Patriarchy

Patriarchy (from Greek: patria meaning father and arché meaning rule) is the anthropological term used to define the sociological condition where male members of a society tend to predominate in positions of power; the more powerful the position, the more likely it is that a male will hold that position. The term "patriarchy" is also used in systems of ranking male leadership in certain hierarchical churches or religious bodies (see patriarch and Patriarchate). Examples include the Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox churches. "Patriarchy" is also used pejoratively to describe a seemingly immobile and sclerotic political order.

Definition

The term "patriarchy" is distinct from patrilineality and patrilocality. "Patrilineal" defines societies where the derivation of inheritance (financial or otherwise) originates from the father's line; for example, a society with matrilineal traits such as Judaism provides that in order to be considered a Jew, a person must be born of a Jewish mother. "Patrilocal" defines a locus of control coming from the father's geographic/cultural community. In a matrilineal/matrilocal society, a woman lives with her mother and siblings, even after marriage; she does not leave her maternal home. Her brothers act as 'social fathers' and hold a higher influence on the woman's offspring to the detriment of the children's biological father. Most societies are predominantly patrilineal and patrilocal (see: matriarchy).

Patrilineality

Patrilineality (a.k.a agnatic kinship) is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage; it generally involves the inheritance of property, names, or titles through the male line.

A patriline is a line of descent from a male ancestor to a descendant (of either sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are male. In a patrilineal descent system (also called agnatic descent), an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as his or her father. This directly contrasts the less common pattern of matrilineal descent.

The agnatic ancestry of an individual is his or her male ancestry. An agnate is one's (male) relative in an unbroken male line: a kinsman with whom one has a common ancestor by descent in an unbroken male line.

The Salic Law in medieval and later Europe purportedly served as the grounds for only males being eligible for hereditary succession to monarchies and fiefs, i.e in patrilineal or agnatic succession.

The fact that the Y chromosome is paternally inherited enables geneticists to trace patrilines and agnatic kinships of men.

The line of descent for monarchs and main personalities is almost exclusively through the main male personalities. (see Davidic line.)

Patrilocality

Patrilocality is a term used by social anthropologists to describe a socially instituted practice whereupon a married couple lives with or near the family of the husband.

A patrilocal residence is based on a rule that a man remains in his father's home after maturity. When he becomes married, his wife joins him in his father's home where the couple will raise their children. These children will follow the same pattern: Sons will stay, and daughters will move in with their husbands' families. Household sizes grow quickly as this process continues.

Families living in a patrilocal residence generally assume joint ownership of domestic sources. A senior member leads the household and directs the labor of all other members.

Roughly 69% of the world's societies practice patrilocality.

Image of traditional cultural paternalism: Father Junipero Serra in a modern portrayal at Mission San Juan Capistrano, California

Paternalism

Paternalism usually refers to an attitude or a policy stemming from the hierarchic pattern of a family based on patriarchy; a figurehead (the father, pater in Latin) makes decisions on behalf of others (the "children") for their own good, even if this is contrary to their opinions.

It is implied that the fatherly figure is wiser than and acts in the best interest of those he protects. The term is used derogatorily to characterize attitudes or political systems that are thought to deprive individuals of freedom, only nominally serving their interests, while in fact pursuing another agenda.

In anthropology

Human societies, whether ancient, indigenous or modern industrial, have been described in anthropology as either patriarchal or matriarchal systems. Between these polarities lie a number of social structures which include elements of both systems (see above under Patriarchy a discussion of the terms patrilinial and patrilocal ).

Anthropologist Donald Brown has listed patriarchy as one of the "human universals" (Brown 1991, p. 137), which includes characteristics such as age gradation, personal hygiene, aesthetics, food sharing, and other sociological aspects, implying that patriarchy is innate to the human condition. Margaret Mead has observed that "... all the claims so glibly made about societies ruled by women are nonsense. We have no reason to believe that they ever existed....Men have always been the leaders in public affairs and the final authorities at home."

Societies have developed out of patriarchal cultures. Institutions of religion, education, and commerce retain patriarchal practices. Patriarchy in the form of divided roles between women and men into domestic and social spheres is distinctly visible in modern Muslim countries. In Europe and America, whose cultures are based on a Christian model, political and religious power continues to exert a strong influence.

