Women and Religion in Early America,1600-1850: The Puritan and Evangelical Traditions

Women and Religion in Early America, 1600-1850explores the first two centuries of America's religious history, examining the relationship between the socio-political environment, gender politics and religion. Drawing its background from women's religious roles and experiences in England during the Reformation, the book follows them through colonial settlement, the rise of evangelicalism with the "great awakening," the American Revolution and the second flowering of popular religion in the first half of the nineteenth century. Marilyn J. Westerkamp traces the female spiritual tradition through the Puritans, Baptists and Shakers, arguing that it was a strong empowering force for women in early America.