Whooooooops on Women

[Content Note: Religious institutional misogyny.]

FMF News: Church of England Begins Debate on Female Bishops.

The governing body of the Church of England is set to begin discussions about whether or not to allow women to become bishops. All three branches of the General Synod, the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy, and the House of Laity must approve of any decision to allow women bishops by a two-thirds majority. If these branches fail to approve the change, the measure cannot come back before the synod for at least seven years.

Ha ha this debate is PERFECT already. Don't worry, ladies—if 66% of us don't agree that you're not garbage, we'll definitely take up the issue again in seven years!

Twenty years ago, the Anglican Church first approved that women could be ordained as priests and now women are a third of all clergy in the Church of England. The subject of women bishops was argued earlier this year, but was dismissed over language in an amendment that allowed parishes to request a male bishop who shared their beliefs if they were opposed to women bishops. Since then, the amendment has been rewritten to include slightly less discriminatory language.

Oh don't worry—parishes can still totally reject female bishops. Obviously. The language about it is just politer!

Forget "less discriminatory" (which is SO generous): If the church decides whoooooops we were wrong about our deity creating women as certainly and eternally inferior to men, why would parishes get a veto? Well, church doctrine is sorta optional when it comes to the fundamental equality of women!

In a letter by over 1,000 bishops, clergy, and laity that was published in the Independent, they agreed "Just as the Churches have repented of our historic anti-Semitism and endorsement of slavery, so we believe that we must now show clearly that we no longer believe women to be inferior to men."

Still a controversial position that needs lots of rigorous debate in the year of our lord Jesus Jones two thousand and twelve.

Let me save the Church of England and everyone else in the fucking world some time: Women are not inferior to men. The end. Please proceed accordingly.

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UPDATE: Church of England Refuses to Allow Female Bishops: "The Church of England's governing body on Tuesday narrowly blocked a move to permit women to serve as bishops, leaving the church facing more years of contentious debate. Following a daylong debate, opponents mustered enough support to deny the necessary two-thirds majority among lay members of the General Synod, with backers falling six votes short of passage." Cool. What a neat church!