Women and Twentieth Century Protestantism

Margaret Lamberts Bendroth, Virginia Lieson Brereton

University of Illinois Press, 2002 - Religion - 350 pages

"Since the early twentieth century, women's aspirations have taken a variety of forms in Protestant churches, shaped by such forces as feminism, secularization, social activism, and the professionalization of religious work. Giving voice to a broad range of Protestant women, this landmark volume launches a stimulating investigation into the story of women and religion in the twentieth century.These smart, vigorous essays run the gamut of historical contexts to probe the meaning and impact of social change on women in the church. Contributors consider the emergence of Latina Pentecostal clergy in the United States and the success of the Women's Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention in remaining independent of male-dominated denominational structures. They discuss James Dobson's Focus on the Family, a program closely associated with conservative, fundamentalist values, and ponder its enormous appeal to women and girls. Among other topics, the authors discuss Chinese immigrant women who embraced the relative freedom offered by Protestant religion, turn-of-the-century African American women who assumed religious authority through their historical writing, and the struggles of women faith healers in defining their role amid medical and evangelical professionalism. They also pursue links between a ""feminine"" preference for nonconfrontational, egalitarian settings and the nature of women's successes and setbacks in their churches.Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism demonstrates the variety of women's experience and the breadth of their influence as missionaries, thinkers, activists, theologians, and reformers. This important volume also illustrates the persistence of the ""stained-glass ceiling"" in constraining women's ordination as well as the increasing disenchantment of many within the church."

Contents

• Saints but Not Subordinates The Womans Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention: 2
• Your Daughters Shall Prophesy A History of Women in Ministry in the Latino Pentecostal Movement in the United States: 25
• Expanding Feminisms Field and Focus Activism in the National Council of Churches in the 1960s and 1970s: 49
• RELIGION MODERNITY AND THE PROTESTANT DOMESTIC STRATEGY: 71
• The Role of Young Peoples Societies in the Training of Christian Womanhood and Manhood 18801910: 74
• Transnational Womens Activism The Womans Christian Temperance Union in Japan and the United States: 93
• Beyond Dr Dobson Women Girls and Focus on the Family: 113
• CONSTRUCTING WOMENS RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE: 133
• Unbinding Their Souls Chinese Protestant Women in TwentiethCentury America: 136
• Writing Our Way into History Gender Race and the Creation of Black Denominational Life: 164
• 9 Female Suffering and Religious Devotion in American Pentecostalism: 184
• WOMEN AND THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF RELIGIOUS WORK: 209
• Let Christian Women Set the Example in Their Own Gifts The Business of Protestant Womens Organizations: 213
• Healing Hands Healthy Bodies Protestant Women and Faith Healing in Canada and the United States 18801930: 236
• The Women That Publish the Tidings The International Association of Women Ministers: 257
• WOMEN AND MODERNITY: 277
• Losing Their Religion Women the State and the Ascension of Secular Discourse 18901930: 280
• Feminization Revisited Protestantism and Gender at the Turn of the Century: 304
• Contributors: 325
• Index: 327

About the author

Margaret Lamberts Bendroth is Executive Director and Librarian for The Congregational Library in Boston, Massachussetts. She is the author of several books, including "Fundamentalism and Gender, 1875 to the Present" and "Fundamentalists and the City: Conflict and Division in Boston's Churches, 1885 to 1950 ", and has edited several other volumes.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Women and Twentieth Century Protestantism
• Editors: Margaret Lamberts Bendroth, Virginia Lieson Brereton
• Contributor: Margaret Lamberts Bendroth
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 2002
• ISBN: 0252069986, 9780252069987
• Length: 350 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Christianity / Denominations; Religion / Christianity / History; Religion / Christianity / Protestant; Religion / Clergy