Tony Blair Faith Foundation

The last few months have been punctuated, almost back-to-back, by two significant events: the election of a pontiff from the Americas and the installation of a new Archbishop of Canterbury, known for his deep commitment to Africa.  They both, in different ways, pointed to the fact that the Global South holds the majority of the world’s Christian community.

By Ed Husain (picture above), London Evening Standard – 23 April 2013 It all looked so familiar to Londoners: CCTV images from Boston, Massachusetts, brought back memories of the July 2005 Tube bombings. They were young men in backpacks on a mission to kill and maim fellow citizens, for causes in far-away lands that they had embraced as their own. In an eerie link to sports, Londoners were murdered the day after the Olympic Games were secured. Bostonians were killed as they approached their marathon’s finishing line.

Faith and globalisation are two of the world's most powerful contemporary forces; the dynamics and contours of religion form today an integral part of international relations. Yet how much do we understand about how religions work as global institutions? Katherine Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, in her recent book Global Institutions of Religion: Ancient Movers, Modern Shakers discusses how religions work as global institutions, considering their role in world affairs.

In my work as a lawyer in courts, especially in the Shariah courts, I have increasingly found that women’s issues, though linked directly to local communities, cultural practices and religion, have a parallel with global issues, especially, global foreign polices which impact women directly. Spiritually is part of human make up, which at times people call religion. Religion has often been referred to as a social code, which allows us to have good core values of a belief, honesty, balance, respect, responsibility, fairness, trustworthiness and accountability.

The predominance of male dominated interpretations of canonical texts has often caused analysts and others to proclaim the inherently dangerous relationship between religion and women.

I am Reverend Elizabeth the manager for Tonkolili UMC Schools, in Magburaka, and pastor in charge of St. Mathews United Methodist church. I started experiencing Christ in my life after the death of my husband. But I converted in 1990, and in 1993 I lost my husband. Twenty years I had been struggling. I went to the college I studied theology and in 2000 I went also to study theology. I also studied in Nigeria, where I did my evangelism. I studied in Abuja, studied in Jalingo and Jos. My experience has been a wonderful one and a miraculous one.

It is undoubtedly the case that orthodox Judaism discriminates against women- they are not ‘equal’, they cannot divorce their husbands, and they can be trapped when the husband will not divorce them, though he is technically free to remarry.

It is certainly true that at times religion has posed an obstacle to the advancement and the status of women. But it is also true that religion provides the one great principle that allows us to understand why all those obstacles are illegitimate and that is the idea that every human being is created in the image of God.

We often ask whether religion is good for women but I think it’s just as interesting in answering that [question] to ask “are women good for religion?” and I am not sure they are at the moment. What’s been happening is that women have been wanting greater roles, more leadership, greater participation and at the same time that has actually been becoming harder for them to do - leaving us with a bit of a crisis. Women have always been interested in religion and been extremely active in religion, central to all the world’s religions.

Exploring the question of whether religion has been good for women leads to what can only be called a tale of two narratives. Proponents of the first narrative answer the question with an unequivocal “no.” They contend that both historically and geographically, in every faith and denomination, religion has opposed equality, relegating women to second-class status within the home, the organized faith community, and the public square.