Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Politics and Religion
The Bible and Gender Equality

The Bible and Gender Equality

Last updated on: July 18, 2025 at 11:29 am by Herb Montgomery

The Bible and Gender Equality 2025-07-18T11:29:29-04:00 Herb Montgomery

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

the Bible

Image by Canva

This is the challenge of relying only on the text of the Bible in passages like our reading this week. In the Bible, passages that teach patriarchal misogyny against women exist along with passages that subvert chauvinistic ways of viewing and treating women. The Bible is not univocal on the subject of egalitarianism between the sexes. It’s simply not. Those whose biases are against women will find plenty in the Bible to support their prejudices. Those who believe in and fight for gender equality will also find passages in the Bible to support their efforts.

Welcome Readers! Please subscribe to Social Jesus Here.

This is Part 2 of The Bible and Gender Equality

(Read this series from its beginning here.)

Even in the work of Paul we find both kinds of texts:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

And:

Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. (1 Corinthians 14:34)

Some have solved the dilemma by stating that we must discern the trajectory of our sacred text. Yes, they say, we find both sets of texts in our Bible, but we should ask, which direction is the text moving in as a whole? Is the Bible moving toward sexism or away from it?

I’m not sure it’s that simple.

With the issue of slavery, U.S. Christians who supported slavery during the abolitionist movement accused Christian abolitionists of throwing away the Bible in order to oppose slavery.

With the call for LGBTQ inclusion in our society and the Christian church as a whole, homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic Christians state that Christians who are welcoming and affirming of our LGBTQ family and friends are throwing away the Bible to affirm them.

Here too, whenever subjects arise such as women’s ordination in denominations refuse to recognize and honor the equality of women in ministry, those who view gender equality in the church as evil say that Christians who support egalitarianism must throw away their Bibles.

The Bible and gender equality is a subject of ongoing theological debate within many Christian communities. This debate draws passionate voices from both complementarian and egalitarian perspectives. Egalitarianism holds that men and women are created equal in worth, dignity, and capacity, and that their equality should extend into all areas of life—including leadership roles in the church, home, and society. When read through an egalitarian lens, the Bible can offer a strong foundation for gender equality.

The biblical case for egalitarianism typically begins in Genesis. In the creation narrative of Genesis 1, both man and woman are created in the image of God: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, NRSV). This passage affirms that both men and women equally reflect God’s image and share in the divine mandate to care for creation (Genesis 1:28). There is no hint of hierarchy in this first creation account.

Patriarchy then appears in Genesis 3:16. We’ll pick up there and follow its challenging thread, next, in Part 3.

Are you receiving all of RHM’s free resources each week?

Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, justice and action. Free.

the Bible

Image by Canva

General Christian

Politics and Religion

Feminism

Liberation Theology

Womanism

About Herb Montgomery

Herb Montgomery, director of Renewed Heart Ministries, is an author and adult religious re-educator helping Christians explore the intersection of their faith with love, compassion, action, and societal justice. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

July 16, 2025

Mary, Martha, and Gender Equality

Next Post

July 18, 2025 Gender Equality and Patriarchy in the Bible

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ableism Abolition Advent Anti Semitism Christianity Christmas Climate Justice Criminal Justice Democracy Disability Justice Distributive Justice Easter Economic Justice Environmental Justice Equity Feminism Government Immigration Justice Indigenous Justice Interfaith Law and Order LGBTQ Affirmation Liberation Theology Migrant Justice Myth of Redemptive Suffering Nonviolence Prayer Racial Justice Reparation Resistance Resurrection Social Gospel Social Justice Survival Uncategorized Womanism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A fence A stone A wall A door