Women Religious x 2

The Church of England voted to allow women bishops in its ranks:

The House of Bishops recorded 37 votes in favor, two against, and one abstention; the House of Clergy had 162 in favor, 25 against, and four abstentions; and in the House of Laity there were 152 in favor, 45 against, and five abstentions.

This came 18 months after a similar vote was defeated.

Quiet rejoicing in many quarters, though not among those who believe the Bible commands male leadership.

Many women interpret the Bible as Fletcher once did. According to a BBC report, more than 2,000 women within the Church of England signed a petition against the change.

Explaining why she would be voting against the legislation, lay member Sarah Finch said during Monday’s debate, “The pattern for church life that we find in scripture points to a God-given male leadership.”

 What will happen when a Bibletist refuses to serve under a female, as was made possible in the compromise ruling, will be interesting to watch.

Newsweek

And similar tides are rising among Mormon women.  Here Cadence Woodland, a lifelong Mormon, whose faith was punctured by revelations of Mormon contributing to a California anti-gay-marriage ballot proposition, lays out the latest:

LAST month, Kate Kelly, a feminist Mormon lawyer who had called on the Mormon Church to open the priesthood to women, was excommunicated on the charge of apostasy. John P. Dehlin, who runs a popular podcast on hot-button church issues and has loudly advocated for the church to welcome gay men and lesbians, also was threatened with expulsion. Other Mormons have faced sanctions for participating in online forums questioning the church’s positions on these and other matters.

My faith, not just in the good will of church leadership but in the central message of Mormonism, has crumbled. In December, I stopped attending services. I have no plans to return.

The church will continue to lose members like me until it realizes that messages about diversity and inclusion are hollow when excommunication and censorship are the responses to dissent. While the church invests in missionary work, especially overseas, an unwelcoming posture is likely to hinder its growth.  NY Times: Woodland

Maybe there are similar pushes out there in other mainstream faiths… Jews, Catholics, Russian Orthodox, Sunni Muslim, Shite Muslim, Buddhist, Therevada and Mahayan… goodness the future seems a long way….