Should God be a woman? The Church of England is embroiled in a turbulent debate over the pronouns of the supreme Creator. For some, it is time to return to one of humanity's oldest beliefs.
Bishops debate use of 'he' for the Almighty
Should God be a woman? The Church of England is embroiled in a turbulent debate over the pronouns of the supreme Creator. For some, it is time to return to one of humanity's oldest beliefs.
"As the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God," says Psalm 123. "I am like a weaned child with its mother," echoes Psalm 131, of David's contentment with God.
If these PsalmsHoly poems or songs. had been written today, their authors would likely be sprawled out across the Daily Mail's frontpage. "Now even God could be going gender neutral," its headline cried out yesterday.
The backlash came as bishops announced that a project will be launched to review the use of gendered pronounsA word referring to a person and functioning as a noun, such as he/him or she/her. While these are the two most common sets of pronouns, some people prefer non-gendered terms like they/them or xe/xyr. in Church of EnglandThe main or official church in England, also known as the Anglican Church. The supreme head of the church is the monarch. services.
The outcome may be that priests will no longer be allowed to refer to God with the masculine pronouns "He" and "Him" in some services.
This would signal a break from centuries-old tradition. But its supporters are determined. One group claimed that using masculine pronouns for God is "a driver of much continuing discrimination and sexism against women".
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Church of England pointed out that Christians have long acknowledged that God is "neither male nor female" and transcendsGoes beyond. gender altogether.
But if God transcends gender, why can He not be a She? After all, archaeologists consider that God was a woman for the first 200,000 years of humanity's existence. In the ancient world, worship of a supreme female Creator spanned across Egypt, Crete, Ethiopia, India, Libya, Babylon, Ireland and Israel.
For many, it is about time we brought the divine feminine back. But others claim the more inclusive option is gender neutrality - and inclusivity is becoming important for the Church, which issued an apology last month for its historic exclusion of the LGBTQ+ community.1
Some disapprove of the whole debate. "God [...] has made clear what his preferred pronouns are," stated one rector. "I just don't think we should be misgendering [Him]."
<h5 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Should God be a woman?</strong></h5>
Yes: A female God has been worshipped even longer than a male God, so maybe it is time to return to our oldest traditions. Besides, in the Bible God is often referred to using feminine imagery.
No: Regardless of how you feel about God's default pronouns being masculine, God does not have a gender and is incapable of "being a woman". And Jesus tells his followers to worship the Father, not the Mother.
Or... We should use gender-neutral pronouns for God to acknowledge the fact that a supreme deityA god or goddess. does not belong to the gender binaryThe classification of gender into two distinct and separate categories: male and female. . But in other ways, we need to do as much as we can to remove patriarchyA system of society where men hold power and women are excluded. from organised religion, so that women can feel equal in the eyes of the Church.
Psalms - Holy poems or songs.
Pronouns - A word referring to a person and functioning as a noun, such as he/him or she/her. While these are the two most common sets of pronouns, some people prefer non-gendered terms like they/them or xe/xyr.
Church of England - The main or official church in England, also known as the Anglican Church. The supreme head of the church is the monarch.
Transcends - Goes beyond.
Deity - A god or goddess.
Gender binary - The classification of gender into two distinct and separate categories: male and female.
Patriarchy - A system of society where men hold power and women are excluded.
Bishops debate use of ‘he’ for the Almighty

Glossary
Psalms - Holy poems or songs.
Pronouns - A word referring to a person and functioning as a noun, such as he/him or she/her. While these are the two most common sets of pronouns, some people prefer non-gendered terms like they/them or xe/xyr.
Church of England - The main or official church in England, also known as the Anglican Church. The supreme head of the church is the monarch.
Transcends - Goes beyond.
Deity - A god or goddess.
Gender binary - The classification of gender into two distinct and separate categories: male and female.
Patriarchy - A system of society where men hold power and women are excluded.