Women priests website

Being the Report of a Commission appointed by
the Archbishops of Canterbury and York
Published by the Church Information Office, London. Dec. 1966

APPENDIX 3

Supplementary Essays

A. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

by Robert F. Hobson

1 Psychology is the science of human experience and behaviour, but it is a science which is still at an early stage of development. In this chapter an attempt is made to summarise those behavioural differences between men and women which might have a bearing upon the question of the ordination of women; but it is not possible to present a list of definite facts. Psychological statements in this field range from descriptions of well-attested data to expressions of personal opinions. The statistical evidence, outlined in the early part of Section I, is fairly well established by controlled observation and experimental method; but much other material in the chapter is more speculative—especially in the discussion of symbolism. An attempt is made to distinguish data from inference but this is not always possible and the reader who is not a psychologist should remember that such a discussion inevitably reflects some biassed selection and emphasis.

2 Psychological questions have been raised in almost all areas of the Commission’s deliberations. Many of these are unanswerable at at the present time and this chapter is designed only to point to some relevant evidence and to indicate possible lines of thought about a few of the major queries.

3 Are the abilities, aptitudes and personality characteristics which are needed to carry out a priest’s duties necessarily confined to one sex? If they are not, is it likely that one sex will perform priestly functions better than the other? (Section I).

4 How far are sexual differences culturally determined? (Section II.) The Church exists in a changing society and in many different cultures and subcultures. The question is raised whether or not, or in what way, the Church should attempt to promote a particular cultural pattern and hence to reinforce particular sexual roles.

5 What is the nature and origin of sex differences? (Section III.) Here, psychological research and speculation is of direct relevance to theology and, although there are differences of view, all members of the Commission agree that there is at least some common ground between the two disciplines. In discussion of the text ‘ male and female created he them ’, of the meaning of the Incarnation, and of the representative function of the priest, assumptions are often made about the ‘ nature’ of man and woman and of ‘ natural’ masculine and feminine qualities or ‘ principles’. Empirical data about factors which determine sex differences are certainly invoked on either side of the debate about the ordination of women, and must be relevant to these theological questions.

6 What is the significance of the symbolism of sexual division and unity? (Sections IV and V.) This symbolism is of central importance in Christian worship and theology. What a priest symbolises is perhaps even more important than his actual capacities. The question arises whether this symbolism is unchanging or whether it is modified within a developing tradition and, if so, what are the essential factors in this process.

7 To what extent and in what way does prejudice effect discussions of the ordination of women, whether in popular arguments or in the deliberations of a Commission? (Section VI.)

I. Biological and psychological sex differences

8 Inherited factors are carried by small particles known as genes, which are present in every cell of the body, where they are arranged in pairs of chains, called chromosomes. Genes which carry inherited sex characteristics are present in all the chromosomes but one pair is concerned specially with the determination of sex. The genes can be referred to as ‘ male ’ and ‘ female ’ in that they initiate and, to some extent, regulate processes which lead to the development of the external and internal sexual organs, secondary sexual characteristics (body form, hair growth, size of breasts) and sexual functioning. Their activity, however, is influenced by many complex factors in prenatal and postnatal life, and the sexual characteristics of a person are not determined by heredity alone.

9 It is an important fact that every person inherits both male and female tendencies. Sex is determined by a tilting of the balance one way or the other—everyone is both sexes but more of one than the other. For instance, certain chemicals known as sex hormones are important in the development of specific sexual functions; but both men and women secrete both male and female hormones and it is their relative proportion that determines many sexual characteristics. If the terms ‘ male ’ and ‘ female ’ are defined in terms of physical structure and function, there are wide variations, and intermediate forms occur occasionally which can be difficult to classify as being either male or female. The terms can have different meanings according to whether they are used in a genetic, legal, social or anatomical sense.

10 The wide ‘ normal’ variation must always be borne in mind when comparisons are made between the physical and psychological characteristics of men and women. Statistical studies of sex differences which compare averages or mean scores between samples of males and females can be misleading if the wide variation and large overlap is neglected. In reading the following catalogue of sexual differences which have been discovered by the use of psychological tests it is important to remember this fact. For example, in one study, boys on the average were shown to be strikingly superior to girls in arithmetical reasoning, yet 28 % of the girls’ scores were higher than the average score of the boys. Greater differences in attitudes have been found between occupational groups of the same sex than between men and women in general; thus women doctors or insurance agents resemble male doctors and insurance agents more than they do housewives. It is dangerous to apply such broad studies to individual cases, and in considering the suitability of a particular woman for a particular job the scientific work on psychological sex differences is of doubtful relevance. When asked which was more intelligent, a man or a woman, Dr Johnson replied: ‘ Which man, which woman? ’

11 There are anatomical and physiological differences between males and females other than those concerned specifically with primary and secondary sexual characteristics and with reproduction. Males are taller and stronger than females, have a larger air-capacity in the lungs, and tend to be more restless and liable to vigorous overt activity. Females develop more quickly, reach sexual maturity earlier, and from birth onwards are further advanced towards adult status than males (e.g. in hardening of bones and dentition). At all ages, females have more capacity to maintain life; more males die pre-natally and they are biologically more vulnerable throughout life. The bodily mechanisms which maintain a stable physiological state are more effective in men; thus women and girls are more reactive to bodily stress than men, although they tend to recover better.

12 It is not easy to evaluate the vast literature on the psychological differences between the sexes in a brief summary. It ranges from reports of well-designed experiments to anecdotal observations and speculative discussions which are difficult to evaluate. Unfortunately it is not possible to make reliable measurements of many features of personality, and there is little scientific support for many sweeping statements about the psychological qualities of men and women which are not infrequently made in both popular and sophisticated discussions of questions such as the ordination of women.

13 Males tend to excel in speed and co-ordination of gross bodily movements, spatial orientation and other spatial aptitudes, mechanical comprehension and arithmetical reasoning. Females tend to surpass males in manual dexterity, perceptual speed and accuracy, memory, numerical computation, verbal fluency and other tasks involving the manipulation of words. It is a striking fact that girls express themselves in words more readily and skilfully than boys. Males have been found to be superior on problems calling for ‘ restructuring’, i.e. discarding the first approach and reorganising facts in new ways; moreover they are better able to transfer or apply skill and knowledge to new situations. Some studies suggest that, in contrast to the male ‘ analytical’ approach, women tend to perceive totalities or larger ‘ wholes ’, paying less attention to detail.

14 Amongst children, boys’ play tends to be more active and vigorous, involving manual dexterity and skill, and to be highly organised and competitive, whereas the play of girls is more sedentary, reserved and restrained. Boys are more interested in stories about adventure and travel, in discussions of physical health, safety, money and sex, and they desire jobs offering power, profit and independence. Girls like stories about love and romance and are more concerned about personal attractiveness, personal philosophy, planning the daily schedule, mental health, manners, personal qualities, home and family relationships; in vocational choice they place a higher value on interesting jobs, experiences and social service.

