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The Role of the Popes in the Invention of Complementarity and the Vatican’s Anathematization of Gender

In: Religion and Gender
Author:
Mary Anne Case
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Online Publication Date:
19 Feb 2016
Open Access
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This article examines the origins and uses by the Vatican of the theological anthropology of complementarity, arguing that the doctrine of complementarity, under which the sexes are essentially different though not unequal, is an invention of the twentieth century untraceable in earlier centuries, but developed by, among others, the Popes from Pius XII through Benedict XVI, in part as a response to feminist claims, including those recently anathematized by the Vatican under the term ‘gender.’ After exploring some difficulties with the application of the doctrine of complementarity as Catholic orthodoxy, the article concludes by compiling preliminary evidence as to the extent Pope Francis will continue his predecessors’ approach to complementarity.

Title:
The Role of the Popes in the Invention of Complementarity and the Vatican’s Anathematization of Gender
Article Type:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18352/rg.10124
Language:
English
Pages:
155–172
Keywords:
Vatican; gender; complementarity; theological anthropology; Benedict XVI; John Paul II; Pius XII
In:
Religion and Gender
In:
Volume 6: Issue 2
Publisher:
Brill
E-ISSN:
1878-5417
Print ISSN:
2589-8051
Subjects:
Anthropology of Religion, Religious Studies, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Sociology of Religion, Religion & Society

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