Patriarchy, religion, and spirituality

I recently watched the 2021 documentary Knots: a Forced Marriage Story. As one reviewer puts it: “In succinct and gnawing first-person interviews, three women detail how intense parental pressure, teenage gullibility and isolation forced them into marriage with people they barely knew”

Two of the women were 19 when they got married. One was 15 when she had a ceremony for a “spiritual marriage” before being sent to another state with parental permission to get legally married. None of the women had the resources or knowledge to say no to the union; they “consented” to the only option available to them.

The movie also goes into some shocking facts about marriage laws in the United States, but I’ll focus on another aspect.

All three girls were in a patriarchal religious environment. One was in the “Christian Patriarchy” movement, another in an Orthodox Jewish community, and the third’s religious background was unclear, only referred to as the Group (unless I missed something she said).

Although the now ex- husbands weren’t interviewed, what’s clear is that they believed a certain way of living was God’s will. Their religion said so through some blend scriptural interpretation, clerical authority, and their culture.

That’s what religion is: outside information. Just like the laws of the state, rules of a game, or procedures at a job.

Do this, don’t do that.