Stereotypes about Nuns

I have a tendency to think that the reasons we have stereotypes is because there are people who are that way… not everyone… but some.

I had two stereotypes of nuns were of repressed women who were forced behind walls (much more historically) and of how easy it must be to just commune with the Divine and not have any responsibilities. I know that these two visions aren’t really compatible, but that is what I had in my head.

Believe it or not, it was an episode of ‘The bionic woman’ when she went into a convent to solve a mystery. It was done (in my memory of a thousand years ago) with balance and showing that it was a loving community with women trying to do their best.

My stereotypes were blown through my work in Medieval history. Granted, there were women who were forced and unhappy but there were women who were gloriously in tune with what they thought was the Divine. There are changes from then until now… but having grown up and working with being one with the Divine, I know how hard it can be to walk the Path you think is right.

From my experience, I have seen two common stereotypes of sisters. One is the docile, saintly type who is obedient to a fault (can’t think for herself). The other stereotype is the “hell on wheels” disciplinarian who enjoys hitting kids with rulers and humiliating them in class. These are the extremes of course. I think a good number of people see sisters overall as sexually frustrated/repressed.

Even though I grew up in the Church, I never knew any nuns very well. Although I was familiar with the stereotypes I mention above, I couldn’t really relate to them from personal experience. I did assume, however, that there was a good element of truth to them Personally, I just remember thinking it was not “cool” at all to be a nun. Becoming a nun was something as “out there” as joining the circus. Maybe that was because so many people seemed to make fun of sisters – not just school kids but also normally mature, discriminating adults.

How were my misconceptions shattered? By getting to know lots of sisters personally and reading accounts of their lives and activities in magazines, newspapers, etc.

If I had to pick the most common, positive traits I have found in sisters I know, I’d say they are usually deep (not superficial), committed, intelligent, gentle and well educated. I find most try to understand rather than judge. Most also appear to be genuine and humble. I’m sure there are a few who come close to the stereotypes, but that’s probably more the exception than the rule.

I haven’t seen a large number of sisters portrayed in the media. But out of the serious ones I’ve seen, most aren’t too bad. My favorite is the Rev. Mother in the “Sound of Music”, especially when she sings “Climb Every Mountain.” She is depicted as an intelligent woman of compassion and wisdom.

Thanks for all the good reflections on this topic. It is odd how we come face to face with those stereotypes … via the bionic woman or Graceland! I think one of my stereotypes was that nuns were unapproachable, mysterious characters. I may not have articulated it as such when I was younger, but it showed in how I would keep my distance in turn, even with nuns who were highly approachable real people. I’m glad for the patience of the nuns I knew back then and their openness to let me get to know them.

I never really thought of nuns as unapproachable or mysterious. I could understand your opinion though in retrospect. But I did view sisters as the “other”. They were “different”, set apart, not at all like the rest of us. Although this may be true to some extent (I mentioned some of those fine qualities I find common to most sisters I have met), I don’t find most sisters to be that “different” at all. My spiritual director, a sister, is probably more normal than I. I can have my head in the clouds at times and she definitely has the gift of common sense.

Well, seeing you asked…

* I actually have an aversion to the word “nun” and would rather identify myself as a monk – and if anyone objects that that is male (it is rather a scandal that the English language has no feminine version of “monk”) then I’d rather reclaim the Greek/Latin “monacha”. But I recognise that thats partly because of my context – both a linguistic context in which the local equivalent of “nun” is seen as rather perjorative, and a monastic context in which I am concerned with monastic identity which has nothing to do with gender. But I suppose I might feel differently if I was in a specifically feminine institute…

* The idea that women religious are a sort of second-rate priest … the way people speak about “priests and nuns” (where do religious brothers fit in?) as if they were almost the same thing except that the one is on a higher rung than the other … and the assumption that we would all be ordained if we could be. (I’m not arguing that women shouldn’t be ordained but rather that religious – whether male or female – should be wary of ordination).

