Let's be honest, some religions blow flaming chunks from the asshole.

My sister-in-law is middle aged, no children, a single, powerful woman by choice, and at least as Catholic as Pope Francis is, a very gentle soul fiercely protective of all souls. She invited her nephews and nieces along for a family summer road trip. The way it all worked out, by plain random chance, it's an all women adults trip, including my wife, and mostly girl cousins. I'm here at home with the dogs, and I'm okay with that.

An estrogen dominated multi-vehicle road trip for sure, but not uncommon in my family of very strong wild west women.

Sadly two nieces of our extended family have an asshole dad, an ex-with-extreme-prejudice of our entire family, who has 50% custody of "his" two girls. He threw a tantrum, threatened lawyerly and family court stuff, and said his daughters couldn't go.

You know what's obvious? He's scared of women. He's scared of his ex wife, and he's scared his daughters will grow up to be strong independent women.

He doesn't know it yet, because his daughters protect his patriarchal religious fantasies and illusions of control, but they are already strong independent girls and they will grow up to be strong independent women, in spite of him.

I have a very very conservative Catholic brother-in-law who is nothing like that, always encouraging his daughters, my nieces, in every way, to be the strong independent young women they already are, away on a road trip, missing their two cousins.