15 In adult groups, money, business affairs and sports are more common in conversations amongst men, whereas women talk more about people and clothes. Men tend to prefer mechanical, computational and scientific work, whilst women show greater interest in literary, musical, artistic, clerical and social spheres. It seems that the enjoyment of artistic experience, a concern for the welfare of others and emphasis upon spiritual and religious values are relatively important life goals of women. Men on the other hand have more interest in abstract knowledge and understanding, more drive for practical success and more desire for prestige and power over others.

16 The more sociable behaviour of women is, perhaps, associated with the fact that they learn to use language earlier than men, as well as with subtle social pressures. People and personal relationships figure much more in the dreams, day-dreams and memories of girls than of boys, who are more concerned with things. Females as a group, compared with males, tend to be more dependent, more jealous, more concerned with the impression made upon others and with social prestige, and they conform more to external group standards. Their greater concern with the facial expressions of others has been described as being characteristic of people with a less clear sense of separate identity.

17 Males tend to be more aggressive than females, showing more anger, physical destructiveness and quarrelsome behaviour in childhood. There is evidence that women, as a group, are more unstable emotionally than men at adolescence and after, and are possibly more likely to be maladjusted or psychoneurotic. Considerably more women than men are admitted to mental hospitals, but social reasons for this are important and statistics of incidence of various types of mental illness are equivocal. Suicide, however, occurs more frequently in men (by about four times in the U.S.A.) and it has been suggested that this could be associated with man’s greater aggressiveness and the outer and inner pressures on him to be successful and independent.

18 It is said that, although women are more appreciative of art, they are less creative than men; certainly, in spite of their marked aesthetic interests, there have been few eminent women poets, musicians, sculptors or creative scientists. It is possible that the greater tendency of females to conform, and their difficulty in ‘ restructuring ’ ideas, results in diminished originality. As might be expected, they are relatively better in literary fields, as girls are superior to boys in learning to speak, read and acquire vocabularies, and they tend more to notice details and sense people’s reactions. It is suggested by some, however, that with increased opportunities women are now forging ahead in creative fields.

19 Tests of masculinity and femininity have been constructed on the basis of features which have been observed as being most characteristic of each sex, i.e. most significant in differentiating males and - females in a particular culture. Terman and Miles, the originators of one of the most commonly used tests, in America, summarise these differences as follows:

An interesting, though perhaps not unexpected, finding is that the scores of clergymen, on this test, reveal that they constitute one of the least ‘ masculine ’ (as defined by this test) of male professions or occupations. It might be asked whether or not this result indicates attitudes and characteristics which would be generally considered as suitable for the ministry, and in what sense a priest should be ‘ masculine ’.

20 Many, and perhaps most, of the personality features that might be considered to be important in the vocation of a priest have not yet been adequately investigated experimentally. In many areas of human experience and behaviour precise experiment is not yet possible. Nevertheless, important and useful observations have been made by psychologists working in clinical and social fields. One of the most influential schools of thought is that represented by the method and theory of psychoanalysis inaugurated by Sigmund Freud.

21 Many professional psychologists remain sceptical about the validity of psychoanalytical findings, especially as most of the theories do not permit of rigorous experimental testing. Others point to experimental evidence in favour of at least some of the theory and stress the measure of agreement between a very large number of careful clinical observers. The view of this writer is that analytical theories are preliminary formulations of events occurring in complex situations of human relationships and communication, which provide valuable insights into the processes of human development. They do not carry the same weight as the results of carefully controlled research such as has been referred to above but in practical situations are often more useful. The following brief account is necessarily highly selective and omits reference to many differing trends in psychoanalytical thought.

22 Freud considers that there are no definite intrinsic psychological differences between the male and female infant and that basic human trends are bisexual. He does suggest that the male is, perhaps, more ‘ active’ but that the concepts of masculinity and femininity ‘ vanish into mere activity and passivity, and this is very little indeed ’. It is the anatomical peculiarities which lead to differences in development and hence to distinctive features of character. Together with the differences in genital organs go different possibilities for the satisfaction of desires and needs.

23 The baby derives satisfaction from pleasurable sensations associated with stimulation of certain parts of the body (erogenous zones). Early character formation is determined by the strength of drives which are directed towards gratification of bodily desires, and by the degree and mode of satisfaction or frustration of these needs. At first, the mouth is the important zone, and later the anus. This early phase of relationship with the mother is important with regard to subsequent attitudes towards mothers and women in general, and is relevant to the study of religious attitudes and symbolism. In order that the sexual differentiation may proceed normally, it is important that this very early relationship with the mother should have been satisfactory. A disturbance in one stage of development inevitably affects the next stage. According to Freud, between the ages of two and four the external genital organs become the focus of the child’s bodily needs, and from now on the course of development (the Oedipus complex) is different in the boy and girl.

24 The boy becomes preoccupied with sensations in his penis and seeks gratifications which will release the feelings of tension. His desires are closely associated with his mother, to whom, Freud suggests, he becomes attached in a frankly sexual fashion. The father becomes a rival, and the expressions of the child’s desires are met, by him, with disapproval. The boy wishes that the father would die and has fantasies of destroying him. But this ‘ death-wish ‘ results in a severe inner threat, partly because of the fear of retaliation by the father and partly because the boy loves him and needs his support and authority. There is guilt about sexual and aggressive wishes and a fear of the father as a ruthless avenger, which becomes specifically a fear of castration. Freud suggests that this fear is directly or indirectly conveyed to the child, by parents or others, or it might possibly be inborn as an ancestral heritage. The inner conflict of the boy is solved by means of an identification with the father. He unconsciously feels himself to be the father and hence he can both enjoy the mother and can, by means of an’ inner father ‘ or conscience, inhibit his own dangerous proclivities. In striving to be like the father the boy incorporates the attitudes and behaviour that connote manliness in his culture. The incestuous desire for the mother is no longer experienced consciously but persists outside awareness and can be expressed in indirect ways. The sexual wish is diverted to other females whom the young man can desire and overtly pursue without fear of castration or guilt.

25 Freud finds the course of development in the girl more difficult to explain and his description of it is less convincing. He himself says: ‘ If you want to know more about femininity you must interrogate your own experience or turn to the poets or else wait until science can give you more profound and more coherent information.’ He considers that the important event is when a girl discovers that she lacks a penis. She then feels ill-equipped and inadequate, and she turns away from her mother, whom she regards as responsible for her lack and as being inadequate and unable to give her what she wants and needs. As she learns that other females are so affected, she comes to depreciate all women. She wishes to regain a penis via the male—to incorporate it in her vagina—and it is this admiration for and envy of the penis that attracts her to her father. Now, the mother is a rival and the subsequent course of development, leading to an identification with the mother, has similar features, in reverse, to that of the boy. In his discussions of female psychology, Freud puts great emphasis upon the woman’s deep sense of the lack of a male organ. ‘Anatomy is her fate ’, he says. She feels fundamentally inferior in that something she ought to have is lacking, and she envies men for having what fate has denied her. She seeks substitutes in husband, children (in fantasy a baby can represent a penis), possessions or other culturally permitted compensations, in an effort to obtain something that remains unobtainable. Freud considers that as the girl identifies less with the paternal law-giver, her conscience does not attain the strength and independence of that of the man—a position which seems akin to the widespread idea that her values tend to be more personal and humane, and less concerned with purely abstract principles.

