Faith, Freedom, and Feminism

A bloody stain on the history of Christianity, the Crusades were a string of violent conquests in the name of reclaiming the Holy Land and spreading Christianity. Four crusades are traditionally recognized, but crusading continued well outside of these with similar motivations focused heavily on Islamic opponents. The Crusades were extremely ironic in the sense that they intended to collect land, wealth, and Jerusalem in the name of Christianity and its values, but pillaged, raped, and murdered to get there. These actions blatantly go against the tenets of Christianity (Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters).

If you would like more information about the Crusades, I linked a video and transcript from Crash Course World History below. It’s a great resource, so check it out!
https://nerdfighteria.info/v/X0zudTQelzI/

Works Cited
Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters. “The Crusades (1095–1291).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/crus/hd_crus.htm (originally published October 2001, last revised February 2014). Web. 14 Feb. 2020.

Image link: https://www.google.com/search?q=the+crusades&safe=strict&sxsrf=ACYBGNTe9v-YHJuafpO52UOvFudwc1C2qA:1581890646742&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjC28nwidfnAhWHl-AKHfd5BEQQ_AUoAXoECBUQAw&biw=1366&bih=641#imgrc=yuBAB8vWQfsByM

The Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther’s act of nailing his work, 95 Theses, to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church and ended with the treaty Peace of Westphalia. The reformation was sparked by a growing distrust in the Catholic church, as clergy sold ‘indulgences’ which were, simply put, paying a priest to put in a good word with God. The church also began participating in political corruption and made the Bible inaccessible to non-clergymen. Those who had enough of the church and its crooked practices broke away and formed the Protestant branch of Christianity (History.com Editors).

If you would like more information about the Protestant Reformation, I linked a video and transcript from Crash Course World History below. It’s a great resource, so check it out!
https://nerdfighteria.info/v/1o8oIELbNxE/

Works Cited
History.com Editors. “The Reformation.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Dec. 2009, www.history.com/topics/reformation/reformation. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.

Image Link
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+protestant+reformation&safe=strict&sxsrf=ACYBGNQTYDktUpV4t4DgZ7cHk44GounDBQ:1581976562316&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj4waj4ydnnAhXumOAKHSXTDysQ_AUoAnoECBEQBA&biw=1366&bih=641#imgrc=1V0g3DGqaI2tpM

The Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom drafted by Thomas Jefferson ensured that:
1. Virginians are free to choose their own religion without fear of coercion.
2. There is separation of church and state.
3. If any future agency were to overturn the law it would be a violation of natural rights.
This bill, although written for the state of Virginia, had an immense impact on the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This bill still informs the Supreme Court’s understanding of religious freedom to this day (Ragosta).

Works Cited
Ragosta, John. "Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 2 Jul. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.

Image link: https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Virginia+Statute+for+Religious+Freedom&safe=strict&sxsrf=ACYBGNR45B969TdhYQUmwwBwTcoM3sBp4w:1581896115007&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjMp4agntfnAhWSdd8KHbTVAvEQ_AUoAXoECBAQAw&biw=1366&bih=641#imgrc=SLgFWE3sp8ymwM

A history often glossed over by religious organizations, the foundation of the Southern Baptist Convention is built on racism, sexual abuse, and other hushed immorality. Established in Augusta, Georgia, the Southern Baptist Convention split from other baptists due to their unwillingness to renounce slavery. Other issues had been tugging at the strings of baptist unity, but this was the straw that broke the camels back (Baker). It was not until 1995 that the SBC acknowledged and apologized for its defense of slavery (Neuman). Even today, approximately 175 years later, the Southern Baptist Convention is still fighting its own demons. Sexual abuse claims have been mishandled, excused, or even blatantly ignored by the SBC for years, and the organization has only just recently broken its silence on the matter with a vote to punish churches who mishandle these claims (Neuman).

Works Cited
Baker, Robert A. “Southern Baptist Beginnings .” Baptist History and Heritage Society, www.baptisthistory.org/baptistorigins/southernbaptistbeginnings.html. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.
Neuman, Scott. “Southern Baptists Vote To Hold Churches More Accountable For Mishandling Abuse Claims.” NPR, NPR, 12 June 2019, www.npr.org/2019/06/12/731919189/southern-baptists-vote-to-hold-churches-more-accountable-for-mishandling-abuse-c. Web. 16 Feb. 2020.

Image link: https://www.google.com/search?q=southern+baptist+convention&safe=strict&sxsrf=ACYBGNTnbyLVIZvE9Vua_owmYNqjJGPbuw:1581894178169&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwip5L6El9fnAhXQdd8KHSrFA8sQ_AUoAnoECCAQBA&biw=1366&bih=641#imgrc=XT-PcYd5xdiR7M

The Woman’s Suffrage Movement was the movement to secure the right to vote for women in America. Beginning with a women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, the movement aimed not only to secure the right for women to vote, but to educate people on the importance of voting. The movement was initially led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (“The Woman Suffrage Movement”). That being said, many influential women of color are left out of the conversation about suffrage, including Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells (“African American Women Leaders in the Suffrage Movement”).

