Abstract: Understanding the Anti-Suffragists as Christians (Tharp)

Title: Understanding the Anti-Suffragists as Christians: Understanding the Men and Women Opposed to Women’s Suffrage from a Religious Point of View

Authors: Angela Tharp

Abstract: This article analyzes the anti-suffrage movement from a Christian point of view. Most analyses of this movement have looked to its political aspects and the class interests of the anti-suffragists for answers; indeed, many historians have drawn the conclusion that anti-suffragists’ motivations were largely class-based. If historians mention religion at all, it normally occupies a very marginal role in their analysis. This article illustrates the fact that many of the anti-suffragists’ opinions concerning men’s and women’s roles, the nature of the family unit, and even economics may be traced to Christian traditions and were common to Christians during the time period in which most organized anti-suffragist activity occurred (which was roughly from 1880-1920). The article specifically looks at Catholic, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian anti-suffragists.

Download PDF