Complementarianism

Complementarianism is a theological view held by some in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, religious leadership, and elsewhere. The word "complementary" and its cognates are currently used to denote this view. For some Christians whose complementarian view is biblically-prescribed, these separate roles preclude women from specific functions of ministry within the Church. Complementarianism assigns primary leadership roles to men and support roles to women—based on their interpretation of certain biblical passages from a Complementarian perspective. One of its precepts is that while women may assist in the decision-making process, the ultimate authority for the decision is the purview of the male in marriage, courtship, and in the polity of churches subscribing to this view.

The main contrasting viewpoints are Christian egalitarianism which maintains positions of authority and responsibility in marriage, religion, business, and elsewhere should be equally available to females as well as males, and chauvinism, a generalized bias that in most situations men are of significantly greater value than women (though female and other varieties of chauvanism do exist).

Christianity

Complementarianism holds that "God has created men and women equal in their essential dignity and human personhood, but different and complementary in function with male headship in the home and in the Church." Proponents of Complementarianism generally see the Bible as the infallible word of God.

The complementarian position is seen to uphold what has been the most traditional teaching on gender roles in the church. However, the terms traditionalist or hierarchicalist are usually avoided by complementarians, as the former “implies an unwillingness to let Scripture challenge traditional patterns of behavior”, while the latter “overemphasizes structured authority while giving no suggestion of equality or the beauty of mutual interdependence”. Therefore, they prefer the term complementarian, “since it suggests both equality and beneficial differences”.

The Catholic Church advocates complementarianism with regard to the social doctrine of the Church. Catholic catechism asserts that "God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity" but also that the harmony of society "depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out."

In contrast with adherents of Biblical patriarchy, some complementarians are open to the possibility of women assuming leadership roles in civic and commercial life.

Roles in marriage

The Complementarian view of marriage asserts gender-based roles in marriage. A husband is considered to have the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect, and lead his family. A wife is to collaborate with her husband, respect him, and serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Complementarians assert that the Bible instructs husbands to lead their families as Head of Household, and to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. They cite the Bible as instructing wives to respect their husbands’ leadership out of reverence for Christ. The husband is also meant to hold moral accountability for his wife and to exhibit a sacrificial love for her. The wife is meant to respond to her husband's love for her with love in-kind and by receiving his service and leadership willingly.

An example of the Complementarian view of marriage can be found in the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message (2000), an excerpt from which is quoted here:

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to his people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

— Article XVIII. The Family. Baptist Faith and Message 2000

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood teaches that "Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission—domestic, religious, or civil—ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin."

The expression Sponsa Christi is sometimes used by complementarian denominations such as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. They maintain that the apostle Paul advocated such views in the New Testament. Accordingly, the Christ symbolizes the bridegroom, while the Church (Ecclesia) represents the bride.

Roles in the Church

Based on their interpretation of certain scriptures Complementarians view women's roles in ministry, particularly in church settings, as limited. The complementarian view holds that women should not hold church leadership roles that involve teaching or authority over men. For instance, Frank Page, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has written that "...while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of Pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture." According to Complementarianism, women are not completely forbidden from speaking within a church since Paul speaks about women prophesying inside the church.

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood holds that “[i]n the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation. Nevertheless, they strongly believe that certain governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (1 Cor; 11:2–16; 1 Tim 2:11–15).” Most complementarians believe that women should not be ordained as a pastor or as an evangelist, while a few believe that it is acceptable for women to be evangelists but not pastors. This would not support placing women in leadership roles in the church or family that would imply or provide any authority over men. Which other specific ministry roles are open to women varies among complementarians.

In his article "Women Preachers, Divorce, and a Gay Bishop–What’s the Link?", Southern Baptist theologian and seminary president Albert Mohler asserts that "The arguments used in support of the ordination of women require the dismissal or 'reinterpretation' of specific biblical texts which disallow women in the teaching office". He believes the same is true of arguments for the ordination of divorced persons and for homosexuals.

Some traditionally Catholic countries have been called matriarchal because of the high value that was placed on women. Numerous women have been beatified and who are venerated among the saints. However, the Catholic Church restricts ordination to men, since "The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry".

Complementarian advocates

Christian denominations

Christian denominations that support complementarianism include many conservative Protestant denominations (as well as many non-denominational Protestant churches), the Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox churches. These groups of churches that support forms of this position specifically include the Southern Baptist Convention, Eastern Orthodox Church, Presbyterian Church in America, Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Catholic Church, Conservative Mennonites, Newfrontiers, Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelical Free Church of America, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Sovereign Grace Ministries, and the Calvary Chapel movement.

Parachurch organizations

Parachurch organizations that have been described as complementarian include Focus on the Family, Cru, and Promise Keepers. Focus on the Family and the Promise Keepers do not take a position on women in the church, but both believe in male headship in the family. Campus Crusade for Christ "has not taken any role of women in ministry", though its FamilyLife organization directed by Dennis Rainey sponsors "Weekend to Remember" marriage conferences which reportedly teach male headship.