* Linked to this is the assumption that if clerical celibacy were to be made optional then we too “would be allowed to marry” – which completely fails to understand the fundamental difference between clerical celibacy as a discipline which can (and perhaps should) be changed and religious celibacy which is funamental to our calling.

* Lastly, with apologies to any for whom this is a beloved image … the idea that “nuns” are brides of Christ. I find this a pretty awful image, largely because it turns God into an anthropomorphized male, and a polygamist at that! Yes, I know that there are people (including people like Sandra Schneiders) who want to reclaim it in a more nuanced way, but I am not convinced! Actually the theological issues are more involved than this but they boil down to the question of whether women are really able to image God in Christ in their own right or whether they need to be joined to a man. Commenting on the development of the monastic profession liturgy in the Middle Ages, Penelope Johnson writes: “There were actually two services, one for nuns that drew heavily on the imagery of marriage and one for monks that centered on the idea of renovatio of the whole person. The differences by gender emphasize the hierarchy’s view of women as dependent and men as autonomous, of nuns as living spouses of Christ and monks as “putting on the new Christ” – thereby identifying themselves directly with Christ.” (Equal in monastic profession, p. 63)

Now thats more than I’d been planning to say and it may not have been exaclty what you were looking for, so I’d better stop!

These comments have been eye-opening to read! I’ve enjoyed them.

Stereotype: All nuns are old.

I don’t recall meeting a religious sister face to face until I was a freshman in high school when we traveled from the Bible Belt to St. Louis to see JP2. Prior to that, I remember hearing that here were such things, even that there was one in my home parish, but in all my years there I couldn’t tell you who she was. Thankfully, this stereotype continues to be shattered (in a great way) as I study theology along side men and women religious, and laity of all ages!

Also, Macrina, as a woman discerning religious life, I’ve done a lot of personal study (at the suggestion of my spiritual director) surrounding the history of the “bride of Christ” image. Have you read Sandra Schneiders’ “Selling All: Commitment, Consecrated Celibacy, and Community in Catholic Religious Life”? It’s been most helpful to me, and the only book I’ve come across that doesn’t outright reject the image, but does clearly critique it.

Macrina: I’m assuming you are a Benedictine, correct? I am an oblate of St. Benedict.

-It does seem that people generally regard women religious as somehow less than priests. And it probably is only because they are women. If you want to assess it by earthly standards (as many do even if they don’t realize it), women religious have held just as important and challenging positions as men, i.e. university presidents, hospital CEOs, etc. Although I personally believe in the ordination of women, I would never have any desire to be a priest. Being a sister (or monk!) is a much more appealing option.

-Even though I’m somewhat of a feminist, I personally find the imagery of the bride of Christ very beautiful (now I haven’t studied it or lived it for years). As I look at it, it conjures up feelings of profound intimacy with Christ, almost like the type in a marital relationship. Ironically, I find I sometimes feel like a bride of Christ myself. But then I’d have two husbands. That’s a little weird but with God, anything is possible.

I am not catholic but my very good friend as a child, name Mary (with No middle name, in case she decided to be a nun)was from a large devote catholic family and went to catholic school. I always loved the mystery of her life and her associations with nuns. As an adolesent I loved the romatic stereotypes of nuns (Mary tyler moore as a nun in the inner city and falls in love with the doctor,played by Elvis). Romance novels about nuns that fall in love and leave their order. And of course, Maria von Trapp, my favorite ex-nun. I often thought how lucky my friend Mary was…she could become a nun and would be certain to meet the love of her life!! I still love a good fun “nun” fiction.

I am not catholic, but my stereotype of a catholic nun was of a person who had suppressed all of their emotions for the kingdom. This was blown away by my CPE supervisor Sister Mary. She modeled for me a full range of emotions, and she encouraged me to really feel what was going on in me during the present moment. She was present for me in a time of deep spiritual need. I will always be grateful to her.

Re: Not saying certain things in front of nuns … One time I was looking at some kind of interview with the well known comedian Bob Newhart. As some of you may know, his own biological sister is a nun. He loves it when he throws parties, invites her over and overhears someone say something really racy to her. Why? He then mischevously responds, “Oh, I see you have met my sister the nun.”

