The influence of the crisis of religion on the weakening of patriarchal family

Abstract

Christians today have three opposing views on the biblical relation- ship between husband and wife. Those views range from Christian egali- tarianism, which the New Testament interprets as a doctrine of complete equality of responsibility between men and women in marriage, to a call for a “return to complete patriarchy” in which relations are based on male domination and their authority in marriage. Whether patriarchal and religiously supported relations have led to the inferior position of women and the inadequate position of children in family relations of traditional patriarchal family, in which negative events within the family are hidden from the outside world, is always a topical question. On the other hand, some early church fathers valued family less, and celibacy and freedom from family ties were considered a more desirable choice. Deviation from traditional values, understandings, norms and reformism of modernists have significantly influenced the patriarchal family, the understanding of family relations and the institution of marriage. In the first part, the paper will provide a historical–theoretical view of the relationship between the church and the state, as well as a comparative overview of this relationship. In the second part of the paper, the emphasis will be on the concept of marriage in the world’s major religions, and on the, perhaps, the biggest challenge, which a patriarchal family has been facing with, which is reflected in the legalisation of same–sex marriages. By overturning the ruling in the case of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion almost 50 years ago, on 24 June 2022, by the decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19 –1392, 597 U.S. (2022), jurisdiction was transferred from the federal level of the US to the jurisdiction of the states. How much influence did religion have in that case and what have been the consequences of the latest decision by the Supreme Court of the United States?