Androcentrism - Christianity

Christianity

Much of the development of Christianity, historically and today, has been primarily driven by men — therefore our understanding of Christianity and the Bible may come from a more masculine perspective.

The vast majority of Bibles available today were translated mainly by men. For instance, 93% of the New International Version (NIV) translators were male and 86% of the NRSV translators were male. In churches today, women are more often allowed to be leaders and to preach; however, the majority of churches are still led by a man, and most sermons are still delivered by men. Therefore, arguably, many Christian teachings come from a more masculine or androcentric viewpoint, and women's experiences and viewpoints can be marginalised.

About half of the Bible translations today use male generic words exclusively in gender-inclusive context (words such as 'mankind', 'man, 'forefathers' and 'he'), arguably marginalizing women. Some of the more recent translations of the Bible have tried to use gender-accurate language where appropriate in the context. The 1989 New Revised Standard Version, NRSV, and the 2005 Today's New International Version, TNIV) are examples.

All of the known authors of the Bible are male. Most well-known biblical characters are men, and women make up only 14% of named characters in the Bible (1,181 men are named in the Bible but only 188 women are named). Therefore, the Bible is largely written from a male perspective and the experiences of women in the Bible are interpreted by men.