According to Bob, you wouldn’t believe the hilarious reactions he gets – not because his sister is a nun – but because the normally confident, mature (probably very well heeled) people casually chatting with her are so embarrassed they practically squirm. From what I gathered, Bob’s sister the sister finds this pretty funny too. I guess the whole family inherited a sense of humor!

Jen, I think the habit stereotype could be phrased neutrally as “If a nun is wearing a habit, she’s likely to value at least some Catholic traditions.”

But some people have the idea that nuns who don’t wear habits and also talk about women’s ordination or switch out masculine pronouns for God or teach things contrary to what the Church teaches wouldn’t do any of those things if only they had been forbidden to not wear habits. And even people who realize that that’s silly might still subconsciously associate “nun without habit” with “nun who doesn’t follow Church teachings”. Like any stereotype, it’s easier than having to think about people as individuals.

I would suspect that most people in the first group (“habits are magical anti-heresy devices”) also think negative thoughts about priests who don’t wear cassocks or at least clerics.

Since I didn’t grow up in the Catholic Church, my early impressions of nuns came from The Sound of Music. Of course, I was about six when I fell in love with The Sound of Music so I thought nuns were nice ladies who went around singing and sabotaging Nazi cars.

My first real meeting with a nun was with Sister Mary Virginia Orna, OSU, who is a professor of Chemistry at New Rochelle. She came to my college and gave a lecture on archaeological chemistry. I’m a chemist who also happens to love biblical archeology so, for me, it was hands-down the best lecture I heard in all four years of college.

It really touched me at a spiritual level too since being a person of faith and a scientist at the same time can be challenging. I was really inspired to hear a lecture from a scientist who had not given up her faith.

Thank you for this website/blogsite. A surprising idea hit me about nuns when I was at an awards dinner for nurses. The main speaker was very good & he was talking about getting people interested in nursing. He was an ex-marine & a very nice male nurse who truly loved his job. He asked a very provocative question during his talk. He said that many children do not know what they want to be when they grow up… Then, he asked, “At what age do children decide that they do NOT want to be some profession when they grow up?!” (My husband jokingly answered 30!)…Anyway, he said that at around at 3 or 4 years of age a child has already decided what he/she does NOT want to be when he/she grows up. The speaker went on to tell the nurses that it is very important how they talk about nursing to their children & to others in general. If they always give a negative report, no one will want to be a nurse. They should talk about the reasons they became nurses & why they like nursing, too. His talk made me think of all of the negative talk about nuns & sisters which must turn off children from ever wanting to become nuns or sisters, even at an early age.

Once, I was really upset when some neighbors of mine decided that it was just fine to talk negatively about nuns & sisters to me. Why not…everyone talks negatively about nuns & sisters all of the time…even Catholics frequently do this! I told them that I was fortunate to have some very caring, very loving sisters teaching me in school. They were sweet, very intelligent, & even strict, because they wanted us to get the best education & they did not put up with nonsense. I was blessed to have been taught the truths of our Catholic faith by these sisters. Now, I am very careful how I speak about sisters & nuns in general because of what the speaker said at the Awards Dinner. I don’t want to turn anyone off from becoming a sister or nun. In fact, I hope & pray that there are many vocations to the priesthood & religious life.

I certainly cannot speak for the individual sisters/nuns from Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Alabama. But I’d hardly consider Mother Angelica herself a model of orthodoxy and obedience. She is an ultraconservative traditionalist, with her own distinct view of the faith, who has disobeyed Church authorities on numerous occasions. None of this is a secret. Much of it is written in her biography. Also, according to many in the USCCB, Mother Angelica has often manipulated Church authorities using her power in the media as leverage. Perhaps one of the main reasons Mother Angelica’s Poor Clare’s have more vocations than others is because of their constant exposure to the public.

Donna, Could you please give me some examples and resourses of Mothers unfaithfuless? Since I have friends at OLAM, I would like to look a little deeper into that.

Thank you very much, I am accually going out today, so I’ll get the book then. Thank you for your help.