Unit 1 - Christian understandings of Equality: Slavery, Culture, Gender

Question 1

What is equality?

Answer 1

Equality is the fair and level treatment of all human beings, regardless of ethnic background, nationality, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age.

Question 2

What do Christians believe about equality?

Answer 2

• We’re all made in God’s image
• The perfect characteristics of God are reflected in every human
• Everyone has worth and value
• Respects all other humans regardless of ethnicity, sex, age or religion
• Bible teachings

Question 3

What has Christianity had to do with slavery?

Answer 3

• Inequality has been promoted in the form of slavery
• Some Catholic clergy and Popes even owned slaves
• The Catholic Church seemed to support slavery in the 19th century

Question 4

Scripture about slaves in the Bible: Leviticus 25:44

Answer 4

‘You may buy male and females slaves’

Question 5

Why have the Christian Church not historically supported equality?

Answer 5

• Various members of the Church benefitted from equality
• They had no reason to challenge cultural views that were held at the time
• Christian views were used to justify the status quo
• e.g. Christian teachings were used to justify the unequal distribution of wealth in the early 19th and 20th century

Question 6

What is prejudice?

Answer 6

Prejudice means making a judgement about a person or a situation before knowing all the facts.

Question 7

Examples of gender stereotypes

Answer 7

• Boys wear blue
• Girls wear pink
• Girls play with dolls, boys with cars
• Engineers are usually male, nurses in a nursery tend to be female
• The caring professions tend to pay less than technical jobs, so women tend to earn less money than men

Some would argue that these aren’t gender stereotypes, they’re gender roles.

Question 8

Argument for gender roles, not gender stereotypes

Answer 8

• Males and female are biologically different
• This accounts for social differences
• Women are child bearers, therefore it’s natural for them to want to care for the children

Question 9

What is Egalitarianism?

Answer 9

The principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights.

Question 10

What is Complementarianism?

Answer 10

The Christian view that men and women have different but complementary roles.