Stanton rejected the Bible outright while liberal feminists reformed it from within

Evidence

Feminist theologians who emerged in the mainline denominations argued for women’s rights from the standpoint of liberal orthodoxy. They stood in dramatic opposition to Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s elaborate condemnation of the Bible in The Woman’s Bible (1895). Stanton rejected orthodoxy, liberal or conservative. A compilation of interpretive essays from many contributors, The Woman’s Bible critically questioned the Bible as the divinely inspired authority on women’s position in society. Although some of the essays called attention to heroines and positive female images, The Woman’s Bible pointed overwhelmingly to biblical images that were negative. The Bible, according to Stanton, had served historically as a-~patriarchal instrument for women’s oppression. She condemned it for inspiring women only with the goals of obedience to husbands, subordination to men in general, and self-sacrifice at the expense of their own self-development. The Woman’s Bible challenged women to reject Christian teachings as set forth in the Bible and to assert full equality with men. — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 638

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts Stanton’s radical male-defined-religion rejection with the accommodationist reform strategy Higginbotham later frames as central to Black Baptist women’s respectability politics — the internal-reform rather than external-rejection stance. — connects to: Feminist theology sought to reform religion rather than reject it. — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 640; Liberal tolerance of religion extends only to religions accepting liberal discursive assumptions — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 893
• DEFINE: Clarifies the distinction between separatist feminist biblical critique (Stanton) and liberal-orthodox feminist theology (Willard et al.), which becomes the frame for the women’s movement Higginbotham examines.

Broader Connections

• Feminist theology sought to reform religion rather than reject it. #corroborates (0.90) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 640
• Liberal tolerance of religion extends only to religions accepting liberal discursive assumptions #qualifies (0.72) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 893