<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

Chapter IV covers women's efforts to assert themselves in sexually segregated activities at the congregational level, both at home and abroad. Accommodation was generally smooth in benevolent and educational areas, both of which fit a traditional definition of femininity, but corporate worship and church government introduced the contradictory claims of service and submission. For women to expand their religious sphere while maintaining fidelity to a legalistic interpretation of Christianity entails a fundamental struggle between assertion and subordination that continues to trouble evangelicals.

Missions capitalized on a woman's need both to nurture and to exercise personal power. The Texas Baptist women who volunteered for missionary service had an opportunity to respond to the demands of their beliefs in settings with less institutional restriction and more immediate and explicit demands than were provided at home. Two Texas women—Anne Luther Bagby, who went to Brazil in 1880, and Annie Jenkins Sallee, who served in China from 1906 to 1942—provide interesting case studies of women's behavioral and attitudinal changes accompanying the practice of their Baptist faith in different cultures.

Chapter V moves from the explicitly religious realm to other aspects of Baptist women's lives and focuses on the way Christian goals were translated into character models, educational pursuits, marriage, motherhood, and the exercise of civic responsibility. It was in these areas that the informal, physical quality of frontier life characteristic of Texas in the nineteenth century provided a balancing effect to the passive, protected ideal of womanhood that flourished in the East and South. In a frontier setting, the sexes shared many tasks and aspirations, and that experience paved the way for women's seeking a broader sphere of activity and influence. An interesting facet of this development is the pride and self-definition many women manifested while operating within the ultimate limits of patriarchal authority.

Notes on sources

The most valuable primary source for my research were Baptist state newspapers, particularly the Baptist Standard , owned and published by individuals prominent in denominational circles until 1914, when it was purchased by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Appearing weekly from 1892, the newspaper covered women's events and organizations and published women's writing on a special interest page. I utilized, however, the entire paper, gaining other insights into the attitude toward women's role through obituaries, editorials, reprints of sermons and speeches, and advertisements. The paper also gave an interesting and comprehensive reflection of Texas life, including coverage of selected political events and personalities, reflections of its various editors, news from all Baptist institutions, reports from pastors and laymen, query columns and letters from readers, short stories, even advertisements for stock in the San Jacinto Oil Company. Baptist Standard (Dallas), March 20, 1902, p. 2. Prior to 1892, Texas Baptists spoke through several lesser newspapers: the Texas Baptist Herald , the Texas Baptist , and, between 1886-88, the Texas Baptist and Herald , a combination of the two.

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Patricia martin's phd thesis. OpenStax CNX. Dec 12, 2012 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11462/1.1
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Patricia martin's phd thesis' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask