Women and the Reformation:
By Kathryn A. Kleinhans H
ow did—and does— the Reformation affect the lives of
women? If this relationship was documented on Face- book, the status might be “it’s complicated.” Te Old Testament tells us
that both men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Paul writes that in Christ distinc- tions of class and gender no longer matter (Galatians 3:28). Reformer Martin Luther insisted that all Chris- tians, not just some, share by faith in the same spiritual priesthood. Nevertheless, the Reformation had mixed results for women. At the beginning of the 16th
century, women’s life choices were limited. Living as a single, indepen- dent woman was simply not accept- able. Most women transitioned from being under the authority of their fathers to that of their husbands and then, if they outlived their spouses, that of their eldest son. Some women joined convents,
but this was oſten their parents’ choice rather than their own. For example, 12th-century mystic Hildegard of Bingen was the 10th child in her family and her well- to-do parents gave her to the con- vent as a tithe (10 percent of their assets given to God). Katharina von Bora, Luther’s wife, was sent to a convent at age 5 when her father remarried aſter her mother’s death. During the Middle Ages the
celibate life of a nun, monk or priest 16
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Reformation recognized and celebrated the value of women’s status as wives and mothers. At the same time, by closing convents the reformers eliminated the option that had provided some women the opportu- nity to receive an education, exercise leadership and live in a supportive community of other women. Nevertheless, the
Argula von Grumbach was a noblewoman and advocate for reform based on her study of the Scriptures. Her first publication was a letter in defense of a university student who had been imprisoned for possessing illegal pamphlets promoting Reformation theology.
The Reformation recog-
nized and celebrated the value of women’s status as wives and mothers.
was seen as a “higher calling” than the married life of ordinary people. Te reformers rejected this idea. Instead, they praised both marriage and parenthood as worthy callings for all Christians. For centuries the church had
taught that the primary purposes of marriage were reproduction and providing an acceptable outlet for sexual desire. Reformers like Luther and John Calvin promoted a new understanding of marriage as lov- ing, faithful companionship. Te good news in this is that the
reformers promoted educa- tion for all boys and girls, which was astonishing for
the time. Education had been avail- able only for boys of higher social or economic status. Te Lutheran emphasis on reading the Scriptures for oneself sparked an emphasis on literacy for everyone. Luther encour- aged communities to establish and support schools and urged parents to send their children—boys and girls—to school rather than keep them at home to work. But education for girls was much
less extensive than for boys. Girls attended school fewer hours a day than boys and for fewer years, with skills geared toward reading the Bible, managing a household and teaching the faith to their children. In short, we can see some prog-
ress for women in the Reformation of the 16th century, but not as much as we might like. Yet the vision for an educated laity did benefit women. By the second generation of the Reformation, more than 90 per- cent of pastors’ wives were literate.
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