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NGO 7000 > Analytics > How the Church fought for women’s rights and defeated the Patriarchy.
By 28.01.2025 Analytics 152 Comments

How the Church fought for women’s rights and defeated the Patriarchy.

Many feminist activists consider the Catholic Church to be a stronghold of patriarchy, which diminishes the role of women in religious life. Despite the prevalent perception, the Christian faith has achieved significant accomplishments in the struggle for women’s rights and freedom long before the suffragette movement. This article examines the Catholic Church’s efforts to improve the status of women in society and history. 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,

there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3:28

According to Christian teaching, all people are equal before God, regardless of their sex, race, wealth, or status. Therefore, the Church valued all humans, especially those who were abandoned or disregarded from the early Roman times until today.

1. Saving baby-girls 

Exposing children was considered normal in Ancient Greece and Rome. Roman epic literature and mythology included the notion of fate and the will of gods, which was part of the Roman epic literature and mythology. Romulus and Remus were abandoned to their deaths and reared by a she-wolf. Longus’s pastoral describes the lives of lovers, Dauphins and Chloe, who were abandoned as babies. Even Zeus (Jupiter) was left by Rhea in the cave and was raised by nymphs.

Rem and Romulus – abandoned brothers who founded Rome.

In his phenomenal book The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance. Historian John Boswell states: 

The received wisdom is that two kinds of children were particularly likely to be abandoned: girls, and those born in poverty.

One authentic letter from Hillarion to Allis reveals that girls were less preferable to boys in Roman society, which was truly patriarchal and viewed women as inferior to men: 

Hilarion sends many, many greetings to his sister along with my lady Berous and Apollonarion. Listen, we are still in Alexandria. Don’t worry about this—if they go home completely, I will stay in Alexandria. I am asking you and begging you to take care of the little child and when we are paid, I will send it to you right away. If you happen to be pregnant again, if it is a boy, leave it; if it is a girl, throw it out.

The main reasons for abandoning children were: not wanting to have more children, the result of incest or infidelity, or the physical disability of a baby.

The most common form of abandonment was probably exposing in a public place. An Augustan lexicographer defined the word lactaria as “columns in the public market, called the ‘nursing columns’ because people deposit nursing infants there;

John Boswell.  

And what was  the Christian response to this issue in Roman society? First Christians were rarely rich and noble; poverty pushed some parents to sell or abandon their infants, as it was common in the society they lived in.  

If the abandoned children had survived, they would have become sexual slaves.

Therefore, Tertulian wrote in Ad Nationes:

“You [pagans], abandon your children to the kindness of strangers or to adoption by better parents.”

Justin the Martyr warns Christians in Apologia:

“We have been taught that it is wrong to expose even the newborn . . . because we have observed that nearly all such children, boys as well as girls, will be used as prostitutes.”  

The story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, was well-known to all Christians. Exposing a child meant death or certain servitude, which is why Christians were urged to care for their children and avoid abandonment. In 374, Christian Emperor Valentinian passed the first law in Roman history that obliged parents to raise their children, and those who abandoned them would be punished. The Catholic Church pushed the notion of taking care of children even further, establishing the first orphanages in the 4th century, where countless abandoned children could be fostered to freedom, avoiding the dreadful fate of a sexual slave. 

Andrea della Robbia’s bambini at the Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence

 

2. Saving girls from (sexual) slavery 

The dowry for the three virgins (Gentile da Fabriano)

The biography of St. Nicholas, the bishop of Myra, the real-life Santa Claus, tells the tale of a poor father who couldn’t afford a dowry for his three daughters and marry them. The idea of giving them up to the brothel was on his mind. Bishop Nicolas heard of the poor man’s struggle and snuck three bags of gold into his home, saving three girls from sexual slavery. This is the origin of the tradition of giving gifts to children. 

 Brothels were a highly profitable business in Roman times, and slave women were kept in terrible living conditions until they became sick or old. Also, slaves working as house servants were used for their masters sexual pleasure. 

Women accounted for at least half of the slave population, and they bore the brunt of sexual abuse.  Without legal or social protection, they were devastatingly vulnerable.  Sexual abuse was simply presumptive, and many slave girls probably experienced sexual initiation traumatically early

(Kyle Harper Slavery in the Late Roman World, AD 275-425; Cambridge University Press, 2011).  

Poverty was affecting numerous families, irrespective of their religious affiliation. St. Ambrosius himself witnessed a father selling his child to pay off his debts at a public auction.

St Basil the Great griefs over the fate of poor man: 

 How can I bring before your eyes the suffering of the poor man? He considers his finances: he has no gold and never will. He has some clothes and the sort of possessions the poor have, all worth only a few coins. What can he do? He turns his glance at length on his children: by selling them he might put off death. 

Early church fathers opposed slavery, Gregory of Nyssa was one of them:

Human beings were created specifically to have dominion over the earth; it was determined by their creator that they should exercise authority. Yet you place them under the yoke of slavery, as though you are opposing and fighting against the divine decree. 

Although it took centuries to eradicate the practice of selling children into slavery, the influence of Christianity had a significant impact on society and politics in order to end this ominous custom. Valentinian II, the Christian ruler, implemented measures in 391 to rescue free children who had been sold into slavery by their parents. 

 All those whom the pitiful circumstances of their parents, lacking sustenance, have relegated to slavery should be restored to their original free status. 

In 428 AD, Emperor Theodosius II issued a law that stipulated that slave owners and fathers could not force women to be prostitutes. In 439, the Roman Empire ceased to collect taxes from prostitution because it no longer considered a legitimate form of commerce. In 535, Justin issued a law that prohibited pimping, brothel-keeping, prostituting, or any other means of acting as a vendor of sex. 

For the first time in millennia, women were freed from slavery and sexual exploitation on a state level.

III Education for Girls

Education was pivotal in early Christian Communities. Fathers of the Church, such as Origenus or Clement of Alexandria, established their own schools, similar to philosophical schools of Ancient Greece. Parents passed on their faith through homeschooling. In a letter from  to Christian woman Paula st. Jerome advises her how to bring up her daughter (also named Paula):

As then Paula has been born in answer to a promise, her parents should give her a training suitable to her birth. Thus must a soul be educated which is to be a temple of God. 

As you can see, the education of girls was as important as that of boys. However, not all parents were able to afford education for their offspring. Therefore, the Catholic Church established public schools, which were often run by a bishop or monastery. In these Catechitic schools, children and Catechumens (neophytes) were taught the Scriptures, prayers, and the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Archbishop Healy stated that monks “taught the children of the rich and poor alike” (“Ireland’s Ancient Schools and Scholars”, 1912). IIn the Council of Vaison (529) the priests of Gaul are commanded to take boys into their household and teach them to read “the Psalms, and the Holy Scripture and to instruct them in the Law of God.” 

Starting from 4th century Catholic Church was the first institution to establish public schools for common people throughout Europe and the Mediterranean coast. In the 11th century, the Church also established the first Universities in the world, namely Bologna, Oxford, or Cambridge.

Catholic education extended to girls as well. St. Hildegard, a renowned medieval polymath and composer from Bingem, received her education in a monastery and later became a renowned nun, writer, composer, and thinker, earning the honorary title of Doctor of a Church in 2012. Other women, such as Theresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena, doctors of the Chuch of Middle ages, received great education and infllowed the life of Church and the World with their writings like “The Interior Castle” or “The Dialogue of Divine Providence.”

Sts. Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Wikimedia Commons images.

Although women were not permitted to become priests, they could be influential scholars, theologians, and scientists with a great reputation, which was impossible in Roman society.

IV Ownership Rights for Women.

After the fall of Bashir Assad’s regime in Syria, the new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa sought the support of many tribes. The elderly of Syrian clans supported the new government and played a pivotal role in the stability of the new Syria. Clans still play a huge political and military role in the Middle East, and it was no different in Europe before Christianity.

The tribes were responsible for performing justice, which often meant revenging for a killed keen (the movie “Northman” is a perfect example). Furthermore, the elders of the clan controlled all property transactions, marriages, supported order and stability of the system. For example, when a woman’s husband died, the clan forced her to marry a close relative of the deceased (levirate) in order to keep the property in the clan’s control.

Christianity was spreading across Erope and gaining popularity among various tribes, including Germans, Celts, Slavs and others. The Church’s teaching defied the patriarchal clan rule and allowed women to control their property in case the husband died. In his book “The Origins of Political Order,” Francis Fukuyama acknowledged that the Church played a crucial role in the deconstruction of the clan system in Europe and the evolution of political order to a higher level. 

