What Is The Role Of Women's Roll In Politics

Protestant Christianity and Protestant women emerged and swept the country with their voice for social change for a few reasons. Women did not have a place in the government so they took up important position within the churches. With the second great awakening many churches and religious leaders worked together for common goals. Lastly religion became an importance factor within the political world.
Women’s roll within politics was unheard of at this time and women looked to find a place they could prosper and have an effect on the country. While the men were out being politicians many women where growing within the church. “Women in New Hampshire managed more than fifty local “cent” societies to raise funds for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New York City women founded the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows, and young Quaker women in Philadelphia ran the Society for the Free Instruction of African Females.” After 1800 the New England Congregational churches had more than 70 percent of its members were female.

The second great awakening changed how different sects of regions viewed each other.

Rather then working against each other like they had in the past, churches and religious leaders embraced each other and started to work together. “Religious leaders founded five interdenominational societies: the American Education Society (1815), the Bible Society (1816), the Sunday School Union (1824), the Tract Society (1825), and the Home Missionary Society (1826). Based in eastern cities — New York, Boston, and Philadelphia — these societies ministered to the nation, dispatching hundreds of missionaries to the West and distributing thousands of religious pamphlets.” People began to see themselves as a united cause rather than a bunch of

independents.
Before the second great awakening religion wasn’t too involved with the politics of the country. However, once the second great awakening started and religion started to become more involved within every community religion started to spill over onto politics. “On July 4, 1827, Reverend Ezra Stiles Ely called on the members of the Seventh Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia to begin a “Christian party in politics.” Ely’s sermon that day, “The Duty of Christian Freemen to Elect Christian Rulers,” proclaimed a religious goal for the American republic — an objective that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams would have found strange and troubling.” Ely called for the union of church and state with hopes to build an evangelical Christian nation based around dedicated religious conversations at home and abroad.
The Protestant Christianity changed how churches view each other and was the building blocks for many of the societies built in the 1800’s. Reverend Ely’s vision to make church and state a union did not work as well as a few other religious campaigns, but his voice was heard. The Protestant women made their mark by leading many religious societies that focused on knowledge for all. Also women become the major supporters and members within the New England Congregational churches.