I've been a member of CSS for about 8 months now and I do the CSS website. While I have been an atheist for as long as I can remember, I have been pondering what events lead to my current thinking.
Women's Rights has always been a strong issue in my life. I was raised Catholic and my mother is a very strong Catholic. It was through the Catholic religion that I was first outraged by the way women were treated. My brothers were allowed to be altar boys and I could not, I was told that girls weren't allowed to do that. I came to find out there were a lot of things girls weren't allowed to do in the church. We couldn't ever be priests or hold office religious office.
One particular image is still strong. My mother was the first woman allowed to help give out the Eucharist during communion. I was elated that the church was beginning to open up. That feeling was short lived when it came time for communion, when I notice a number of people leaving my mother's line, including her own father.
From an early age the church had shown me how unfairly women were treated. I will grant the church a certain amount of credit for allowing women to be more active in the Catholic Church, but they still have a long way to go. In fact, the world has a long way to go on the issue of women's rights.
The United Nations recently had a conference about women's rights around the world. While they are to be applauded for their efforts, the agreements are not legally binding on any national governments. Despite some agreements the delegates still could not agree to stronger access to abortions and sexual rights for women. Much of the debate on sexual rights set Islamic nations against Western nations. The Vatican also opposed liberalizing measures. I suppose that's not much of a big surprise.
Even after we fought a war for their freedom, the women in Kuwait still do not have the right to vote. In November of 1999, the Kuwaiti legislature said no to a measure that would have granted women the right to vote.
I am disheartened that at the dawn of the new millennium, women around the world are still not treated fairly. Let's be honest here, religion is at the heart of the problem. How any woman can make herself a part of any group that so completely disrespects them is beyond my comprehension. I know I certainly couldn't. I can only hope that people come to their senses, but I'm not holding my breath.
Hello. My name is Angela Christine Byers (yes, my mother actually named me “Angel of Christ”), and I am an atheist.
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