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SOCIOLOGY : RELIGION AND WOMEN Religion can be seen to act as a social control over women to a large extent. The feminist perspective argues religion serves the interests of men and cements patriarchal power. Karen Armstrong points out the ways in which God has been redefined by each era, by men to continually meet their needs. We can see this in relation to two main ideas, the nature of religious imagery. In most religions, women tend to be portrayed in terms of their "traditional" social characteristics. The "Virgin Mary" in Christian religion for example. Although a powerful figure her power, is ideological rather than political - the virtues of purity, chastity, motherhood and so forth are personified through her as ideals for womanhood. Giddens states, "Females appear as important figures in the teachings of some Buddhist orders...but on the whole Buddhism, like Christianity, is an overwhelmingly male-created institution dominated by...

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