26 Characterological differences between the sexes have been related to the different experiences in coitus. A man must be able to have an erection and to maintain it until orgasm. He must openly demonstrate this ability, which cannot be concealed, and which is not dependent upon his will. A woman’s sexual availability can be willed, her lack of desire can be concealed, and she needs to demonstrate nothing. Her sexual satisfaction depends upon whether a man desires her enough to have an erection. These differences result in specific anxieties and attitudes. A man has to prove something, and there is always the risk of failure in the ‘ test’ of sexual intercourse, castration being an extreme instance. He has to prove constantly to himself, to women, and to other men, that he lives up to any expectation of him. He wishes for prestige and seeks reassurance about the fear of sexual failure by competing in all other spheres of life in which will-power, physical strength and intelligence are useful in ensuring success. He wishes to be a good performer and is sensitive to ridicule, especially from women, and he defends himself against this weapon of the other sex by dominating them, demonstrating his power and attempting to make them feel weak and inferior. The woman is vulnerable in that she is dependent upon the man and his erection, and her basic anxiety does not lie in fear of failure but in being left to wait, alone and frustrated. She has a need to attract. Her anxiety, associated with dependency, often leads to a wish for a male genital organ. It might be that the root of this wish is not, primarily, that she lacks something. It is often a wish to avoid dependency and to be unrestricted in her activity. Her method of attack is to undermine man by contempt, to imply expectation of his failure and to make him impotent.

27 Although there are qualifications on points of detail, the main features of Freud’s description of the sexual development for the boy are accepted by virtually all psychoanalysts, and by a very large number of other psychologists, but many modify his ideas about the process in the girl. Some put much more emphasis upon innate, phylogenetically determined factors and upon the very early bodily experiences of the small infant. Many, however, consider that Freud’s view underestimates the great importance of cultural factors and that, in comparison with socially rooted differences, the biological determinants are insignificant.

II. Sexual roles and cultural differences

28 Anthropological research reveals that sex roles and sex stereotypes vary greatly in different cultures, and in some societies there is a reversal of those sex attitudes which are typical of our culture. The deviant in one society coincides with the traditional ideal of another. For example, an argument that girls play with dolls because of a nascent maternal drive or instinct is seriously weakened by the fact that when dolls were introduced to the Manus of New Guinea, where they had previously been unknown, it was only the boys who crooned lullabies to them and showed typical parental behaviour. There is indeed no need to travel to distant parts of the world to demonstrate such variations. When the masculinity-femininity test of Terman and Miles was given to subjects in Holland, only a few of the items differentiated significantly between men and women, and the bulk of research on this test suggests that the differences are culturally determined.

29 Many critics have argued that Freud’s original observations were made within a very definite cultural pattern. His patients came from patriarchal families in which the father was the authority and moral arbiter and hence was likely to be a formidable figure. Anthropologists have pointed out that the pattern of the Oedipal conflict is different in some pre-literate cultures and there is evidence of changes in Western societies, and of differences in sub-cultures within these societies. In the U.S.A. and perhaps to a lesser extent in Britain, the father’s moral role has steadily diminished and it is increasingly the mother who makes the final decisions concerning the values, skills and careers that the children of the family should be induced to adopt. The middle class boy is exhorted to surpass and outdo his father, and so differs from the upper class boy, who more frequently looks up to his father as a paragon. As the middle class mother deals more with the day to day moral education of her children, her son is more likely to identify with her than is his upper class peer. Hence he is likely to experience more difficulty in assuming the male role, which still traditionally requires assertiveness, self-reliance and forcefulness. Moreover he is more likely to have sexual problems as he internalises his mother’s sexual attitudes as well as her moral values. In this and in many other respects, changing social values influence profoundly the classic performance of the Oedipus drama.

30 Adler, an early colleague of Freud, was the first psychotherapist to ascribe a major importance to cultural factors in determining psychological sex differences. He stresses the importance of the superior valuation which is put upon the male sex in our culture and the problems posed for both sexes by the implicit or explicit demand to live up to the manly role demanded by society. A man feels insecure in his masculinity whereas, from her earliest years, a girl is made to feel an inferior in a traditional man’s world. Many psychologists reinterpret Freud’s concept of penis-envy in social terms. The lack of a penis is not the cause but a symbol of a woman’s feeling of social inferiority. If a society values political and economic power, then those who pursue these goals are esteemed. If a woman is barred from goals which all members of the society are taught to cherish, she inevitably feels inferior; she then covets the male status together with its anatomical trademark. Others have pointed out, however, that men also envy women. This ‘ womb envy ‘ was most evident in ancient or non-literate cultures in which great emphasis was put upon natural productivity; but it is by no means absent today when a man feels unable to meet the demands of the masculine stereotype, and it is perhaps accentuated in those sections of society in which the mother’s role is greatly valued. Nevertheless, such careful investigations as have been carried out show that, in both adults and children, males show a greater preference for the masculine role than females do for the feminine role—a fact which no doubt reflects the prestige and advantages which are still associated with the male role in Western culture.

31 Boys and girls are subjected to different environmental influences. By means of different treatment from parents, other adults and playmates, they are made aware of what is expected of them in speech, manners, dress and play. There is evidence that working-class children develop an awareness of sex roles earlier than middle-class children and that boys do so before girls. Unpleasant childhood experiences, broken homes and parental maladjustment tend to make it more difficult for a child to accept the male or female model of behaviour presented by his own culture and there is often a deviation to the norm of the opposite sex. Those children who fit in with the prevalent stereotype (e.g. that boys are independent and girls are dependent) are more popular with their peers than children who do not. Conversely, those children who depart from the social norm (e.g. boys who excel in verbal ability and girls who have more spatial ability) tend to show more personality disorders than those whose aptitudes are more consistent with the stereotype. There is evidence that emphasis upon the desirability of conforming to traditional sexual roles inhibits creativity in children.

32 There have been definite changes in sex stereotypes in the history of our culture. For instance, many writers have referred to the ‘ masculine’ character of the deliberate, intellectual, and serious women of the Middle Ages, whose men-folk were prone to dissolve into tears. There is good reason to suppose that at the present time changes of sexual roles are occurring which might vary in different sections of society—age groups, social and occupational classes. One recent study of London’s East End population demonstrates how the old style working-class marriage is fast disappearing. A new kind of companionship reflects a rise in status of the wife and a less rigid definition of the boundaries of the sexual roles. It is possible that the basic assumptions of members of this Commission, or of readers of their Report, about what a woman is, or ought to be, might be very different from those held by a large number of their compatriots.