If you would like more information about the Women’s Suffrage, I linked a video and transcript from Crash Course US History below. It’s a great resource, so check it out!
https://nerdfighteria.info/v/HGEMscZE5dY/

Works Cited
“African American Women Leaders in the Suffrage Movement.” Turning Point Suffragist Memorial, suffragistmemorial.org/african-american-women-leaders-in-the-suffrage-movement/. Web. 17 Feb. 2020.
“The Woman Suffrage Movement.” National Women's History Museum, www.womenshistory.org/resources/general/woman-suffrage-movement. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.

Image Link
https://www.google.com/search?q=black+women%27s+suffrage+leaders&safe=strict&sxsrf=ACYBGNRP4Oc-sgpsEkK8emhdb05BI_vqZQ:1581973781822&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijv7zKv9nnAhUBnOAKHS62BnAQ_AUoAXoECAsQAw&biw=1366&bih=641#imgrc=NMzlIw5ymZFHDM

The Equal Rights Amendment, also known as the ERA, is a constitutional amendment meant to grant equal rights to all regardless of sex. This amendment was faced with criticism from many sides including proponents of the labor movement who claimed that the protections and progress they had made would crumble if women were seen as equals. Stop Taking Our Privileges (STOP) worried that the amendment would “...deny woman's right to be supported by her husband, privacy rights would be overturned, women would be sent into combat, and abortion rights and homosexual marriages would be upheld.” (“History of the Equal Rights Amendment). The infamous Phyllis Schlafly wanted to protect women’s roles as homemakers, even though she herself was an educated lawyer, author, and candidate for political office. Despite these attempts, the ERA was eventually passed by Congress but has still not been ratified in twelve states (“Ratification By State”).

Works Cited
“History of the Equal Rights Amendment.” Equal Rights Amendment, www.equalrightsamendment.org/the-equal-rights-amendment. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.
“Ratification By State.” Equal Rights Amendment, www.equalrightsamendment.org/era-ratification-map. Web. 17 Feb. 2020.

Image Link
https://www.google.com/search?q=equal+rights+amendment&safe=strict&sxsrf=ACYBGNT4jJRDishCxErMwpGLfq6wM9_WRg:1581972573422&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLw6GKu9nnAhWvd98KHW3dDfYQ_AUoAnoECBIQBA&biw=1366&bih=641#imgrc=Bp1k-MGTRhbk4M

Becoming popular in the early 1990s, purity culture characterized a generation’s understanding (or lack of understanding) of sexuality. Why purity culture grew to be an acceptable alternative to sex education and healthy practices is hard to grasp, but Villarreal claims it was “...not just a reaction to the sexual revolution of the 1960s-‘80s, which many analyses point to as its impetus, but rather the latest in a series of U.S. purity campaigns that have typically been prompted by white Protestant fear of national decline that presented the (white, heterosexual) American family as a stabilizing force.” (Villarreal). Teen magazines showed celebrities like the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Demi Lovato wearing purity rings. Many young girls were taken to purity balls where they danced with their fathers in white gowns and signed purity pledges. Organizations like True Love Waits spread a message of sexual purity that permeated high schools. Purity culture’s main victims were young women who bore the burden of guilt and shame for their choices, and even things that they were not responsible for, like leading boy’s thoughts astray due to what they were wearing.

Works Cited
Villarreal, Sandi. “What the Purity Culture Generation Is Building in Its Place.” Sojourners, 11 Mar. 2019, sojo.net/interactive/their-generation-was-shamed-purity-culture-heres-what-theyre-building-its-place. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.

Image Link
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/446489750534600318/visual-search/?cropSource=6&h=415.69&w=544&x=10&y=10

Now considered an essential internet commodity, YouTube began as a simple site where users could share home videos. The site quickly took off and the creators, three former employees of PayPal, were required to invest in more equipment to keep the site up and running. Google purchased YouTube in 2006, and still owns it to this day (Hosch). The site is currently shrouded in controversy, from issues involving copyright infringement to creators on the platform being demonetized. Evangelicals have begun establishing their own YouTube channels in order to spread their beliefs, including Paul & Morgan, Girl Defined, The Transformed Wife, Mrs. Midwest, and many more.

Works Cited
Hosch, William L. “YouTube.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Feb. 2020, www.britannica.com/topic/YouTube. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.

Image Citation
Girl Defined. “Why Christian Girls Should be Beautiful but not Seductive.” Online video clip. YouTube, 24 Jan. 2017. Web. 17 Feb. 2020.

Originally launched under the name Twttr, the now immensely popular microblogging platform Twitter allows users to share and view content with millions of users. Although it was initially thought to be an unsuccessful project and changed hands many times, things took a turn for the better in 2007 after being used at the South by Southwest (also known as SXSW). By 2013, the platform exploded, having garnered more than two million users (History.com Editors). Twitter is considered a social media staple, being used by everyone from average teens to the twitter-infamous President Trump. Twitter is central to my topic as it is been increasingly utilized by white female antifeminist evangelicals to disseminate their ideology to younger, impressionable crowds.

Works Cited
History.com Editors. “Twitter Launches.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 June 2019, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/twitter-launches. Web. 14 Feb. 2020.

Image citation
@laalex2 (The Transformed Wife). “The women’s fight for the right to vote wasn’t some great victory for women. No, it was the beginning of the destruction of our once great nation.” Twitter. 8 Jan. 2020, 8:26 a.m., https://twitter.com/laalex2/status/1214901257644544006.