The Laywoman Project: Remaking Catholic Womanhood in the Vatican II Era

by Mary J. Henold

Overview

Summoning everyday Catholic laywomen to the forefront of twentieth-century Catholic history, Mary J. Henold considers how these committed parishioners experienced their religion in the wake of Vatican II (1962–1965). This era saw major changes within the heavily patriarchal religious faith—at the same time as an American feminist revolution caught fire. Who was the Catholic woman for a new era? Henold uncovers a vast archive of writing, both intimate and public facing, by hundreds of rank-and-file American laywomen active in national laywomen's groups, including the National Council of Catholic Women, the Catholic Daughters of America, and the Daughters of Isabella. These records evoke a formative period when laywomen played publicly with a surprising variety of ideas about their own position in the Catholic Church.

While marginalized near the bottom of the church hierarchy, laywomen quietly but purposefully engaged both their religious and gender roles as changing circumstances called them into question. Some eventually chose feminism while others rejected it, but most, Henold says, crafted a middle position: even conservative, nonfeminist laywomen came to reject the idea that the church could adapt to the modern world while keeping women's status frozen in amber.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469654508
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	01/30/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Mary J. Henold, John R. Turbyfill Professor of History at Roanoke College, is the author of Catholic and Feminist: The Surprising History of the American Catholic Feminist Movement.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Why did some Catholic women embrace feminism while others tried to conserve traditional church dogma about women's complementary role to men? This beautifully written book tells a new story about how Catholic laywomen reinvented themselves—or not—in light of both internal religious pressures and external sociocultural changes of the latter half of the twentieth century. The Laywoman Project—an apt way to describe what happened during these years of change—shines a spotlight on the one segment of the Catholic population, more than half of its membership, that as yet has received less attention than bishops, clergy, and prominent laymen."—Paula M. Kane, University of Pittsburgh

Important and timely, this history of American Catholic laywomen breaks new ground, providing a unique perspective on women's experiences within the church. Henold gracefully demonstrates how laywomen—a population whose national presence and sheer size alone make them deserving of study—negotiated the dual transformations unleashed by the Second Vatican Council and the women's rights movement."—Thomas F. Rzeznik, Seton Hall University

Editorial Reviews

01/20/2020

In this thoughtful analysis, historian Henold (Catholic and Feminist) considers ways Catholic laywomen who did not identify as feminist approached and responded to the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) and to rapidly changing gender norms in the United States during the 1960s and ’70s. Drawing on the documentary records of four organizations for Catholic laywomen, and the contents of the Catholic periodical Marriage, the author considers how laywomen spoke and wrote about themselves in relation to the church, about their identities as women, and how their ideas changed over time in response to the progressive reforms of Vatican II. Through church writings, Henold explores how some laywomen embraced Vatican II as an opportunity to shift toward increasingly bold self-advocacy; some laywomen chose a more moderate path of reforms; and some rejected both secular and religious liberalization in favor of resolute conservatism. For instance, the Theresians of America “chose to revive a much more ‘traditional’ definition of Catholic womanhood firmly rooted in essentialism.” And while the Theresians took a stark conservative stance to the opening up of the Catholic church, the National Council of Catholic Women underwent a “nascent feminism,” which proved problematic for some members. Henold provides a nuanced picture of a group of Catholics whose spiritual practices have often been overlooked. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

A nuanced picture of a group of Catholics whose spiritual practices have often been overlooked."—Publishers Weekly

Henold . . . analyzes the responses of one international and five US Catholic women's groups (comprising mainly white, middle-class, middle-aged women) to Vatican II and 1960s feminism. . . . Henold's study is a great launching point for research into other religious groups. . . . Hopefully, the hardened ideological lines Henold identifies won't prevent this readable, discussible study from being adopted by all library collections at the intersection of gender and religion."—CHOICE

Henold's superb work of scholarship, at once funny, insightful and wrenching. . . . Shows how my mother's and grandmother's generations fought an uphill battle, 'confronting and dismantling' essentialist ideas inch by inch. Its patient, charitable, critical, empathetic account of its subjects calls both Catholic women and Catholic men to continue this work."—America Magazine

A strength of the book is its focus on an alternative women's history of the American Catholic church in the Vatican II era. . . . It is important to gain a better understanding of the lessons learned and the battles fought over gender identity within the hierarchy of the Catholic church during this era of women's rights."—Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

Henold has written a valuable and informative book on an important subject. It is recommended reading for anyone interested in Christianity and gender in the American sixties."—Journal of Ecclesiastical History

A unique contribution to religious studies and women's history. . . . Henold's inviting writing style—almost conversational at times—makes the book accessible to students and nonacademic audiences alike."—American Religion

From the Publisher