칼뱅의 여성관

John Calvin s View on the Woman

This thesis represents the woman s liberty which John Calvin practiced in the family, the church and the society in the 16th century. As G. True commented, in the 16th century, there were dual ways, namely, friendly and repugnant ways to treat women. Even if it was so partial and limited, a few women had a chance to be educated and had the right to own property, and some public powers were beginning to express similar feelings in praise of the woman. On the other hand, hatred toward women was escalating. Witch Craft, which started in the 12th century and was used as a means to blow the social intension and insecurity born from conflicts and the disease, took weak women as the sacrifices and showed the hardest condition for the woman. John Calvin also had a dual view on the woman. But he seemed to have friendly view on the woman, and it seemed to influence on improving women s position both in that age and in the following ages. First of all, John Calvin improved the woman s position in the family. He thought that the wife is the husband s helper in his life. Moreover he enforced the law prohibiting adultery, prohibiting wife beating and the authority for women to ask for a divorce when the man committed adultery. Secondly, John Calvin did more progressive things for the church. He just considered various sanctions for establishing order in the church. Women could cover the head or speak as occasion demands. They could participate in the worship, pray and praise with pastors. In addition, he considered women as equals and worked to achieve Religious Reformation with their assistance. Pastors s wives were considered as partners to help their husbands in the work. Especially, John Calvin revived the position of the deaconesses so that women could serve more fully in the church and the society to exalt their positions. Finally, for the society, John Calvin helped a lot to get rid of the strong view of contempt toward women which was very strong in the Middle Ages. He stressed that women were only inferior to men in their social positions not in their natures or in their abilities. Also for John Calvin, this inferiority in the social position could be overthrown through the singular blessing and the peculiar providence of God. Therefore he thought that it could be possible for women to control men. As a conclusion, John Calvin s this view on the woman in the family, in the church and in the society seemed to influence the extension of women s power in the modem society.