Noted supporters

Noted supporters of the Complementarian position include J.I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, Albert Mohler, Mark Dever, Mark Driscoll, C. J. Mahaney, Adrian Rogers, Richard Land, Ligon Duncan, Gerald Bray, Terry Virgo, John Wimber, Tim Keller, John F. MacArthur, C.S. Lewis, John Piper, and Elisabeth Elliot.

Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

Main article: Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is the primary evangelical Christian organization that exists to promote the Complementarian view of gender issues. CBMW's current president is Dr. Owen Strachan who is also a professor at Boyce Bible College, the undergraduate wing of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The CBMW publishes a biannual newsletter called the Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood.

Complementarian movements within feminism

New feminism is a predominantly Catholic philosophy which emphasizes a belief in an integral complementarity of men and women, rather than the superiority of men over women or women over men.

Difference feminism is a philosophy that stresses that men and women are ontologically different versions of the human being. Many Catholics adhere to and have written on the philosophy, though the philosophy is not specifically Catholic.

Criticism

According to Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE), an organization that adopts a Christian egalitarian approach, Complementarianism "sidesteps the question at issue, which is not whether there are beneficial differences between men and women, but whether these differences warrant the inequitable roles, rights, and opportunities prescribed by advocates of gender hierarchy." CBE prefaces their criticism with acknowledgement of some positions they share in common with Complementarians: a mutual love for and commitment to Jesus Christ, a commitment to justice as a biblical ideal, a devotion to Scripture as being God-inspired, and a desire to see the world embrace the gospel of Christ. They are divided by worldviews that CBE sees as reflecting the moral teachings of God and their purposes in this world. CBE maintains that these differing views have "enormous consequences". The writer, CBE's President Mimi Haddad, finds that Christians are now divided over patriarchy as they once were over slavery. She characterizes those as different views of the nature, purpose, and value of humanity, all based on gender.

Pro-Slavery Worldview

Knowledge	Nature	Purpose	Ethics
Because slavery is unopposed in Scripture, God must not oppose it.	Enslaved Africans are inferior by nature, suited to hard work but not to ruling themselves or others.	God’s purpose for Africans must be servitude, while God’s purpose for Europeans, who are naturally inclined to ruling, is to rule themselves and others.	Social structures that uphold slavery foster God’s justice since Scripture, nature, and God’s purposes endorse it.

Patriarchy Worldview

Knowledge	Nature	Purpose	Ethics
Since patriarchy is part of the biblical narrative, God must not oppose it.	Eve sinned by disobeying Adam, showing that the nature of females is not suited for ruling or authority.	God’s purpose for females is obedience to males, who are created to lead.	Social structures that support patriarchy advance God’s justice, since Scripture, nature, and God’s purposes endorse patriarchy.

Haddad asks the rhetorical question: "If male authority is part of God’s design, we would expect to see society flourish where patriarchy holds sway. Is this the case?" The author replies:

Not at all. In what constitutes the largest human holocaust in history, two hundred million girls are missing from the world, primarily in places where patriarchy is most rampant. The face of poverty, abuse, disease, malnutrition, illiteracy, and hunger is mostly female. Not surprisingly, the international think tank, The Millennium Project, which tackles humanity’s most challenging problems, recognizes gender equality and empowering women (in other words, dismantling patriarchy) as “essential for addressing the global challenges facing humanity.” Patriarchy does not advance God’s justice, but is an injustice that must be overcome. Dismantling patriarchy will require a worldview that perceives male rule as a result of sin; it distorts the nature of men and women as equals and their intended purpose to use their gifts with shared authority. Justice and the gospel are furthered when superiority and dominance are challenged by human equality—a biblical ideal.

Other religions

Differentiation of women's roles on the basis of religious beliefs are not unique to Christianity or Western culture.

Judaism

Different movements in Judaism have adopted differing views in gender relations. The Lubavitcher Rebbe stated, "In the Divine plan for creation, men and women have distinct, diverse missions. These missions complement each other, and together bring the Divine plan to harmonious fruition. The role of one is neither higher nor lower than the role of the other: they are simply different." Contrasting this, the Reform Jewish movement is entirely egalitarian, both in services and in daily life. In North America, the Conservative movement is likewise predominantly egalitarian. Although egalitarianism has been adopted in services and life by some of Orthodox Jewry, complementarianism continues to be more prevalent in Orthodox communities.

Islam

Within Islam, "a tension exists between the egalitarian view that believers are judged on the basis of merit and the inegalitarian view that women and men should fulfill distinct, complementary roles in the family and society".

Baha'i

The Baha'i Faith, proclaims that equality is not to deny that differences in function between women and men exist but rather to affirm the Complementary roles men and women fulfill in the home and society at large. "“The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of real attainment. When the two wings . . . become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary.”.

See also

• Biblical patriarchy
• Christian egalitarianism
• Christian views about women
• Christian views of marriage
• Gender roles in Islam
• Ordination of women
• Rights and obligations of spouses in Islam

Related secular:

• Antifeminism
• Family values
• Masculism

Further reading

• Piper, John; Grudem, Wayne A. Recovering Biblical Manhood Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. Crossway Books. ISBN 978-1-58134-806-4.

External links

• Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW)
• Equal but Different
• International Council for Gender Studies (ICGS)
• Family Life