The Religious World of Antislavery Women

The 19th-century women reformers discussed in this text, including Angelina Grimke and Abby Kelley, rejected the repressive features of the Christianity of their day. Their religiosity, however, was fundamental to their world view. This work explores the dimensions of this evolving faith. Nineteenth-century women reformers such as the radical abolitionists have frequently been seen as having abandoned the constraints of religion in order to pursue their personal and political goals. The subjects of this book - Angelina Grimke, Sarah Grimke, Sallie Holley, Abby Kelley, and Lucretia Mott - did indeed reject what they found to be the repressive features of the Christianity of their day. Their religiosity, however, remained fundamental to their world view. In this book, Anna M. Speicher explores the dimentions of this evolving faith, which was critical in shaping their decisions and actions throughout their lives.