| Part ofa series on |
| Christianity and gender |
|---|
 |
Theology |
Major positions |
|
Theologians and authors (by view) |
Theologians and authors (by branch) |
Biblical womanhood is a movement withinevangelical Christianity, particularlyin the United States. It adopts acomplementarian orpatriarchal view of gender roles, and emphasizes passages such asTitus 2 in describing what Christian women should be like. According to authorRachel Held Evans, it is driven by the conviction that "the virtuous woman serves primarily from the home as a submissive wife, diligent homemaker, and loving mother."[1]
Institutions supporting the movement includeSouthern Baptist Theological Seminary andSouthwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,[2][3] while organizations associated with the movement include theCouncil on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Notable writers includeNancy Leigh DeMoss,Dorothy Patterson,Elisabeth Elliot, andPriscilla Shirer.[citation needed]Edith Schaeffer's 1971 book,The Hidden Art of Homemaking, has been described as "perhaps unintentionally, a landmark book for proponents of biblical womanhood."[4]
Held Evans suggests that "biblical" is a loaded term, and argues that adherents have "refused to acknowledge" that their interpretation involves a "certain degree of selectivity".[5][6][7] Advocates caution that "most women in Third World countries... would find our American, evangelical stereotype of biblical womanhood completely foreign and often simply physically impossible."[8] Some conservative Christian women have critiqued Evans's interpretation for undermining faith inbiblical inerrancy.[9]
In 2010, historianMolly Worthen wrote that"'Biblical womanhood' is a tightrope walk between the fiats of old-time religion and the facts of modern culture, and evangelicals themselves do not know where it might lead."[10]