World Religions Essay Example for Free

World Religions Essay The roles of women within the three major religious groups have changed throughout the years. Their beginnings; as-well-as, their current situation, have played an important part in how women are viewed within the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic communities. For this paper, I plan to examine what those roles were and how women in these faiths are now CEO’s, business owners, and important leaders within their respective communities. Roles of women within the Islamic faith vary from country-to-country. However, the roles of Islamic women are fairly standard and, in many countries, are open to interpretation based on how devoted they and their families are. The majority of Muslims live in more conservative countries, where women are required by law to be completely covered while in public or in the presence of men who are not family, or their husband. In these that require this of their women, those women are not allowed to work outside their homes. Their â€Å"job† is to maintain the household and tend to the children. In westernized countries, the burqua is seen as a symbol of repression for Islamic women. But for most of the women who live in the countries where it is required, they see the burqua as a means of protection for unwanted attention by the opposite sex. The â€Å"dress code† for these women have changed in ways that might not be apparent to the outsiders, but women now wear heels, brightly colored nail polish and other things that many westerners take for granted. Another change for conservative Muslim women, is the allowance of women to compete for their countries in athletic events such as the Olympics. They are still required to keep their legs covered, and are required to compete in their events wearing their head coverings and track suits. Conservative Muslim women are now allowed to walk around in public unaccompanied by a male, and they are slowing starting to enter the work force. Some Afghan women are even starting their own businesses outside their homes. In other Islamic countries where the laws concerning women aren’t as strict, women are attending public schools, universities, and raising up in the ranks of international corporations. The country of Jordan is one of these less strict countries. In an interview with Queen Noor al-Hussin of Jordan back in 1983, she states that Jordan was in the midst of a five-year development plan which emphasized the role of women in the development of a more modern Jordan. Islamic women all over the world have been given greater opportunities for education from primary up through the university levels. This increase in educational opportunities have led Islamic women to be able to serve in parliaments; such-as the Egyptian Parliament and even in the Egyptian cabinet. Islamic women has also been named director of national television stations, and even the Minister of Culture for Syria was a woman. It safe to say that Islamic countries, even those who are very traditional and conservative, are starting to realize that women are vital to their economy; as-well-as; vital to the needs of their own households. Within the next 20 years, Islamic women will no longer be forced to do anything they aren’t willing to do, nor suffer the harsh punishments that are dealt out when an Islamic woman wants to better herself. Furthermore, Islamic women in countries like Afghanistan, will continue to become heads of states, foreign dignitaries, business owners, and CEO’s, while maintaining their faith. Women’s roles within the Jewish communities have also changed. Women are and were, seen has being the heart of the home. Their role, according to Jewish law, was to be the primary vehicle of religious expression. Though for the most part, their role cannot be defined as simply that of mother, sister, or wife, but it assumes different forms as each women develops herself accordance with the general parameters of Jewish law and philosophy. Their roles have always been central and considered an asset to the Jewish communities, yet, they were limited and traditional and dominated their identities. In the more liberal synagogues, Jewish women now wear ritual garments and can read from the Torah, but at one time and even within the Orthodox Synagogues, women are forbidden to even hold a position of any meaningful leadership. However, a few years ago, a female was ordained as a Rabbi. This was a big step for Jewish women everywhere. It is now common in not only in a worship setting, but also, in a business setting for Jewish women; especially; women in the Orthodox Church, to hold jobs outside the home. Not long ago, Jewish women were not allowed to study the Torah, a right that was reserved for strictly the men. However, women are now starting their own Torah prayer groups which are being led by those same women. This, among other changes have caused heated debates within the Jewish world. In the future, not only will women in the more strict synagogues become leaders within their communities, but will also become future CEO’s, which currently, they are not allowed to do. One prime example is Gold Meir, the first Jewish Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974. If a Jewish woman can become Prime Minister, imagine what they could do, we could even have a Jewish woman as President of the United States. I saved Christianity for last. Christian women have had their own issues within the business world; however; since Christianity isn’t as strict as some of the other religions on what they considered to be the â€Å"proper† roles for women, their entrance into the business world was a bit easier. The roles of women within Christianity have changed. At one point, like in other religions, women were expected to take care of the household, their husbands and children. Their education wasn’t up to the same standards as men, and were not allowed to discuss anything that was considered to be â€Å"mans† talk. Colleges and Universities were open to only men; whereas; women went off to â€Å"finishing† schools where they learned how to be a â€Å"proper† hostess, etc. Things started to change at the turn of the 20th century. Women started to become doctors, lawyers, and owned and operated their own businesses. They went to college and were determined to be educated the same as men were. Just recently the tide has shifted and there are almost as many women in the corporate world has men. Some of those women even holding places of authority. Women will always have a place in the business world, regardless of their religion. Hopefully, those women who decide to go against the grain and become more than their communities feel they are, will help other women see their potential. Women may be able to manage a household, but there isn’t much of a difference between fighting children and fighting co-workers. They will and are using their â€Å"homemaker† skills in the business world and in the future, will led to better businesses, less ethical issues and a higher economy.

