Going back to the Roman Empire, Christian nations and institutions have turned to New Testament scripture that explicitly bans the practice of slavery. As global business and agriculture grew, so did the need for labor. People found religious legal loopholes to morally justify the practice of slavery, yet many still stuck to the original interpretation of the text and used Christianity to advocate for the …show more content…
In the first half of the nineteenth century, women became much more visible and vocal members of society. The traditional revolutionary role of a woman as a seamstress, homemaker and mother of the future citizens of the New Republic was being challenged by women who were increasingly involved in Church leadership- especially in rural communities. These women used both constitutional and religious arguments to advocate for more equal rights, especially in regard to land ownership and voting rights, two things that were inextricably linked. This is evident in the early feminist writings of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who quotes Jefferson's Declaration to the King as, “All men and women were created equal.” Arguably, Christian reform movements of the first and second great awakening opened up more women to public life, which enabled Stanton to make these arguments