33 A problem which might have some bearing upon the ordination of women is the conflict which occurs between new social arrangements and old traditional ideas. Formal sexual equality is a poor remedy when, as in our society, the tradition of male responsibility remains, and it seems probable that the greater equalisation of education and sporadic admission of women to certain occupations traditionally recognised as ‘ masculine ’, without the removal of other sources of frustration and discrimination, may increase conflict and maladjustment, at least during a period of transition.

III. The origin and nature of sex differences

34 Throughout the centuries debates have continued about whether the differences between men and women are due to nature or to nurture. The arguments have often been motivated by political ideas about social equality or inequality. The philosophers of the French Enlightenment of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and of the early Soviet Union maintained that environment and education were the basic cause of personality differences, whereas the Romantics of the early nineteenth century regarded the sexes as embodying differences, or even opposites, which were in the nature of creation. Many disagreements between modern psych-logists about the respective importance of innate and acquired factors seem to derive as much from ideological and temperamental differences as from consideration of the weight of the evidence— and perhaps this chapter is no exception. Perhaps the argument must always be inconclusive, or even meaningless, if stated in its usual form. The question remains whether or how far psychological sex sex differences are modifiable by environmental or cultural changes, and this is most relevant in considering the claims of a traditional male priesthood in changing circumstances. Furthermore, phrases such as ‘ the essential nature ’ of man and woman are often used in theological discussions of the ordination of women and it must be asked what meaning, if any, can be given to such terms.

35 There is good reason to suppose that some basic psychological differences between men and women (masculine and feminine qualities) are regularly associated with genetic, anatomical and physiological differences (maleness and femaleness). It is probable that women’s drives and capacities are not the same as men’s and certainly their experiences of differences in bodily form and in sexual and reproductive behaviour cannot be the same. The nature of the correlation of biological and psychological factors is, however, obscure. Some physical factors have a direct psychological effect; the presence of male and female sex hormones influences certain aspects of behaviour, such as aggressiveness. The difference is, of course, one of degree, for each sex secretes both types of hormone.

36 It is, however, the social implications of physical differences which lead to divergent personality development. Such biological differences as exist are reinforced or minimised to a great degree by cultural factors, which determine the value of a particular masculine or feminine trait. The gross bodily differences (body size, strength, endurance) may play an important part in play activities, interests and achievements in various fields of work, and may possibly foster aggressiveness and dominance in males. The quicker development of girls might well mean that they tend to associate with boys older than themselves. As a younger person has less wisdom, information and sense of responsibility, this may be at the root of many social attitudes towards the two sexes, such as female inferiority. But although male dominance is widespread, its extent varies a great deal and occasionally it is reversed. Modern occupations do not correspond to primitive categories, and physical strength and aggression are now less important. It is desirable that our thinking should be guided less by traditional stereotypes than by the needs of a specific situation and the qualities of a particular individual. As the education of women has become more like that of men, they have shown capacities in many fields for which their ‘ minds’ were previously thought to be unfitted.

37 The fact that cultural factors determine overt differences in sexual roles does not necessarily mean, however, that there are not some fundamental factors which might, in certain social settings, be merely obscured. Indeed, some psychologists make value judgments about forms of society according to whether the culture promotes or frustrates what are regarded as being essential sex differences.

38 As mentioned above, Freud suggests the possibility that certain modes of experience could be the expression of an ancestral heritage. Similar notions have been formulated by other psychologists, notably C. G. Jung, who elaborates a concept of the archetype. Jung states that ‘ an inherited collective image of woman exists in man’s unconscious with the help of which he apprehends the nature of woman ’. The word ‘ image ’ is here used in a special sense, however; it is a ‘virtual image’, ‘an innate psychic structure that allows men to have experiences of this kind ’. That is to say that in man there are innate tendencies to organise the data of his experience in typical forms. It is not the images as such which are inherited but the predisposition to select, combine and recombine elements of experience in particular patterns. Jung has defined some of these archetypal themes by means of a comparative method. A typical image or motif which recurs in the psychological material of different people is demonstrated in the fantasy products (e.g. myths, folk-lore, ritual) of people in many parts of the world and in many ages, an important criterion being that it has a similar context and meaning whenever it occurs. Examples of some forms of the feminine archetype are the Great Mother, the Virgin, the Harlot, the Witch, the Temptress and the Spiritual Guide.

39 Jung uses two ‘ intuitive concepts’ which he does not wish to define too specifically. The Logos is that which discriminates, differentiates and brings order out of chaos; Eros is a principle of relatedness, connection and receptivity. In a general way, the Logos function is characteristic of the masculine consciousness and Eros of the feminine consciousness. A woman’s attitude is more personal, her world tends to be made up of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, husband and children, and she is conscious of the infinite nuances of personal relationships. These later often escape the man, who is concerned more with objective facts and their interconnections and with general, more impersonal matters such as the nation, the state and business affairs. The woman tends to adapt by means of feeling and the man by thought. The masculine and feminine modes of consciousness can thus supplement or complement each other. It is by no means clear whether Jung considers these differences to be wholly innate or partially acquired. On the whole he seems to assume a biological foundation for them and for the images to which they give rise, but it seems that he regards them only as general trends. In his work on psychological types, which he considers have a biological basis, he states that thinking types are more common amongst males and feeling types amongst females, but he stresses that the distribution of types over-rides the distinctions of sex.

40 It is suggested by some that individual and group disharmony can result from the fact that a social veneer of cultural values is out of keeping with an innate sexual nature which persists unchanged below the surface, and which might be expressed in roundabout, and often ill-adapted, ways. Some psychologists have diagnosed modern western culture as being unhealthy because of the convergence of sex roles; a confusion of gender has arisen and both men and women have doubts about their sexual roles, and these writers claim that there is a need to ‘ revive the lost feminine image’. The historical and cultural data can unfortunately be selected and used to support very different ‘ psychological ’conjectures. For instance, in direct contrast to the suggestion outlined above, an argument can be put forward that such concepts as ‘ the Eternal Feminine’ are fictions designed to maintain the vested interests of men. Although there is good evidence that confusion and psychological disturbances are associated with changes in traditional sex roles, the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment are problematical and it is questionable whether psychologists are specially competent to make pronouncements about them.

41 The disagreements between psychologists point to the fact that the evidence in this sphere is inadequate. The viewpoint tentatively expressed in this chapter is expressed aptly by Erich Fromm, who recognises some masculine and feminine psychological characteristics which are rooted in biological differences but regards these as of little significance in relation to cultural influences and as affording no basis for casting men and women in different roles in any given society. He says:

42 It does not seem to be possible to determine how far those images which are called ‘ archetypal’ or ‘ deposits from all our ancestral experiences’ are conveyed, sometimes sub-liminally and in early childhood, by historical and cultural traditions embodied in stories, folklore and religious or social customs. Perhaps the question is not a significant one; the fact remains that everyone has a potent traditional inheritance and it is important to recognise the importance of stereotypes of masculine and feminine in determining fundamental attitudes.