«This shift was driven by the Catholic church, which took a strong stand against four practices: marriages between close kin, marriages to the widows of dead relatives (the so-called levirate), the adoption of children, and divorce.»

As a result, women achieved the right to freely control their property and sell it to people outside of the family. Of course women of the Roman Empire had such power, but nobody expected it among “barbarian” nations with ancient clan patriarchy. Special research at Nottingham University found numerous manuscripts dating 13-15 centuries where Women were selling and leasing their land. Of course, married women depended fully on their husbands, but windows and single women could freely buy and sell property and even conduct business affairs.

Agreement in French relating to ownership of land, between Joan, widow of Ralph Cromwell, and their son Ralph (2 May 1417, French)

As Francis Fukuyama concluded:

«Not only did new Christian rules on marriage and inheritance disrupt tribal solidarity, they also created the notion of universal community based on common faith rather than kin loyalties»

«The introduction of Christianity into Europe produced the first major discontinuity in the evolution of law as it emerged from tribal custom. The shift in marriage and property rules to allow female ownership was not a spontaneous experiment by some local judge or community but an innovation dictated by the hierarchy of a powerful institution, the Catholic church.»

Conclusion

If you wonder why the Western world achieved such a high level of personal freedom, prosperity, and progress, the answer is the Catholic Church. When it comes to women’s rights, the Church has shifted the mindset of the whole World by respecting every individual as a child of God. Christianity fought for girls’ lives, freed them from sexual slavery, and gave them education, and ownership rights empowering women as never before. This represents a fundamental shift in human history that has shaped our world of freedom, justice, and equality.

Written by Ivan Fedorych.

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  126. huh, the bit about exposing baby girls — that’s something I’d heard about but never really connected to church history. one thing I stumbled on recently was how early Christian communities actually took in foundlings, which seems pretty radical for the time. Do you know if there are surviving records of how many infants were rescued that way, or is it more of a theological argument than a documented practice?

  129. the thing about exposure of baby girls always gets me — it’s such a brutal practice that gets romanticized in myths. one stat I came across claimed something like 10% of Roman families actually raised all their daughters. not 100% sure on the number but it stuck with me.

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  136. Ivan, this is a fascinating perspective! It challenges common perceptions about the Church’s historical role and highlights some truly impactful contributions to women’s rights, particularly the early efforts to save infant girls. It’s refreshing to see a deeper dive into this often-misunderstood topic. I’m eager to read the rest of the analysis to understand how these historical actions compare with modern discussions about the BA II Plus Financial Calculator if applied to social progress. Such a thought-provoking read!

  137. This is a fascinating and much-needed perspective! It’s easy to overlook the historical impact of institutions, especially when modern perceptions are so strong. I appreciate the deep dive into how the Church, through its core teachings like Gal 3:28 and practices like saving infant girls, genuinely championed women’s rights long before secular movements. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this insightful analysis on Block Poster.

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  139. This is a fascinating and much-needed perspective! It’s easy to get caught up in modern critiques, but seeing the historical context of the Church’s influence on women’s rights, particularly in areas like saving baby-girls, really sheds new light on things. Thanks for sharing such a well-researched article. I appreciate how you tackled a complex topic with nuance, reminding us that history is rarely black and white. It makes me think about how much we sometimes overlook the less obvious impacts of cultural institutions, much like how a precise tool can pick out fine details from a larger image. Speaking of precision, a tool like an AI Image to Line Converter can often reveal unexpected structures within complex visuals.

  140. This is a fascinating and much-needed perspective! It’s easy for modern discussions to overlook the historical impact of institutions, and this article beautifully highlights the often-unacknowledged contributions of the Church to women’s rights, particularly with examples like saving baby girls. I appreciate how it challenges common perceptions and offers a deeper historical context. It reminds us that progress isn’t linear and comes from unexpected places. Finding these nuances is key to a complete understanding, much like precise measurements are key to understanding space. Speaking of which, sometimes I need to quickly calculate areas, and for that, I often turn to a reliable Square Feet Calculator to get my numbers right.

  141. Interesting perspective. I hadn’t considered how early Christian teachings on equality, like the line from Galatians about no male and female in Christ, challenged Roman practices such as the abandonment of girls. That letter from Hillarion to Allis really shows the harsh patriarchal norms the Church confronted.

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