The ideas of Age of Enlightenment philosophy, and Revolutionary movements including Feminism have brought about changes creating wider possibilities for both women and men. Marxist ideals support the advocacy of egalitarianism between the sexes, but these aspirations have been overtaken by authoritarian forms of political organization in communist states. In China, for example, the law requires that an equal number of women and men compose the National People's Congress. There are, however, no women within the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, the agency that actually rules China. Prior to its dissolution, the Soviet Union's Congress of People's Deputies likewise consisted of equal numbers of men and women. Its successor, the Duma, which has governing authority, at present has only 35 female deputies among the 450 members.

The longstanding thesis that societies are innately patriarchal has raised political opposition. The Modern Matriarchal Studies organization has held two conferences in Luxembourg (2004) and San Marcos, Texas (2005) in efforts to redefine the term "matriarchy." www.hagia.de/ (hagia being derived from the Greek hagios or "holy"}. Various chairs, called "priestesses" in the group's literature, conducted workshops and at the end of the conference declared that “International Matriarchal Politics stands against white supremacist patriarchal capitalist homogenization and the globalization of misery. It stands for egalitarianism, diversity and the economics of the heart. Many matriarchal societies still exist around the world and they propose an alternative, life affirming model to patriarchal raptor capitalism."Societies of Peace Declaration (2005), 2-3

Chinese Patriarchy

Chinese philosopher Mencius outlined the Three Subordinations: A woman was to be subordinate to her father in youth, her husband in maturity, and her son in old age.

Repeated throughout ancient Chinese tradition, the familiar notion that men govern the outer world, while women govern the home serves as a cliche of classical texts.

In the Han dynasty, the female historian Ban Zhao wrote the Lessons for Women to advise women how to behave. She outlined the Four Virtues women must abide by: proper virtue, proper speech, proper countenance, and proper merit. The "three subordinations and the four virtues" became a common four-character phrase throughout the imperial period.

As for the historical development of Chinese patriarchy, women's status was highest in the Tang dynasty, when women played sports (polo) and were generally freer in fashion and conduct. Between the Tang and Song dynasties, a fad for little feet arose, and from the Song dynasty forward footbinding became more and more common for the elite. In the Ming dynasty, a tradition of virtuous widowhood developed. Widows, even if widowed at a young age, were expected to not remarry. If they remained widows, their virtuous names might be displayed on the arch at the entrance of the village.

Examples of patriarchy in 20th and 21st century China include the immense pressure on women to get married before the age of 30 and the incidence of female infanticide associated with China's one child policy. However, footbinding has been eradicated and trafficking in women in China has greatly reduced.

In religion

Abrahamic religions

Map showing the prevalence of "Abrahamic" (purple) and "Dharmic" (yellow) religions in each country.

In the study of comparative religion, an Abrahamic religion or Judeo-Abrahamic Faiths are any of those religions deriving from a common ancient Semitic tradition and traced by their adherents to Abraham ("Father/Leader of many" Hebrew אַבְרָהָם Arabic ابراهيم), a patriarch whose life is narrated in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and as a prophet in the Qur'an and also called a prophet in Genesis 20:7. This forms a large group of largely monotheistic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. Abrahamic religions account for more than half of the world's total religious adherents. Many adherents of these religions, however, will reject this grouping of their faiths on the grounds that they contain inherently and fundamentally incompatible ideas concerning Abraham and concerning God.

According to the Jewish tradition, Abraham was the first post-flood person to reject idolatry through rational analysis (Shem and Eber carried on the Tradition from Noah), hence he symbolically appears as a fundamental figure for monotheistic religion. In that sense, Abrahamic religion could be simply called monotheistic religion, but not all monotheistic religions are Abrahamic. In Islam he is considered as the first monotheist in a world where monotheism was lost (Abraham being a prophet in a line of prophets starting with Adam) and is often referred to as Ibrahim al-Hanif or Abraham the Monotheist.

The term, desert monotheism, is sometimes used for a similar purpose of comparison in historical contexts, but not for modern faiths.

It should be noted however, that Amenhotep IV or Akhenaten, born in 1353 B.C.E., is the earliest verifiable historical advocate or prophet of monotheism, although many argue that his religion came from Judaism (early Judaism) and the religions may be one and the same. Today, around 3.7 billion people are followers of Abrahamic religions.

