In many creation myths and religious teachings, man was created first and women as an afterthought. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, women are responsible for bringing sin into the world. Even some branches of Buddhism and Hinduism emphasizes the evils of women’s sexuality and feminine powers. In An Autobiography of a Yogi be Paramhansa Yogananda is taught again and again that sex with women is evil, and that saints cannot ever become saintly without abandoning wife and children.

Over the millennia, women have come to the conclusion, partially through feminism but mostly through common sense, that an exclusively male God who favors men above women is poppycock. Even women who love the Jewish, Islamic and Christian Gods want to help be priests and pastors, and are mostly prevented so by silly verses quoted mostly out of context by their male counterparts. Feminism and religion still have a long history of antagonism to overcome.

In Hebrew legend, Eve was not the first wife of Adam. She was the second. The first wife was made of the same dust of Adam. But Lilith refused to lie down beneath Adam for sex – she wanted to be on top! Adam, not realizing the fun that could be had, instead chastised Lilith; and said that she had to lie beneath him because she was made of a lower kind of dust than he was. Lilith then spoke aloud the sacred name of God, rose in the air, and became the mistress of demons and dragons even unto this day.

Lilith was most likely a symbol for the female oriented Goddess religions, which venerated all females their power to give birth. In the 700s Before Common Era (BCE), the nation of Israel was captured and carted off as slaves time and time again. These conquering nations almost always worshipped Goddesses. And so any woman having power that cannot be controlled by a man was considered not only dangerous, but sinful.

In the Christian church, women are not allowed to make the final decision in home matters or to be priests, according to vitriolic letters written by the Apostle Paul, who clearly hated women. He was the one who wrote the famous phrase “Better to marry than to burn…” Women priests are still not allowed in the Catholic Church, despite the lack of any man to do the job.

Feminism and religion can work together for good if they see that anything having to do with a living spirituality must be flexible enough to serve the needs of the worshippers. Wicca, which worships both a God and a Goddess, is the fastest growing religion in America, even though it is not an organized religion by any means.

Some women swing the other way and only worship Goddesses and allow only women into their worship and ritual circles. The most famous of these is the Dianic Tradition of Witches, which worship Diana as the most powerful Deity in the pantheon. But this can lead to the same problem of reverse discrimination against men. Is it fair to judge men today solely on decisions made by their ancestors?

Feminism and religion need not fear each other. In order to help human beings understand themselves, they can work together to strike a balance that is beautiful and fair for everyone. Feminism and religion can go together, but only if men can accept this.