The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups.[2] It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination[a] was traditionally reserved for men.[2][3][4][b]
In some cases, women have been permitted to be ordained, but not to hold higher positions, such as (until July 2014) that of bishop in the Church of England.[9] Where laws prohibit sex discrimination in employment, exceptions are often made for clergy (for example, in the United States) on grounds of separation of church and state.
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