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An old African-American churchgoers' saying rings true for most religious denominations in the United States: "Women are the backbone of the church." For centuries, women have been the majority of members in almost all religious groups. They provide essential financial and social support and work tirelessly in the background of all church-based activities. Yet it is largely men who occupy the high rungs of church hierarchy, and they are the ones who get most of the credit. Ann Braude examines the important role of women in American religious history, focusing on their recent admission to public religious leadership and their fight for equal rights and recognition through the centuries. Both noted and little known women--such as Margaret Winthrop, Jarena Lee, Mary Baker Eddy, Henrietta Szold, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Mary Daly--spring to life in the pages of this thorough, passionate book.
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Women and American Religion
JON BUTLER & HARRY'S, STOUT GENERAL EDITORS
Women and American Religion
Ann Braude
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS New York • Oxford
For my grandmother, Vicci Sperry. Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 2000 by Ann Braude Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Web site: www.oup-usa.org Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Braude, Ann Women and American Religion / Ann Braude; eds., Ion Butler & Harry S. Stout. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-510676-8 (alk. paper) 1. Women and religion—United States—History. 2. United States—Religion. I. Butler, Ion, 1940- II. Stout, Harry S. III. Title. BL458 .B67 1999 200' .82'0973—dc21 99-32968 CIP ISBN 0-19-510676-8 (library edition) 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Design and layout: Loraine Machlin Picture research: Lisa Kirchner
On the cover: Church Supper (detail) by Paul Sample, 1933. Frontispiece: The Reverend Carter Heyward and the Reverend Allison Cheek serve communion at a service honoring the ministry of women.
Contents Editors' Introduction Jon Butler & Harry S. Stout Introduction: "Women Are the Backbone of the Church" C H A P T E R
59
4
Organized Womanhood C H A P T E R
37
3
Mothers and Daughters Maintain the Home C H A P T E R
15
2
When the Spirit Moves Women C H A P T E R
11
1
Planting Religious Households C H A P T E R
7
83
5
Since the 1960s
111
Chronology
134
Further Reading
136
Index
139
Editors' Introduction JON BUTLER & HARRY S. STOUT, GENERAL EDITORS
F
or over three centuries, the leadership and participation of women has made American religious life remarkably different from religious life in many other nations. Women have consistently outnumbered men in most American religious groups since the 1660s, and women's wide-ranging religious activities—voluntary societies, reform efforts, and spiritual leadership—have made the American religious experience inconceivable without their involvement. An African-American saying