Patriarchs

There are six notable figures in the Bible prior to Abraham: Adam and Eve, their two sons Cain and Abel, Enoch, and his great-grandson, Noah, who, according to the story, saved his own family and all animal life in Noah's Ark. It is uncertain whether any of them (assuming they existed) left any recorded moral code: some Christian churches maintain faith in ancient books like the Book of Enoch — and Genesis mentions the Noahide Laws given by God to the family of Noah. For the most part, these 'patriarchs' serve as good (or bad, in the case of Cain) role models of behavior, without a more specific indication of how one interprets their actions in any religion.

In the Book of Genesis, Abraham is specifically instructed to leave the historical Mesopotamian city of Ur so that God will "make of you a great nation". Burton Visotzky, an ethicist, wrote Genesis of Ethics to explore the detailed implications of these adventures for a modern ethics.

According to the Bible, the patriarch Abraham (or Ibrahim, in Arabic) had eight sons by three wives: one (Ishmael) by his wife's servant Hagar, one (Isaac) by his wife Sarah, and six by another wife Keturah. Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Bahá'u'lláh, and other prominent figures all claim to be descendants of Abraham through one of these sons.

Jews see Abraham as the progenitor of the people of Israel, through his descendants Isaac and Jacob. Christians view Abraham as an important exemplar of faith, and a spiritual ancestor of Jesus — a Jew considered the Son of God through whom God promised to bless all the families of the earth. In addition, Muslims refer to Christians and Jews, among others, as People of the Book ("the Book" symbolizes divine scripture, such as Tanakh and the New Testament). They see Abraham as one of the most important of the many prophets sent by God. Thus Abraham represents for some, a point of commonality whom they seek to emphasize by means of this terminology.

So, rather than being the sole "founding figure", Abraham is more correctly described as the first figure in Genesis who (a) is clearly not of direct divine origin, such as Adam and Eve are claimed to be; (b) is accepted by three major monotheistic faiths as playing some major role in the founding of their common civilization; and (c) is not claimed as the male genetic forebear of all humans on the Earth (as Noah is, in more literal interpretations).

Islam and Judaism also treat Adam and Noah as minor prophets, and recognize that there were possibly other prophets who are unknown today.

The Supreme Deity

Judaism and Islam worship a Supreme Deity which they conceive strictly monotheistically as one being; Christianity agrees, but the Christian God is at the same time an indivisible Trinity, a view not shared by the other religions. It should be noted that some Christian denominations do not support the belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, and that the trinity idea was found in Roman religious culture, probably due to Romes absorption of Zoroastrian and some Pagan ideology as part of their homogenized culture, see Nontrinitarianism.

Judaism

Jewish theology is based on the Hebrew Bible, where the nature and commandments of God are revealed through the writings of Moses, the Torah, and the writings of the prophets, psalmists and other ancient canonized scriptures, together with the Torah known as the Tanakh. Additionally, it usually has a basis in its Oral Law, as recorded in the Mishnah and Gemora which form the Talmud.

This Supreme Being is referred to in the Hebrew Bible in several ways, such as Elohim, Adonai or by the four Hebrew letters "Y-H-V (or W) -H" (the tetragrammaton), which Jews do not pronounce as a word. The Hebrew words Eloheynu (Our God) and HaShem (The Name), as well as the English names "Lord" and "God", are also used in modern day Judaism. The latter is sometimes written "G-d" in reference to the taboo against pronouncing the tetragrammaton.

The word "Elohim" has the Hebrew plural ending "-īm", which some Biblical scholars have taken as support for the general notion that the ancient Hebrews were polytheists in the time of the patriarchs; however, as the word itself is used with singular verbs, this hypothesis is not accepted by most Jews. Jews point out other words in Hebrew that are used in the same manner according to the rule of Hebrew Grammar, and denotes respect, majesty and deliberation, similar to the royal plural in English and ancient Egyptian, and the use of the plural form "vous" for individuals of higher standing in modern French. Jewish Biblical scholars and historical commentary on the passage also suggest that Elohim in the plural form points to God in conjunction with the heavenly court, i.e. the angels.