IV. Sexual stereotypes and symbols

43 In a relatively impersonal situation, such as the Holy Eucharist, the members of the congregation are likely to perceive and to react to a woman celebrant on the basis of individual and group stereotypes, rather than in accordance with her own personal qualities. In many circumstances such reactions are accompanied by strong emotions which have deep-seated and often unconscious roots. Perhaps the most important psychological question is not whether a woman has the capacities to perform the duties of a priest but what she will symbolise for those in her cure. Unfortunately, this is the most difficult question to answer. The experimental study of symbolism is in its infancy and the nature of the data is such as to make controlled obversation very difficult or impossible. Hence, although classification of the phenomena can be attempted, inferences and interpretations are likely to be arbitrary and to a large extent intuitive. In the absence of strict scientific controls, personal beliefs, attitudes and emotional vested interests inevitably obtrude, and psychological formulations in this field are, to a greater or lesser degree, subjective confessions.

44 During development, a person acquires more or less stereotyped emotionally charged conceptions of man and woman, of male and female, which profoundly influence his behaviour, although they are not wholly accessible to introspection. They reflect repeated experiences in the past, especially in relationships with parent figures in the formative years of early childhood. Since there are uniformities in the anatomical, physiological and psychological constitution of all human beings, similarities in the socio-biological life of every child, and regularities in the customs and mores of cultures, these stereotypes have common features. These general characteristics are always profoundly modified, however, by unique personal experience, and such words as ‘ father ’ and ‘ mother ’, whether used literally or symbolically, evoke complex and varying emotional reactions and behaviour patterns in different people. A complete account would cover the whole field of psychology and only a few tendencies can be touched upon here.

45 The realities of the infant’s world are food, warmth and physical support, and love is equivalent to the satisfaction of these desperate and urgent needs. Gratification of bodily desires leads to the experience of what can be called ‘ mother’s love ’, which is providing, protecting, enfolding and unconditional; it is unearned by the child, who comes to accept that’ I am loved because I am ’— ‘ because I am mother’s baby ’. As development proceeds, the child experiences approval and disapproval, reward and punishment, and comes to appreciate a love that is given and withheld according to how he behaves—‘ I am given love when 1 earn it’. Although there are wide differences in parental roles, authority and conformity to the standards of the outer world are traditionally associated with the father and we can speak loosely of ‘ father’s love’. Unconditional and conditional love are not necessarily and invariably associated with mother and father images respectively, but it is probable that this represents a general tendency, and for many, if not most, people the experience of God’s love evokes maternal associations.

46 The infant and small child experience not only gratification and love, but frustration, rage and hostility; and states of blissful union are shattered by separation and loss. In the earliest months of life, infants of both sexes are dependent upon contact with the mother for the satisfaction of bodily needs. When gratification is delayed or withheld, the baby probably experiences states of intolerable frustration. It seems that in his early experience of the mother these pleasant and unpleasant states are associated with distinct separate images of the mother or of parts of her body. There is then a ‘ good mother ’ to be sought and a ‘ bad mother ‘ to be avoided. An important stage of development is when the realisation comes that it is the same person who gratifies and withholds, that the mother is both ‘ good ’ and ‘ bad ’. If, however, the excess of gratification over deprivation is too small, this fusion is imperfect. The child or adult continues to yearn for and seek the solace and comfort of the ideally good mother and to fear the ‘ terrible mother’ who destroys and deprives. This is only one example of how, in certain circumstances, distorted images of parents which are formed in childhood can persist into adult life and lead to unadapted modes of behaviour which resist modification by subsequent experience. .......

47 The achievement of an ability to love altruistically and sexually depends greatly upon the satisfactory passage through earlier stages of development. In fact or in fantasy, sexual union can have many different meanings. It can be an expression of altruistic love in a relationship between differentiated individuals or it can be, and perhaps always is to some extent, an attempt to satisfy an unfulfilled yearning for an ideal union with the mother. As an image in fantasy or in religious devotion, it may be a symbol which intimates a more complete integration of the personality or it may be an auto-erotic avoidance of the anxiety associated with separation or adult sexuality.

48 The above schematic anecdotes and interpretations are presented in order to indicate some of the varied meanings which can be given to figures who represent mothers, fathers, and lovers. They raise important questions regarding the use of male and female parental imagery in Christianity and, particularly, whether or not such imagery tends to promote and to maintain an undesirable state of dependence similar to that of childhood. Some psychologists regard all religion as a means of denying and avoiding unpleasant reality, usually as a disguised expression of unresolved problems with parents persisting from early years; e.g. a man who has a continuing need to depend on his mother seeks security within Mother Church and looks for comfort, pleasant feelings and for answers to his prayers for immediate needs; whereas another who has not solved the conflict with his father finds relief in servile submission to the authority of dignitaries, the Church or a harsh law-giving God. Other psychologists, whilst recognising such immature attitudes, argue that there is also a mature religion in which behaviour is not determined by egocentric needs but guided by intrinsic values which are evident in a capacity for altruistic love. However, no one is free from infantile desires and impulses nor is he able to stand the full impact of reality. Perhaps it is one of the functions of religion to provide some satisfaction for these needs, by including modes of belief and worship which cater for people at all stages of development. The important requirement is that development should be furthered and not hindered. It is important to remember always that terms such as ‘ maturity ’,’ psychological health ’ or ‘ integration ’ are often ill-defined; at best they reflect current social and scientific attitudes and at worst they represent more or less disguised expressions of personal values or prejudices.

49 In the adult, the kind of thinking which is termed symbolic often represents a return to the egocentric fantasy world of childhood, in an effort to avoid the painful stresses of current reality. But this is not always so. During development, activities and images such as breast-feeding or sexual intercourse develop a wider and more profound significance; they cease to refer directly and solely to physical relationship and acquire meanings in the context of intellectual, social and religious activities. Women are receptive in intercourse and bear children but in their symbolical elaborations these organic facts come to express the nuances of the receptive and creative aspects of life. By means of the symbol it is possible to communicate psychological states which cannot be contained within an intellectual formulation. Images, which are often disparate, are combined in order to express or suggest meaning or significance, by mobilising sensory and emotional as well as intellectual experiences. The root of the word ‘ symbol’ suggests a throwing or putting together; components of past experience are abstracted, elaborated, reorientated and recom-bined in the creation of new forms.

50 Symbolism is an essential element in religious language and ritual. Representations of what is known, such as the bodies and behaviour of men and women, are used to intimate the unknown or dimly apprehended nature of God and, in the analogy, immediate bodily needs can be transformed into social and spiritual values. The genesis of symbolism can be seen in myth and ritual (the stories told and the actions performed) which express human responses to recurrent situations of crisis, of profound individual and social importance.

