Popes and Feminists: How the Reformation Frees Women from Feminism

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 exceptional women of the Reformation.

Popes and Feminists shows how women today have the same choice as women in the sixteenth century. They can either see their calling as making a difference or accomplishing something in the modern workplace, or they can turn to the duties in front them and orient themselves to serving their neighbors. In this fascinating book, published on the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Elise Crapuchettes tells the exciting narrative of how the reformation changed the lives of countless women, as it turned them away from having to earn their salvation in the convent towards joyfully carrying out the practical duties in front of them. And that changed their families and the world.