “Not Equal Yet” event hosted by “Women and the Church” (WATCH) the organisation posted a blog which said,
“As I was writing this post at end of February, I found myself distracted by a BBC article telling me that the Tate brothers (Andrew and Tristan) were heading to America. In case you don’t know they are, these are two men who have made their fortune through the online radicalisation of boys and young men into acts of violence against women. They were arrested on charges of rape and human trafficking and their charges have not been dropped, yet they flew to America on their private jet.
“How is it possible that two men have made their fortune through the promotion of the oppression of women? Why are they free to fly when charges of rape and trafficking haven’t been dropped? I can tell you the answer, because it is ‘Not equal yet.’
It is still a man’s world.
It is still a man’s Church.
“In this article, I want to focus on the issues of gender equality in the Church of England, but the Tate brothers are relevant because there is not a great divide between Church and society when it comes to oppression. Any institution that supports the oppression of women (or anyone else) will be automatically supporting the ongoing oppression of women (or anyone else) in the world.”
After expatiating on what is described as, “The Theology of Taint,” the article continued,
“This institutional acceptance is one that supports the thinking that women’s bodies pollute and defile sacred spaces. It is suggestive that the woman is other – lesser human. It reminds me of how those who contracted leprosy were treated – dirty, defiled, infected, sub-human.
This thinking is real thinking.
This is not theology.
This is deep misogyny”
Read also: Catholic tradition not ossifying, Bishop of Fulham tells chrism-mass congregation by Madeleine Davies, Church Times