he general population. Most of the men who still
passively attend their churches do so under the pressure of
professional interest or social or domestic influence.

The degree of religiosity has always been associated with the free play
of the emotions and woman being more imaginative and emotional than man,
it seems clear that this strong emotional factor in woman accounts, at
least partly, for the greater proportion of women as churchgoers. And
this, be it noted, lies not in any inherent inferiority in the mental
make-up of woman, but rather in the environmental influences that until
very recently shaped woman's education in such a manner that it was
little adapted to strengthening her reason, but rather calculated to
enhance her emotionalism.

Ecclesiastic historians have a notorious habit of viewing pre-Christian
times for the single biased purpose of only stating the aspects of that
civilization which they deemed inferior to that exerted by Christianity.
Researches have established fairly well the position of women in the
Egyptian community of 4000 years ago. It is no exaggeration to state
that she was free and more honored in Egypt 4000 years ago, than she was
in any country of the earth until only recently. Scholars assure us
that, at a period which the Bible claims the Earth was just coming into
being, the Egyptian matron was mistress of her home, she inherited
equally with her brothers, and had full control of her property. She
could go where she liked and speak to whom she pleased. She could bring
actions in the courts and even plead in the courts. The traditional
advice to the husband was, "Make glad her heart during the time that
thou hast."

Contrast this position of woman in the community and society in general
with the statement given in Mrs. E. Cady Stanton's "History of Woman's
Suffrage," in which she speaks of the status of the female of the
species in Boston about the year 1850. "Women could not hold any
property, either earned or inherited. If unmarried, she was obliged to
place it in the hands of a trustee, to whose will she was subject. If
she contemplated marriage, and desired to call her property her own, she
was forced by law to make a contract with her intended husband by which
she gave up all title or claim to it. A woman, either married or
unmarried, could hold no office or trust or power. She was not a person.
She was not recognized as a citizen. She was not a factor in the human
family.