The Woman's Bible

The Woman's Bible

This book, written by women, is a collection of critical commentaries on texts within chapters of the Bible directly referring to women with its purpose being to explore man's translations and their interpretations of Scriptures that make woman inferior to man.
Author	Elizabeth Cady Stanton and further c. 26 women co-authors and commentators
Publisher	European Publishing Company, New York
Publication date	November, 1895
Media type	paper, green covers, 6"x9"
Pages	152pp, 4pp ads

The Woman's Bible is a two-part non-fiction book, written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a committee of 26 women, published in 1895 and 1898 to challenge the traditional position of religious orthodoxy that woman should be subservient to man.^[1] By producing the book, Stanton wished to promote a radical liberating theology, one that stressed self-development.^[2] The book attracted a great deal of controversy and antagonism at its introduction.^[3]

Many women's rights activists who worked with Stanton were opposed to the publication of The Woman's Bible; they felt it would harm the drive for women's suffrage. Although it was never accepted by Bible scholars as a major work, much to the dismay of suffragists who worked alongside Stanton within the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), it became a popular best-seller. Susan B. Anthony tried to calm the younger suffragists, but they issued a formal denunciation of the book at NAWSA's January 1896 convention,^[4] and worked to distance the suffrage movement from Stanton's broader scope which included attacks on traditional religion. Because of the widespread negative reaction, including that of suffragists who had been close to her, publication of the book effectively ended Stanton's influence in the suffrage movement.^[5]