Here is a short list of some individual Christian women who have worked for social justice. Most of these Christian women, though not all, represent a more progressive, social activist type of Christianity. Like today’s Leadership Conference of Women Religious, many of these strong Christian women clashed with their church hierarchy in their fight for social justice.
Lucretia Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and social reformer. Here is a youtube video of Lucretia Mott
Anna Howard Shaw was an American suffragist, the first woman minister of the Methodist Church, a physician and served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Here is a youtube video of the Anna Howard Shaw Foundation
Sojourner Truth was an African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Truth spoke about abolition, women’s rights, prison reform, and preached to the Michigan Legislature against capital punishment. Here is a youtube video of Sojourner Truth
Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch Christian, who helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. After the war she set up rehabilitation centers to help concentration camp survivors and shelter the jobless Dutch who previously collaborated with Germans. Here is a youtube video of Corrie Ten Boom
Jane Addams was a Presbyterian, the founder of Hull House in Chicago, a sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace. She was national chairperson of the Woman’s Peace Party, president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and one of the cofounders of the NAACP. Here is a youtube video of Jane Addams
Dorothy Day was a devout Catholic and Christian anarchist who established the Catholic Worker movement, a nonviolent, pacifist movement that combined helping the poor and social activism.
Pauli Murray was a civil rights and women’s rights activist, lawyer, and the first black woman ordained as an Episcopalian priest. Here is a youtube video of Pauli Murray
Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. The Missionaries of Charity served in hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children’s and family counselling programmes, orphanages and schools. Here is a youtube video of Mother Teresa
Coretta Scott King was a leader of the struggle for racial equality, the anti-apartheid movment, and women’s equality. King also was a strong advocate for the Peace Movement and for LGBT equality.
