Popes and Feminists: How the Reformation Frees Women from Feminism

Is being a wife and mother a "holy" calling for Christians? Roman Catholics at the time of the Reformation and contemporary feminists would both say No. Look Inside the Book or Listen on Canon+ Before the time of the Reformation, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, a wife or mother was not a holy vocation. The only spiritual calling for women was to be found in a convent. The Reformers confronted the bad theology which lead to this (and other worse abuses, like priest-patronized brothels) and returned to the Bible to develop a theology of vocation that began to free women to be "holy" no matter their occupation. But today, modern feminist claims about vocation have more in common with the pre-Reformation popes than anything else—except feminists have replaced the nunnery with the hallowed corporate workplace. Christian women wondering about their place in society and comparing feminism with the Bible should start with the teaching of the Reformers and the lives of many exceptiona