Women and Religion: The Fear of Truth and the Struggle for Freedom
WOMEN: THE RELUCTANCE TO SEEK THE TRUTH
Introduction
As 2024 draws to a close, this will be the final post of the year. Its purpose is to offer a brief recap and commentary on the topics discussed so far, as well as the obstacles encountered in the research I have undertaken. By this date, 54 posts have been published. All are brief and address various themes lightly, without much depth, for reasons that readers will come to understand in this text.
Historical Control and Religious Power
In any investigation of events and circumstances from a distant past, it is challenging to assess, through writings from hundreds or even thousands of years ago, the emotions, desires, and intentions of the authors and the subjects they describe. These texts have generated both objective and subjective interpretations, making analysis and conclusions even more difficult, especially considering the control the Church has maintained over many of these texts.
Historically, it is well known that the Catholic Church held considerable theocratic power, influencing the politics and laws of States and Kingdoms, even to the extent of wielding life-and-death power over citizens, while controlling thought and freedom of expression. I had assumed these were issues of the past, but I have found that a form of control over thought and expression still persists within Catholicism. Whenever I attempt to delve deeper into any of the topics I have posted about, unexpected obstacles arise, preventing that depth of analysis.
Modern-Day Obstacles to Freedom of Thought
An imposed alignment appears to control publication platforms and media, which use algorithms that foster critical detachment in readers on certain topics, such as religious doctrines or dogmas. The aim of this strategy is to uphold and reinforce falsehoods as unchallenged truths, restricting the possibility of open discussion and analysis. This, in turn, hampers critical thinking and keeps topics that raise serious doubts from being fully examined.
This indirect control over thought and freedom of expression keeps truths veiled, particularly on issues imposed on society for millennia, underscoring the complexities and shadowed history of Christianity. While religion has served as a source of comfort and morality for many, it has also been used to justify acts of intolerance and abuse, as recounted below.
Stereotypes and Women’s Social Role in Religion
For twenty centuries, Christianity and Catholicism have embedded in the minds of their followers that women are inferior to men, worth little against male supremacy, and that their role in society is limited to bearing and raising children, taking care of the household, and serving their husbands. This subordinate status is supposedly ordained by the creation of the world as narrated in chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis.
The Impact of Social Conditioning on Women’s Identity
From birth, women are taught to be passive and servile, adapting to circumstances and with the only aspiration of someday meeting a “perfect” man who will rescue them from unhappiness. Evolution represents a more pressing need for women than the imperative imposed by Christianity to procreate and be subject to men. For them, evolving means awakening to their true role in both past and present worlds, as they remain trapped within the dark mold created by Christianity.
Evolution implies freedom—freedom from the constraints of human teachings, especially those instilled for centuries by Christianity and Catholicism, including God, good, evil, saints, virgins, and the Holy Spirit. As long as women’s minds, both conscious and unconscious, are filled with religious teachings as their normal inventory, they will never achieve true freedom.
Chains of Fear: The Reluctance to Embrace Freedom
Sadly, women have been conditioned to prefer familiar chains over the fear of new experiences, of freedom, and of the superior status with which they were brought into this marvelous world. The great tragedy of women is that their social consciousness completely dominates their individuality. Women fear being different and avoid straying too far from the comfort of the familiar, which has been imposed by religion, as they have been led to believe that their purpose is to serve men.
Religion’s Role in Perpetuating Misogyny
This religiously imposed submission and degradation over two millennia has become a socially entrenched reality, giving rise to fierce misogyny and strengthening the unquestioned power of machismo, constructed and imposed by Christianity in the name of God.
A Journey Toward Truth and Awareness
The advancement of civilization and the struggle of women for their rights have gradually lifted the veil on countless lies that, over time, have been accepted as truths. These lies have served as the foundation for the subjugation, scorn, and hatred toward women promoted by religion.
Imagine the difficulty of convincing a woman to stop believing in the “truth” imposed on her over more than sixty consecutive generations. I mention this because the most striking aspect of my research has been the fear many women feel of knowing the lies that have been turned into “truths” and their resistance to change.
The Complex Psychology of Women under Religious Influence
As the greatest mystery of the universe, women are extraordinarily complex beings who are challenging to understand. They have lived for twenty centuries under deeply ingrained religious stereotypes that depict them as inferior to men and even as the root of all humanity’s problems, all because of Eve’s choice to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, as told in the “sacred scriptures.” Thus, religion has created a psychological and social framework that deeply affects women, conditioning them to accept these stereotypes as irrefutable truths.The Mechanisms of Cognitive Dissonance and Resistance to Change
Women caught within these “truths” often exhibit behavior patterns on both conscious and unconscious levels, as they have internalized these “truths” as unassailable. Consequently, their minds protect these beliefs as a source of stability and security, leading to resistance to change.
If anyone tries to challenge these lies, sustained by time and terror as “truths,” women often react defensively. This reaction, known as “cognitive dissonance,” occurs when a deeply ingrained belief is contradicted, sometimes resulting in irrational or exaggerated responses. This reaction serves as a way to protect the internal coherence of their identities.
Reactions to New Truths
When presented with a truth that contradicts ancient, entrenched lies, a woman might interpret it as a threat, leading to several possible reactions: ignoring or denying the new information, ridiculing it or the messenger by labeling them ignorant, or responding with anger or deep sadness. Accepting the new information would mean acknowledging that she has been misled for many years.
Continuing the Quest for Clarity
In this initial phase, bearing all of this in mind, I have tried to gradually sow seeds of doubt among women. Yet, it often seems that women prefer to remain in a hidden form of slavery imposed by Christianity and Catholicism for over twenty centuries. However, I will continue next year to investigate and delve into this topic, if the Catholic loyalists allow it. My goal is to bring to light the many years of obscurity in which religion has kept the greatest mystery of the universe, knowing full well that revealing the truth by exposing the lie is a formidable challenge since everything seems to suggest otherwise.