Christianity

Christians believe that the God worshipped by the faithful Hebrew people of the pre-Christian era has always revealed himself as he did through Jesus Christ; but this was never obvious until the Word of the Lord, the revelation of God, became flesh and dwelt among us (see John 1). Also, despite the fact that the Angel of the Lord spoke to the Patriarchs, revealing God to them, it has always been only by the Spirit of God granting them understanding, that men have been able to perceive afterward that they had been visited by God himself. After Jesus was raised from the dead—according to Christian scriptures—this ancient Hebrew witness of how God reveals himself as Messiah came to be seen in a very different light. It was then that Jesus' followers began to speak widely of him as God himself (see John 20:28), although this had already been revealed to certain individuals during his Ministry, for example, the Samaritan woman in Shechem, and his closest apostles.

This belief was gradually developed into the modern formulation of the Trinity, which is the doctrine that God is a single holy God (YHWH), but that there is a real threeness in God's single being that has always been evident but not understood. This mysterious threeness has been described as, for want of better terms, hypostases in the Greek language (subsistences), and as "persons" in English. In the traditional Christian conception, God the Father has only ever been revealed through his eternal Word (who was born as Jesus, of the Virgin Mary), and his Spirit (who after the resurrection was given to men, establishing the Christian church).

Trinitarian theology is developed from the Christian Bible (comprised by the Old and New Testaments). As it was further elaborated by the early Church fathers, it was later codified by the Ecumenical councils at Nicaea and Chalcedon. Another famous formulation is called the Athanasian Creed. Some Trinitarian churches, however, do not accept the Chalcedon council at all, in part because it claimed to have excommunicated them. These are known as 'non-Chalcedonian', or Oriental Orthodox Churches.

This "trinitarian monotheism" has been rejected by several Christian denominations and Christian-based religions, such as Arianism and Unitarianism. Strict unitarian Christians believe that God the Father is the only divine being, but the others believe that Jesus is a created deity.

Islam

Allah is the standard Arabic translation for the word "God." Islamic tradition also describes the 99 Names of God. See also: Islamic concept of God

Muslims believe that the Jewish God is the same as Allah and that Jesus is a divinely inspired prophet, but not God. Thus, both the Torah and the Gospels are believed to be based upon divine relevation, but Muslims believe them to have been corrupted (both accidentally through errors in transmission and intentionally by Jews and Christians over the years). Muslims revere the Qur'an as the final uncorrupted word of God brought through the last prophet, Muhammad, and Islam is viewed as a final correction of Judaism and Christianity.

Eastern Orthodoxy

The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the "first among equals" - primus inter pares in Latin - in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. He has also been historically known as the "Greek Patriarch."

In this capacity he is first in honor among all the Orthodox bishops, presides in person or through a delegate over any council of Orthodox primates and/or bishops in which he takes part and serves as primary spokesman for the communion, especially in ecumenical contacts with other Christian denominations, but has no direct jurisdiction over the other patriarchs or the other autocephalous Orthodox churches. However he alone among his fellow-primates enjoys the right of convening extraordinary synods consisting of them and/or their delegates to deal with ad hoc situations and has also convened well-attended Pan-Orthodox Synods in the last forty years.

In addition to being the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, he is the direct administrative superior of diocese and archdioceses serving millions of Greek, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Russian, and Albanian Orthodox in North and South America, and Western Europe (where his flock consists mainly of the Greek, Slavic and other Balkanic diaspora), Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and Korea, as well as portions of modern Greece.

His actual position is Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, one of the fourteen autocephalous and two autonomous churches and the most senior (though not oldest) of the four orthodox ancient primatial sees among the five patriarchal Christian centers comprising the ancient Pentarchy of the undivided Church. In his role as head of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, he also holds the title Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome.

He should not be confused with the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, an office that is now extinct(see Latin Patriarch of Constantinople)and created after the Latin capture of Constantinople in 1204, during the Fourth Crusade and which became effectively redundant after the city was recaptured by the Byzantine Greeks, half a century later. His official title is "His Most Sublime All-Holiness the Archbishop of Constantinople New Rome and Oecumenical Patriarch."

Unique role in Orthodox episcopacy

The Ecumenical Patriarch has a unique role among Orthodox bishops, though it is not without its controversy. He bears the title primus inter pares ("first among equals"), which indicates his seniority among all Orthodox bishops. This primacy, expressed in canonical literature as presveia ("prerogatives"), grants to the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to preside at pan-Orthodox synods.

Additionally, the canonical literature of the Orthodox Church grants to the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to hear appeals in cases of dispute between bishops, though whether these canonical rights are limited only to his own patriarchate or are universal throughout the Orthodox Church is currently the subject of debate, especially between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate.

