Women in Christian Missions: A Comparison of the History of Men's and Women's Experiences

While the foreign missions movement opened for women doors of opportunity that eventually led American Protestantism to recognize to a greater degree the capabilities of women, this movement upheld the traditional thought of disparity between men and women, creating for female missionaries formidable obstacle to overcome simply to serve on the field. These obstacles result from the conventional ideas about respectability and gender propriety, concerns from which men were inherently exempt. 

    Though the population of churches and participants in the Great Awakenings were predominantly female, American Protestant only reluctantly recognized women’s responsibility for social reform and the burgeoning foreign missions movement. Charles G. Finney, a leader of the Second Great Awakening and preacher of Pure Practical Christianity, required women to have a public voice not only in worship but also in social reform, urging them to spread their influence outside of the home. Unfortunately, men who felt the need to enforce the prohibition against women’s public speech pressured women to justify Christ’s inspiration for their reform work, to justify their right to speak to reform issues, and to justify their activity in public spheres. In response to this, many women validated their work by the positive effect it had on the home.