51 There is a wide variation in the degree of generality in symbolism. Each individual has had unique experiences in the past which will be evident in his private symbolism, and general themes are modified by particular individual and group experiences. Nevertheless there is good reason to think that certain regular patterns or forms of imagination and behaviour have been evident in many parts of the world throughout history. A very brief mention will be made of some of these themes which have been elucidated by study of myths, folk-lore, ritual and religion, and compared with similar motifs in the fantasy and dream life of modern man. It must be stressed, however, that many such studies lack precision and this field is a fertile one for special pleading.

52 Although particular myths cannot be adequately understood apart from their unique cultural contexts, yet they embody general patterns which intimate ways in which mankind has striven to satisfy the need to give coherence and meaning to the great mysteries of human life and the cosmos. There is good reason to think that these patterns are by no means obsolete but are highly significant in the behaviour of modern man and a factor in determining many of the experimental results referred to in Section I.

53 In most developed mythologies the male god tends to have sterner qualities as ruler, law-giver, judge, protector and conqueror and is associated with the sky and with culture. The goddess is usually gentler and possesses the more beautiful and bountiful qualities of nature and not infrequently acts as intermediary between gods and men. The land is made fertile by the light and heat from the sun, the rain and, to the primitive mind, the wind. Thus, by analogy, female nature is equated with the material earth (matter, mater, matrix, etc.), which receives the masculine fertilising, immaterial, spiritual, air (wind) and fire. But both gods and goddesses are ambivalent and have dark and threatening aspects. A monstrous, vengeful father-god can also be the representative of security, trust and kindness. The mother-goddess intimates the destructive, death-dealing aspects of nature; she can be tender and fruitful but she also emasculates and destroys her sons-and-lovers. The Indian bloody mother Durga-Kali wears a necklace of human skulls; but she is also the good mother earth.

54 Recurrent themes in mythology have been used to support arguments in favour of concepts of masculine and feminine ‘ principles ’ which, in some way, ‘ exist’ in the nature of man. The imagery described above is by no means universal, however, and it is impossible to predicate fixed qualities to gods and goddesses. Goddesses often dwell in, and represent, the sky, and indeed in some places or times they have exercised almost every conceivable office as deity, with appropriate qualities to fit the part. Furthermore, the sexual qualities of the gods, and their material analogues, change from period to period.

55 An inherited symbolism is an important part of the tradition which helps to maintain the structure and cohesiveness of society, but the effectiveness of particular symbols varies in different epochs. After a period of ‘ life ’, traditional symbols ‘ die ’ and lose their force, retaining only an historical significance. Each age needs symbols which are readily apprehended and which are relevant to its material and social culture. In agricultural and pastoral communities the fertility of the crops and animals was the prime concern, and a central social act was the sympathetic magic, or analogical ritual, of the sexual union of the human representatives of the culture god and earth goddess, who was made fertile. The sexual symbolism of such communities, which is reflected in the Christian tradition, might be quite inappropriate in a mass industrialised society—a fact which is important with reference to Christian imagery and the changing stereotypes of male and female. To recognise the importance of a traditional inheritance does not necessarily imply that it is unchangeable or that it should be reinforced.

56 Although the particular qualities conceived to be masculine and feminine have varied from time to time and from place to place, all societies have recognised differences between men and women. An oft repeated theme of psychological significance is that of division between the sexes and the search for a unity by their conjunction.

V. Bisexual symbolism and psychological development

57 During development, a person needs to become aware of, to develop, and to establish, characteristics of his own sex, with reference to constitutional characteristics and the demands of the social situation. This reinforcement of a particular sexual role involves a neglect of potentialities which are incompatible with conscious values and social mores. There is a tendency for a man to renounce those qualities which are regarded as ‘ feminine ’ and for a woman to repudiate her more ‘ masculine’ characteristics. The performance of the socially valued, but limited, roles puts a strain on the members of each sex, and an intolerable one on some of them. The differentiation of the sexes by status and role, with the requirement of keeping one’s role distinct at all times, induces tensions in both sexes whatever the social prerogatives attached to it. The resulting envy of the opposite sex, mentioned above, is an important factor in society. In fact, many cultures provide socially sanctioned occasions and ceremonies in which members of opposite sexes can temporarily change roles, and there are some relics of these in our society.

58 The limitations which are placed upon an individual by the proscribed, or desired, sexual role are very important psychologically, and are of special significance in the psychology of religion. It is a problem which has occupied some psychologists of the phenomeno-logical-existentialist movement and has been extensively explored by C. G. Jung. They stress the importance of the polarity of sex, and, in general, describe a masculine attitude as being more universal, abstract, intellectual and spiritual, and a feminine one as being more concrete, personal and emotional. But as Jaspers puts it: ‘ Psychic sexual polarity is not distributed as between two individuals in a mutually exclusive way but is carried as a contrasting whole within the individual himself’. In the realisation of one side, the other tends to be put into the background; but the fulness of experience, and the peak of life, is attained when there is a constant movement between two extremes—an uncomfortable division, but the possibility of a harmonious synthesis,

59 Jung puts great emphasis upon the fact that both men and women possess psychological qualities which are characteristic of the opposite sex. Such traits, wishes and attitudes form an aggregate outside consciousness forming a ‘ complex ’. This complex has more or less indirect effects upon behaviour which are evident in such phenomena as unadapted moods or opinions and in magical relations between the sexes, and it can be personified in dreams, fantasies, visions, and religious experience. It can perhaps be best conceived as if it were a separate, though partial, ‘ personality ’ which is distinct from, and not under the control of, the conscious ego (the ‘ I’). ‘ In the unconscious of every man there lies a female soul or anima and in the unconscious of every woman a male soul or animus.’ He considers that the complex derives from three sources: the latent (and presumably genetically determined) contra-sexual elements in the personality, the experience that a man has had of women and vice versa, and the masculine and feminine archetype. Jung describes how, by ‘ relating ’ to the anima or animus as an ‘ inner reality’, psychic contents, hitherto unconscious, can be assimilated and utilised and latent potentialities developed. It is part of a process occurring in middle life which leads towards a greater wholeness of the individual and which is often characterised by the appearance of symbols of the conjunction of the sexes and of the bisexual Man. Such images intimate the possibility of a totality, referred to by Jung as the self, which transcends the limitations of the ego. It is important to remember, however, that Jung stresses that an essential preliminary to the integration process, which is represented by the symbolism of sexual conjunction, is the establishment of a particular sex role which is differentiated from the contra-sexual anima or amimus. The androgynous image often expresses not a mature development but a state of sexual non-differentiation.

60 The broad features of this development of consciousness have been related by Jung and others to mythological themes, traditional symbolism, and the development of culture. Some of Jung’s suggestions will be presented briefly, because he is one of the few psychologists who have discussed at length the psychological significance of sexual symbolism in Christian history. It is to be noted, however, that the argument cannot be verified, that it strays beyond the limits of psychology at many points, and that it is open to criticism by psychologists, historians and theologians.

61 It is a very doubtful supposition that the development of the individual recapitulates social-religious evolution. Nevertheless it is of interest to order some of these mythological themes and note the similarities to some broad features of psychological development. In most preliterate, and some ancient, religions the mother-goddess is dominant; her son-lover-husband is secondary and derivative, and often he is a mere appendage who is castrated or killed by her. Motherhood is an obvious fact, but the connection between sexual intercourse and pregnancy is less apparent and it seems probable that this only came to be recognised in relatively developed cultures. Fatherhood is a more sophisticated concept than motherhood. The primacy of the mother-goddess no doubt reflects the basic physiological and anatomical fact that the son comes out of the mother and not vice versa.

62 The transition from a society which is dominated by the female to one in which male values are predominant is widely represented in myth and ritual. The male world often only comes into being by an act of forcible emancipation. The myth of the hero who triumphs over the dragon-mother and her dark kingdom is enacted in puberty rites, which involve a dramatisation of separation from the mother and the world of women, a symbolic death with a rebirth from a male-mother, and incorporation into the man’s house and the adult male society. As the myths are elaborated, the theme comes to have a more general significance (although this is sometimes evident in myths which might be regarded as most primitive). The triumph of male over female is the victory of masculine light, culture and differentiated consciousness over the feminine womb of water, chaos and darkness. The feminine abyss remains a danger, however; it promises blissful repose, but this means being swallowed and submerged, order and consciousness being lost in chaos.

63 A recurrent theme in ritual and myth is the union of the sexes. Various forms of the ritual and myth of the sacred marriage reveal a development from fertility magic to a highly symbolical representation in which the incompleteness and division between the sexual opposites is overcome in a new synthesis. The ‘ marriage ’ is either between the god and goddess or between man and the gods. The human representatives are sometimes the priests (or the king), sometimes the priestesses (who are often virgins or prostitutes) or occasionally both. In Phrygia, the goddess was the chief figure as the source of all good things and her representative, the priestess, was the centre and head of the religion. The god was the mediator between the divine and human worlds and his priest was the director of ritual. The holy marriage here had developed a long way from nature magic and was intended to convey the full teaching about the perfect completion of human life.

64 In many myths there is an original state of chaos personified as a bisexual god or serpent. An essential feature of creation is the separation of this primordial androgynous unity, when heaven and earth come into being, and the sexes are differentiated. The newborn hero is at first under the domination of the great mother who, although fruitful and protective, is also dark, stagnant, and devouring (the closed circuit life-death-life of the fertility cults). Eventually the mother is overcome by the light-bringing masculine hero, who is then able to find his female mate and restore the male-female unity on a new level. Some psychologists find a parallel between this theme and the process of the development of consciousness in the development of the individual and of society.

65 Jung and others have argued that the patriarchal religion of Israel, continued in Christianity, was associated with an important development of ethical consciousness and the moral law, but that there was an over-reaction against tendencies regarded as feminine, and an over-emphasis of the image of the father. Jung suggests that there are serious limitations in the masculine orientated tradition and doctrine of Judaism and Christianity. He considers that there are processes at work in the individual and in society which tend to correct and compensate one-sided, exclusive attitudes which have persisted, but have become ill adapted, in the face of changed circumstances. The spontaneous emergence of symbols is one way in which this necessary compensation is effected. Tradition can be regarded not as the preservation of a rigidly static state, but as a dynamic process in which, at different periods, different but partial aspects of human experience are emphasised. Jung cites evidence of such a compensatory process in Christian history. He points to orthodox and heretical movements which have increasingly emphasised the feminine element and have led up to the widespread popular devotions to our Lady. He sees a psychological need for God himself to be feminised, he maintains that wholeness comes only from a balance of equal personalities not achieved by Mary’s subordination to the masculine Trinity, and he welcomes the papal definition of the Assumption of our Lady which, he considers, paves the way for her ultimate recognition as a goddess! Jung discusses the image of Christ as a symbol of an androgynous wholeness, in which the division and polarity of sex is transcended. He points out that the Church is the Body of Christ and quotes, with favour, theological writers who consider that the celibate, virgin priest symbolises the androgynous nature of Christ and his Church. He does not comment upon the question of whether or not a priesthood which includes both men and women might represent this union of male and female.

66 It is possible to interpret symbolical data in many different ways, especially when material is selected from the wide fields of comparative mythology and religion. In both liturgical and pastoral activities a priest overtly and covertly communicates to his congregation conceptions of God, Christ, and the Church which are mediated by diverse images including those of father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, lover and beloved. There is relatively little exact knowledge about this process or about its effects, and members of this Commission can do little more than speculate. In later chapters, different lines of argument will be developed but it is inevitable that these will be influenced, at least to some extent, by personal assumptions and emotional bias; perhaps, even, they will be tinged with prejudice.

VI. Prejudice and the ordination of women

67 Prejudice not infrequently operates in arguments both for and against the ordination of women. An opinion is prejudiced when it is preconceived and maintained without adequate consideration of the evidence for and against it; the view is tenaciously held as if it represents incontrovertible fact and not an idea, hypothesis or theory to be examined, questioned and tested. Prejudice refers to the way in which a person or group resists any change in a point of view, and it does not imply that the judgment itself is necessarily irrational or false. The bias is indicated by the method of argument and the emotional expressions which accompany it.

68 A prejudiced person refuses, or is unable, to admit the force of evidence which is not in accordance with his belief. He cannot modify his opinion and, when this is threatened, he tends to resort to direct or indirect expressions of aggression and hostility, frequently employing an argumentum ad hominem. Psychological imputations are not infrequently used in this way: ‘ It is just that you are scared of women’ or ‘ You are eaten up by your envy of men ’. An effective way of concealing prejudice in oneself is to attribute it to others; the intransigent conservative is an easy target but the persistent radical, reformer or rebel can be just as prejudiced. In this section rather more emphasis is put upon prejudice against the ordination of women than upon irrational demands for it but this is only because it seems more important to concentrate upon the possible effects of an important innovation.

69 The strong emotive resistance against modifying a viewpoint is often well concealed by specious argument; supporting evidence is skilfully selected and distasteful facts are ignored or explained away. Dogmatism, with a reluctance to qualify statements, is a common feature of marked prejudice, but an appearance of impartiality is a subtle means of protecting a cherished standpoint. The note of scientific detachment which is evident in some parts of this chapter may be regarded by some readers as a mere appearance of objectivity which but thinly covers a preconceived, and emotionally determined, attitude towards the ordination of women. As we tend to be unaware of the existence of our own prejudices, the best we can do is to remember the possibility that they exist, to scrutinise the evidence repeatedly, to listen attentively to others, and to pay careful attention to the occurrence in ourselves of emotions such as anxiety, anger and distaste.