Historically, the Ecumenical Patriarch has heard such appeals and sometimes was invited to intervene in other churches' disputes and difficulties. Even as early as the time of St. John Chrysostom (5th century), Constantinople was instrumental in the deposition of multiple bishops outside its traditional jurisdiction. This still occurs today, as when in 2006 the patriarchate was invited to assist in declaring the archbishop of the Cypriot Orthodox Church incompetent due to suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[3] Additionally, in 2005, the Ecumenical Patriarchate convoked a pan-Orthodox synod to express the Orthodox world's confirmation of the deposition of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.[4] In 2006, the patriarchate was invited to hear the appeal of a Russian Orthodox bishop in the United Kingdom in a dispute with his superior in Moscow, though the result of that appeal and the right to make it were both rejected by the latter[5].

The Ecumenical Patriarch has no direct jurisdiction outside the Patriarchate of Constantinople granted to him in Orthodox canonical literature, but his primary function in terms of the whole Orthodox Church is one dealing with relations between autocephalous and autonomous churches. That is, his primary function is one of Church unity.

This unique role often sees the Ecumenical Patriarch referred to as the "spiritual leader" of the Orthodox Church in some sources, though this is not an official title of the patriarch nor is it usually used in scholarly sources on the patriarchate. Such a title is not incorrect if it refers to this unique role, but it sometimes leads to a belief that the office is thus the equivalent of an Orthodox papacy, an impression sometimes given from unqualified references in the press.

In gender studies

In gender studies, the word patriarchy often refers to a social organization marked by the supremacy of a male figure, group of male figures, or men in general. It is depicted as subordinating women, children, and those whose genders or bodies defy traditional man/woman categorization.

In such a context, qualifying something as "paternalistic" or "patriarchical" implies a pejorative meaning, having similar associations as "chauvinistic." However, a man or woman can behave in a paternalistic manner. For instance, many activists during the Women's Health Movement criticized doctors for being patriarchical. While most doctors were male, many female doctors encountered the same accusations because they also engaged in behavior that subordinated women.

Feminist view

Many feminist writers have considered patriarchy to be the basis on which most modern societies have been formed. They argue that it is necessary and desirable to get away from this model in order to achieve gender equality.

Feminist writer Marilyn French, in her polemic Beyond Power, defines patriarchy as a system that values power over life, control over pleasure, and dominance over happiness. She argues that:

It is therefore extremely ironic that patriarchy has upheld power as a good that is permanent and dependable, opposing it to the fluid, transitory goods of matricentry. Power has been exalted as the bulwark against pain, against the ephemerality of pleasure, but it is no bulwark, and is as ephemeral as any other part of life...Yet so strong is the mythology of power that we continue to believe, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that it is substantial, that if we possessed enough of it we could be happy, that if some "great man" possessed enough of it, he could make the world come right.

According to French:

It is not enough either to devise a morality that will allow the human race simply to survive. Survival is an evil when it entails existing in a state of wretchedness. Intrinsic to survival and continuation is felicity, pleasure [...] But pleasure does not exclude serious pursuits or intentions, indeed, it is found in them, and it is the only real reason for staying alive

The latter philosophy is what French offers as a replacement to the current structure where, she says, power has the highest value.

Gender-issues writer Cathy Young, by contrast, dismisses reference to "patriarchy" as a semantic device intended to shield the speaker from accountability when making misandrist slurs, since "patriarchy" means all of Western society. She cites Andrea Dworkin's criticism, "Under patriarchy, every woman's son is her potential betrayer and also the inevitable rapist or exploiter of another woman."

Bibliography

• Pierre Bourdieu, Masculine Domination, Polity Press 2001
• Robert Brown, Human Universals. Philadelphia: Temple University Press 1991
• Margaret Mead, . (1950). Male and Female, Penguin, London.
• Maria Mies, Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale: Women in the International Division of Labour, Palgrave MacMillan 1999

External links

• Cattle ownership makes it a man's world New Scientist (1. October 2003): Early matrilineal societies became patrilineal when they started herding cattle, a new study demonstrates
• Debate Between Mark Ridley and Stephen Goldberg on the Inevitability of Patriarchy
• The Return of Patriarchy by By Phillip Longman
• Chart and explanation of patrilocal residence

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