The role and function of religion in society.

Many feminists would say that religion (like the family and the welfare state...) is another site of patriarchy. It is a place where women are oppressed by men, and it serves to reproduce this oppression and spread it throughout the wider society. The Catholic Church is a favourite target. It is against women's rights such as contraception, abortion, and divorce. It is headed and run exclusively by men. God is seen in male terms; Jesus …

…of religion. He claims that Religion is not necessarily a functional, reproductive or conservative factor in society: It often is one of the main (and sometimes the only) available channels to bring about a social revolution. Maduro argues that in a situation where there is no other outlet for grievances, such as Latin America, the clergy become a variety of Gramsci's proletarian intellectuals and provide guidance for the oppressed in their struggle with dominant groups.