Good Samaritans,

I hope you are finding blessings and spaces to pause in your Lenten journeys.

All of Lent we have been talking about inclusive language and expanding our vocabulary beyond just a male representation of God. And, I hope you have found some of the why we are doing it to be interesting as well!

But, some of you may have asked yourself, outside the realm of theology, outside of the church and inclusivity, does any of this really matter? I will say a resounding, “YES!” But, this week I stumbled across a couple psychological journal articles that address just this issue: 1) does it matter how we think of God? and, 2) if so, what effect does that have?

The first article from the International Journey of the Psychology of Religion looked at how gendered views of God affect how one thought about sexism and gender roles in society and the workplace. Here’s what they found:

“Overall, the present findings demonstrate a relationship between male God concepts and ideologies that legitimatize the social and political authority of men in society, as well as legitimatize and rationalize unequal treatment between men and women as just and appropriate. This work sheds light on how religion, specifically portrayals of God, can influence individuals’ beliefs regarding gendered hierarchy, even outside of their awareness.” (International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, Vol. 30, No. 3 (March 2020): 216-230)

In other words, there is a connection between a male view of God and belief in societal and political ideas of male authority over women. Additionally, a male view of God was associated with a justification for the unequal treatment between men and women including, but not limited to, the pay gap that exists in the workplace.

The other study looked at both students at a Jesuit university as well as a nationwide cross section and was curious about whether a gendered vs. a non-gendered view of God would impact one’s own beliefs about the involvement of God in their lives as well as whether it impacted religious-related rigid ideologies (religious fundamentalism and right-wing authoritarianism).

Here is their conclusion: “The current study provides evidence that male conceptualizations of God are associated with beliefs regarding the amount of control and involvement God has in one’s life, as well as rigid ideologies such as religious fundamentalism and [right-wing authoritarianism].” (The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion Vol. 28, No. 1 (2018): 55-70)

What they found was that having a male conceptualization of God was tied to a stronger belief that God was involved in one’s life. But, it also showed that this conceptualization of God also was connected with a greater rigidity in religious ideas, specifically religious fundamentalism and right-wing authoritarianism.

Neither of these articles are saying that all people who have a male concept of God fall into these groups, nor do all people who have a non-gendered understanding of God find themselves immune from such beliefs. But, they do show that how we think of and understand God is important, for ourselves, for the church, and for society.

Peace,

Fr. Chris