Asian-American Stereotypes Essay -- essays research papers Asians Ethn

Asian-American Stereotypes Overview Asian stereotypes are a product of prevailing myths propagated by various media, from books, plays, movies, television, to even historical propaganda. Generally speaking, the stereotyping of Asian women often swing to extreme types: the docile, subservient sexual object, or the dragon lady. Asian Americans only make up a small percentage of the United States population and live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii. Consequently, the rest of the American population will most likely get their exposures to Asian Americans through television and movies. Popular media exposure to Asian Americans lacks one-on-one acquaintance with Asian Americans. It hinders the process that could help Americans from other racial backgrounds realize that the stereotypical characters in Hollywood movie productions are unjust and biased. Furthermore, these popular movies do not reflect the true individuality of the typical Asian American living in America. Hollywood has a tradition of portraying Asian women as exotic, subservient, compliant, industrious, and more than often, eager to please. These race and class stereotypes of Asian American women give the impression of what Asian American women are really like to other Americans as well as to Asian Americans themselves. This perpetuates race and class inequalities of Asian Americans by allowing these belittling Asian characteristics to appear repeatedly in society. The beliefs that Asian American women are weak or passive and allow themselves to be sexually and emotionally abused by men also prevail in common media. These stereotypes of a submissive, obedient Asian woman made up of sexual desires waiting to be rescued by a man were formed by mesmerized, ignorant Westerners who were not viewing Asians as people, rather as objects for their enjoyment. These Hollywood images of ?easy women? have spilled over into mainstream images of Asian women. In result, Asian women are viewed for the ir sexual desire and hyper-femininity As mysterious and sexual, Asian women cannot be taken seriously by society. Ideally, these women are depicted as geisha girls, Oriental massagers, comfort women and prostitutes. With their main objective being to submit to their dominator?s every desire, Asian women are seen as sexually desirable. The stereotype remains that all of th... ...nd that many non-Asian students at UCI had not even heard of terms such as ?Dragon Lady? or ?China Doll.? Though they did know the connotations behind the stereotypes, they were not familiar with the actual label. The Asian men in our study already knew those terms, most likely because they were raised within the Asian culture, which provides a biased viewpoint.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, it is very obvious that the stereotypes that Hollywood creates about certain nationalities, ethnicities, races, and gender that are ingrained and prevail in the minds of many Americans. Though some can be as comical or entertaining, they should not be tolerated or continued. By allowing media to feed us with knowledge of the unknown only perpetuates the ignorance behind such atrocities like racism and hate related violence. The research conducted for this paper shows that these false stereotypes about Asian Americans cross all borders. Young Asian American males at UCI can identify the same false perceptions of Vietnamese American women that we find in the media, because that is where those ideas are taught. Until the media eliminates these negative stereotypes of all people, ignorance will prevail.

Cultural Changes and Continuities in the Mediterranean Essay

Throughout history, the Mediterranean has offered a vast amount of political transformations leading to both cultural continuities and variances. One of the main political changes that occurred in this area was the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Byzantine Empire, which took place from around 200 C.E to 1000 C.E. While these empires consisted of roughly the same culture, they had different political structures which led to some differences. Other alterations that came up were the rise of Islam and the invasion of Germanic tribes. This led to cultural diffusion in the Mediterranean and had many effects on the cultures of this area. Many relate the fall of the Roman Empire to it being split in half in 330 C.E; however, the Roman Empire officially fell in 476 C.E. when Germanic tribes overthrew the Western half of the empire. The Eastern half went on to be known as the Byzantine Empire which already had its own capitol, Constantinople, and its own emperor. Christianity had already been legalized by the Roman Empire in 313 C.E, before the split. It had spread so rapidly afterwards that it soon became the official religion of the state. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Byzantine Empire, this was one of the main continuities. Christianity was the official religion of the Byzantine Empire as it had been for the Roman Empire. Not only did the Byzantine Empire stay Christian, but also the Western half of the Roman Empire, at that point conquered by Germanic tribes, stayed Christian and the conquering tribes converted to Christianity, which was a change. Another continuity of Roman culture into Byzantine culture was that a Byzantine emperor, Justinian, actually created a code of laws from compiling laws that were used in the Roman Empire, such as the citizenship laws that were prevalent for most of span of the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine (eastern Roman Empire) continued to speak Greek, and the Western Roman Empire continued to speak Latin. This continuity of Greco-Roman culture not only showed in language but also in architecture. It was built off of architecture in both Rome and ancient Greece. An architectural feat particularly associated with the Byzantines is the Dome, an idea based off of the Roman arch. Columns were also commonly used inside Byzantine churches, which is a Greek architectural design. A prominent change in the culture of the Mediterranean was the rise of Islam. It spread rapidly throughout the Mediterranean region of Africa, which had beforehand been a variety of religions. Although Islam was not very prevalent in most of the European Mediterranean, it did make the crossover in 711 C.E. to Spain. Before this Spain had been Christian and there were still Christians in the area, it was just that Muslims were more prevalent. In conclusion, the political transformations that occurred from 200-1000 C.E. throughout the Mediterranean region, influenced the culture of some Germanic Tribes, the Byzantines, and some Muslim groups, affecting the entire coastal area.

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