When we think of patriarchy, the concept of spirituality is not the first thing that comes to our mind. There is a general tendency to associate religion with patriarchy and spirituality with something that relates to the sublime. The reason for this is self-evident: spirituality is an individual’s journey, while religion deals with a community’s journey—and hence subject to collective phenomena. But when discussing patriarchy, one must try to appreciate the relationship between spirituality and religion; just because spirituality provides an individual lens, it cannot be disassociated from the collective lens of religion.
One cannot belie the fact that, around the world, one can see that patriarchy manifests most powerfully through spiritual discourse—as spiritual discourse is often presented as the truth. It is classified as metaphysical truth beyond the reach of science. It thus comes to serve as a powerful authority that governs the way in which people form their approach to the world at large.
Waxing Sapphic Gently 
