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Why have women made up the majority of nearly every religious group in American history when most of those groups have systematically excluded them from leadership? Ann Braude seeks to answer this and other questions about women's role in American religions in this excellent volume. The book manages to introduce the reader both to the diversity of religious experience in America and to the many different roles women played in religious groups: faithful adherents, fundraisers, transmitters of religious tradition to the next generation, reformers, leaders, and even founders of new religious movements. Braude begins with the sixteenth century, tracing the ways American religious groups such as New England Puritans and Virginian Anglicans conceived of society as a family writ large. This family model gave women a certain amount of authority in their religious traditions -- for example, mothers passed on basic religious teachings to their children -- but it could also punish women who stepped outside the boundaries of family authority. For example, widows in Puritan culture who refused to remarry and place themselves under male authority might find themselves accused of witchcraft. Native American and African American groups whose family models did not conform to standard colonial models were stigmatized. The "family" model of religious societies was powerful enough that it was adopted even by new religious movements which were more empowering to women, such as the Shakers. Women from immigrant groups as diverse as Italian Catholics, Russian Jews or Korean Methodists saw the family as a "religious haven" where they could preserve their religious traditions against the encroachments of American culture. And in the nineteenth century, women often used their authority as mothers to attempt to reform society. Braude discusses a variety of religious groups and organizations, founded by women, including Roman Catholic orders of nuns, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and Hadassah. Although the specific goal of each group differed, all believed it was the role of women to build a better world for all children, and the social actions undertaken by all these groups helped increase women's role in the public sphere. In the final section of the book, the author explores the impact of women's expanded social role on American religious communities. She discusses the emergence of feminism and the debates the feminist movement has engendered about women's ordination, language about God, and the treatment of women in traditional religious communities. Braude's narrative is very balanced, however; she does not neglect the experience of women in conservative religious traditions who continue to find those traditions empowering. Overall, this volume is very inclusive, drawing on "mainstream" and "alternative" religious traditions, discussing the religious experiences of not only white Christians but also Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Muslims, and the many immigrant communities who brought their religions to American. The text is also very readable. Each chapter begins with a compelling story which draws the reader in. The illustrations are marvellous, and the selections from primary texts contained in each chapter would be helpful in giving students exposure to women's own accounts of their religious experiences. The author does a good job defining all the religious terminology she uses; however, some of the vocabulary is challenging enough that I would recommend this text mainly for seniors or advanced juniors. © 2000 Patricia M. Lennon and RSiSS
Religion in American Life Return to Oxford's Religion in American Life Series
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