Religious Faith and Women’s Activism

During the 1830s, religious revivals and growing religious diversity raised new questions about women’s place in public life. In many white evangelical churches, women played prominent roles during revivals, leading prayer circles and persuading others to seek salvation. Still, male ministers retained sole authority and often emphasized women’s subjection during the conversion process (Document 11.5). While accepting their subordinate role, many evangelical women nevertheless labored on behalf of temperance, moral reform, and even abolition (Document 11.6).

Male ministers also dominated black churches, but a few black women were recognized as itinerant evangelicals by the 1830s. It was Maria Stewart, however, a free black widow and evangelical convert, who spoke out most publicly about slavery, racial prejudice, and the challenges facing northern African American communities (Document 11.7).

Quaker, Unitarian, Catholic, and Jewish women also combined faith and social activism. They, too, advocated temperance, expanded charitable efforts, and promoted moral uplift. Quaker women also took on prominent roles in the antislavery movement, promoting abolition alongside white men and African Americans. These efforts generated heated debates over women’s sphere. When Sarah and Angelina Grimké, daughters of a South Carolina slave owner, moved to Philadelphia and converted to Quakerism, the American Anti-Slavery Society invited them to lecture on behalf of abolition. Their 1837 lecture tour attracted large audiences of men and women, leading Congregational ministers in New England to denounce their unwomanly conduct (Document 11.8). While many white evangelical women then retreated from antislavery activities, Quaker and black evangelical women continued their activities and Sarah Grimké published a spirited defense of women’s antislavery activism (Document 11.9). Like Stewart, Grimké linked female efforts on behalf of racial advancement to women’s need for more rights for themselves.