Breaking away from make centered religion

One of the things I realized after leaving patriarchal religions (Catholic, then Orthodox, then back to Catholic and now agnostic) is how male centered it is.

During the liturgy, you watch the performance on stage of the priest, deacons, and altar boys.

The great hero Jesus and his band of male followers and some tag along women who take care of them.

The drama over bishops.

I remember the phrase “saints and women saints” from my Catholic days.

The men create the perfect woman (the theotokos) and tell of the women that we should emulate her.

Obey your husband.

The little boys going on and on about theology.

I never realized how much this hurt me until I left. Men are the real people and women are defective, second-rate humans. Our role is to be supportive, to be their audience and tell them how smart they are.