March 3, 2020
Martha Miller Center for Global Communication, Fried Hemenway Auditorium 135
257 Columbia Avenue, Holland, MI 49423-3692
“Purity And Patriarchy: Christianity And The Struggle For Women’s Rights In America ”
The history of Christianity and women’s rights is full of surprising twists and turns. Although many Christians opposed women’s suffrage, Christian women also played key roles in securing the vote for women 100 years ago. Then as now, the ideal of female purity was linked to patriarchal power, and it was only by challenging that ideal that women could take up the fight for equal rights. This talk will examine the history of women’s suffrage and women of faith, and draw lessons for the challenges facing Christianity and feminism today.