70 Experimental work suggests that much prejudice is learnt. A child learns his social role from his immediate family, teachers and other authority figures. He mimics the prejudices of his culture and sub-culture towards out-groups, i.e. groups of people who differ from his own in-group. The most potent factor in maintaining prejudice is the tendency to maintain unaltered modes of thought and behaviour which are entrenched by years of imitation and repetition. These long-standing patterns or habits are resistant to change, especially if they are reinforced by rewards, such as economic advantage or social prestige. Assumptions about male dominance, or militant feminist attitudes, can be firmly entrenched by the mores and traditions of the family and of other social groups, which are often acquired in early life.

71 The nature and extent of prejudice depends upon many complex features of the cultural milieu, e.g. the degree of rigidity and flexibility of social roles and the existence of specially privileged in-groups. There is evidence, too, that it is more likely to be associated with certain types of personality. It is said that prejudice is likely to be strong in people who are hostile and aggressive, lonely and deprived, and who feel themselves to be failures. Certain constellations of traits have been described by psychologists, such as the ‘ conventional’ person, who craves orderliness and familiarity; the ‘ manipulative’ person, who eschews emotion and treats people in an administrative fashion as if they were things; and the ‘ authoritarian ’ person, who is afraid of his own weakness and seeks security by assertion and submission within a hierarchical order.

72 There does not appear to be any definite evidence about the distribution and nature of prejudice for or against the ordination of women. It would be of interest to investigate how it correlates with personality types, churchmanship, social class, education and family pattern. It could represent a general resistance to any change in a state of affairs to which the person is accustomed, a more limited prejudice about the proper social status and role of women, or a very specific emotive reaction aroused by the notion of women priests.

73 There is little doubt that very powerful feelings are evoked. Not infrequently reactions to the suggestion that women should be admitted to Holy Orders are expressed in extreme terms, denoting horror and repugnance (‘ disgusting’,‘ unthinkable ’, ‘ revolting ’, ‘ shameful’, ‘ the idea makes me feel sick ’) and it seems probable that there are powerful, unconscious, or unadmitted, motives at work. In the absence of reports of careful investigations, interpretation can at best be very tentative. It can only be based upon observations made in similar, but not identical, situations. The following illustrations are intended only to indicate some possible mechanisms. The cynic might maintain that some analytical formulations beg many questions and can be invoked to explain, or explain away, any point of view. It is important to remember that a motive (or prejudice) is not a criterion of the truth or falsity of the opinion to which it leads. An argument against the ordination of women is not invalidated by the mere fact that its advocate is terrified of being dominated by a mother figure. The following examples of a few psychological factors which can maintain prejudice are typical of patterns which have been carefully elucidated in clinical situations over long periods. They are not presented as inclusive general explanations, but they are, in my view, useful descriptions of psychological phenomena which occur in some people.

74 It seems probable that many passionate reactions to the suggestion of ordaining women are associated with disturbing experiences of the mother during infancy and childhood. Desires and fears which persist from early life can become evident later in disturbed relationships with women. Women, especially if they are in positions of authority, are experienced as mothers and excite emotions similar to those aroused by early states of physical dependence, such as the nursing situation. (It is of some interest that, in a sample of people questioned about their views on the ordination of women, a number of those who were intolerant of the suggestion objected most strongly to a woman giving food at Holy Communion: ‘ Just imagine a woman giving you bread and saying, “ This is my body ”.’ Some of the replies suggested the occurrence of anxiety about aggressive sensations and fantasies aroused by unsatisfactory, early, oral relationships with the mother.) The wish for gratifying emotions of bodily security is, sometimes, partially expressed in substitute ways: by a return, in fantasy, to the womb of Mother Church or by devotion to the ideal, perfect, Mother of God. A woman priest could satisfy this need for dependence, for some people. But more commonly the overt expression of dependence is avoided in relationships with actual women, who are feared as being possessive, destructive or rejecting. The power of women is more likely to arouse anxiety in men and hence they must be dominated and relegated to inferior positions. ‘ Woman ’, as an image or an embodiment of a principle, might be idealised; but actual women are devalued or attacked in covert ways.

75 In early childhood, magical and animistic thinking is common. It is tempting to compare some of the attitudes towards women priests with the awe and fear of feminine functions, evident in the taboos with which non-literate peoples surround such unclean and dangerous events as menstruation and childbirth. Some fantasies are reminiscent of the myths of the Mother Goddess who embodied not only the fruitful and creative, but also the destructive and death-dealing, aspects of nature. The Jewish rejection of these nature religions and their priestesses has been regarded by some writers as being analogous to the development of an adolescent by an emancipation from a state of infantile dependence; but, it is argued, a mature independence is not characterised by an anxiety-ridden exclusion of feminine representations in religion. It can be claimed on the one hand that a woman priest would tend to promote and maintain childish dependent attitudes or, on the other hand, that the exclusion of women from the priesthood represents an immature reaction against a fear of women and mothers.

76 In Sections I and II mention was made of the envy of the biological qualities and social status of the opposite sex. A woman might demand ordination because of her sense of deprivation and her resentment of a man’s bodily features and social prestige. A man who has conscious or unconscious anxiety about castration often feels threatened by women and compensates for his fear by contempt, treating the female sex as if they were maimed men. A woman is regarded as being unfit to be a priest, just as a eunuch or a man with severe corporeal infirmity is held to be incapable of receiving Holy Orders. The situation is complicated by a man’s envy of her ability to bear children, for which he might find some substitute in the motherly aspects of the pastoral role and such ‘ feminine ’ expressions as ceremonial and ritual dress. The woman who accepts her ‘ fate’ of anatomical and social inferiority, and represses her guilt at wishing to be otherwise, sometimes exaggerates her femininity, and adores the male who is dominant. She resents and deprecates other women who do not do likewise and who threaten the roundabout symbolical satisfaction of incestuous desires, which can be achieved in the relationship with a father-priest. Thus some arguments in favour of the ordination of women can be motivated by deep-seated envy, whereas opposition to the suggestion can spring from the anxiety associated with an image of a woman as a man manque.

77 Adult, genital, sexual feeling is a factor in the relationship of the priest and parishioner, and perhaps it is more important and widespread than is sometimes suggested. It operates not only in the intimate contact of the pastoral situation, but also in the more impersonal setting of ritual. Such feeling, heterosexual and homosexual, is doubtless a vital factor in attitudes towards the sex of the priest. An argument advanced against the ordination of women is that in public worship men are less likely to distract and stimulate the congregation sexually. The evidence regarding sexual differences in this respect is scanty. It suggests that, on the average, men are more quickly aroused than women and respond to a wider variety of symbolic stimuli. Yet certain stimuli arouse women more readily than men. The variations within each sex seem to be so great, however, as to make generalisations of little value. Nevertheless it is possible that anxieties about the consequences of sexual arousal are significant in some violent expressions of prejudice.

78 If it is true that the question of the ordination of women touches upon powerful, unconscious motives, then this innovation might have profound effects which are difficult to predict.

The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church. Unmasking a Cuckoo's Egg Tradition

This book by John Wijngaards, published by Darton, Longman & Todd (UK), Continuum (USA), Media House (India), as well as in Italy, France, Holland and Japan, is a classic on the topic.

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