In the Name of Equality: Jimmy Carter Leaves Southern Baptist Convention

Jimmy Carter released a profound statement last week titled "Losing My Religion for Equality" about how he has chosen to leave his church, the Southern Baptist Convention due to the discriminatory practices toward women. Read through what he says below - it will certainly challenge anyone, of any faith, to reconsider how women are viewed in the eyes of the Church, and the eyes of God:

So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when th e convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This was in conflict with my belief - confirmed in the holy scriptures - that we are all equal in the eyes of God.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. It is widespread. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths.

Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries. The male interpretations of religious texts and the way they interact with, and reinforce, traditional practices justify some of the most pervasive, persistent, flagrant and damaging examples of human rights abuses.

I was raised Catholic. And, on occasion, I still go to church because it is a place where I can connect with my spirituality. I was lucky that I learned about religion in a very tolerant place - in San Francisco - where I really connected with religion through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius and was shielded from the type of language described by Carter above. I participated in a very progressive church - one that welcomed all people and didn't preach the marginalization of women or homosexuals. Clearly, this is the exception to the rule. Knowing the blatant discrimination toward women by religious institutions elsewhere always bothered me and I too have questioned from time to time whether I should separate from the Catholic Church based on the experience that Carter describes.  It cannot be denied that there are many faiths that use religion as a "justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority" and he is right - it is truly unacceptable.

However, there are also many religious communities - even the Catholics - that do a lot of good in the world. I wouldn't be the crusader for equality that I am today had it not been for the teachings of social justice I learned while at Catholic school. And therefore, I have a hard time cutting out religion  from my life even if I do disagree with some of it's policies - the fact that women can't be priests, the pro-life language, the rhetoric against gay marriage. For me, religion has generally been a way for me to have a sense of faith rather than a sense of indoctrination. In my experiences with the Church, i have learned far more good than bad; far more tolerance than intolerance; far more about how to love than hate. However, I imagine that if I witnessed the type of language that Carter faced in a church I was part of - I too would decide that it was time to separate from my religion.

What about you? What place does religion hold in your life? Would you ever lose your religion for the sake of equality?