As elsewhere in the “Bible Belt,” religion plays a dominant role in the lives of many Arkansans. Women in the state long have claimed active roles in Arkansas’s varied religions. Through mission work, education and fund raising, women’s efforts helped Arkansas churches, temples, and synagogues grow and change during the twentieth century.

Catholic women, both religious and lay, contributed to the development of schools, such as Mount Saint Mary’s Academy in Little Rock, and health care facilities such as Saint Edward’s Hospital in Fort Smith. Sister Margaret Vincent Blandford served as president and CEO of Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Little Rock for nearly sixteen years. During this time, Sister Margaret addressed the problems of the changing role of health care and hospital administration.

Sisters at Mount St. Mary Convent in Little Rock
Courtesy of the Mount St. Mary Archives

Within the numerous Protestant denominations, women raised money for new church construction and contributed to their communities through mission projects. The Women’s Missionary Society of the First United Methodist Church in Little Rock contributed money in the 1930s for a new organ and redecoration of the sanctuary. Fund raising efforts like this one are not unlike those in other communities throughout the state.

Sunday School class at First United Methodist Church, Little Rock
Courtesy of the First United Methodist Church Archives

Throughout the century, Jewish women remained active in educational and civic affairs through their involvement in the Council of Jewish Women. One example of this involvement was their support of Jewish refugees escaping Central and Eastern Europe during World War II. Jewish women played a pivotal role in the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) following the 1957 Central High Integration Crisis. Their numbers in the WEC far outnumbered the percentage of Jewish women in the community at large.

Two women dressed in their Easter finery
Courtesy of a private collection

As the century progressed and women gained more equality in society, they began to demand equal status with men, both as religious leaders and in their secular realm. Since World War II, women have increasingly sought appointments to high-ranking committees and boards of religious organizations and institutions. While some Protestant denominations, such as the Episcopalians, Methodists, and the Church of the Nazarene, have recognized women's ability to serve as ministers, others such as the Southern Baptists and fundamentalist groups struggle with the issue to this day. Other religions, such as The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints have more prescribed roles for women in the church according to their own tenants.

Jehovah’s Witness visiting two men
Courtesy of a private collection

The Episcopal Church ordained Reverend Peggy Bosmyer in 1977, making her the first female Episcopal priest in Arkansas. Reverend Helen Jean Pope Burton was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in 1986. Then in 1995 she was appointed District Superintendent of the Little Rock Conference, becoming the first woman to hold that position. She is currently pastor at First United Methodist Church in Little Rock. Ironically, while women have assumed leadership positions in many churches, more demands on their time in secular areas has resulted in a decline in their participation in women’s religious organizations.

For more information:

Hinson, E. Glenn. A History of Baptists in Arkansas, 1818-1978. Little Rock, AR: Arkansas State Convention, 1979.

Ignatius, L. Faye. “Time-Line: Women in the American Baptist Churches.” Foundations 24 (1981): 221-235.

Lawhon, Sharon Leding. “Women: Leading and Planning Worship.” Baptist History and Heritage 31 (1996): 48-58.

LeMaster, Carolyn Gray. A Corner of the Tapestry: A History of the Jewish Experience in Arkansas, 1820s-1990s. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1994.

Lester, Woodie Daniel. The History of the Negro and Methodism in Arkansas and Oklahoma: The Little Rock-Southwest Conference, 1838-1972. Little Rock, AR: The Little Rock-Southwest Conference, 1979.

McBeth, H. Leon. “Perspectives on Women in Baptist Life.” Baptist History and Heritage 22 (1987): 4-11.

McDonald, Margaret Simms. “Churchwomen in Arkansas,” in White Already to Harvest: The Episcopal Church in Arkansas, 1838-1971. Sewanee, TN: University Press, 1975.

Rice, Kathryn Donham. A History of the First United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1831-1981. Little Rock, AR: Parkhurst-Eaton, Publishers, 1980.

Vernon, Walter N. Methodism in Arkansas, 1816-1976. Little Rock, AR: Joint Committee for the History of Arkansas Methodism, 1976.

Williams, C. Fred, et al. A System and Plan: Arkansas Baptist State Convention, 1848-1998. Franklin, TN: Providence House Publishers, 1998.

Woods, James M. “Sisters, Schools and Service: Some Catholic Contributions to Arkansas, 1838-1992,” in Mission and Memory: A History of the Catholic Church in Arkansas. Little Rock: Diocese of Little Rock, 1993.

Yarbrough, Slayden. “The Southern Baptist Spirit, 1845-1995.” Baptist History and Heritage 30 (1995): 25-34.