10 A Brief History of Women in Churches of Christ

This class is a sweeping view of women in the Restoration Movement, beginning in the early 1800s up to the present time. A common misconception among churches of Christ today is that we had general uniformity from our origins up until the last few decades. In fact, women were included in a number of ways in our earlier years that in most churches of Christ they are not today. What led to our tightening down? To what extent were our decisions were rooted in a deeper understanding of Scripture, or to what extent might they have been influenced by cultural pressure? Note especially some of the recent studies included near the end of the class which detail the effects of our common practices on young women raised in churches of Christ, as well as a comparative analysis of where we are in the context of other Protestant groups around us. This particular lesson represents many of the most surprising things that Mark and Laura learned in their preparations for the larger class topic.