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Katharine Bushnell (born Sophia Caroline Bushnell; February 5, 1855, in Evanston, Illinois – January 26, 1946) was a medical doctor,
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
writer, Bible scholar, social activist, and forerunner of
feminist theology Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Jainism, Neopaganism, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scri ...
. Her lifelong quest was for biblical affirmation of the integrity and equality of women, and she published ''God's Word to Women'' as a correction of mistranslation and misinterpretation of the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
. As a missionary and a doctor, Bushnell worked to reform conditions of human degradation in North America, Europe, and Asia. She was recognized as a forceful and even charismatic speaker.


Early life and education

Born February 5, 1856, in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
, or “the great Methodist mecca of the northwest,” Bushnell's roots in Christianity were well established from the beginning. She grew up in the midst of a religious transition; Methodists in her community were striving to be faithful in every area of their lives while simultaneously craving popular success. With this transition came a shift in focus from the individual to the community as a whole, a change in philosophy which ultimately affected Bushnell's life path. Bushnell showed the desire to further her education from an early age and attended Women's Northwestern College—now known as
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
—from 1873–1874. Here, she studied under Dean
Frances Willard Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 187 ...
, who inspired Bushnell to pursue a career in social justice. After Northwestern, Bushnell found another mentor in Dr. James Stewart Jewell. The catalyst behind her interest in medicine, Dr. Jewell convinced Bushnell to study medicine at Chicago Women's Medical College, where she specialized in nerve disorders. A driven and intelligent student, she graduated three years ahead of her peers. After obtaining her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Bushnell initially planned on entering postgraduate study but was persuaded by her home church to go to China as a medical missionary in 1879.


Early career


China

Bushnell served as a medical doctor in
Jiujiang Jiujiang, formerly transliterated Kiukiang and Kew-Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level ...
, China from 1879 to 1882. Upon arrival, her original plan was to postpone setting up her practice and to get her affairs in order first and learn the native tongue. However, she was quickly overwhelmed with visitors seeking medical attention and, finding that she could not refuse their entreaties, treated hundreds of patients. In response to her friend's thriving practice, Dr. Ella Gilchrist came out to China to assist Bushnell, but the hot summers proved to be intolerable. In 1882, both women fell ill and soon after they were forced to return home. Quite discouraged by this mission cut short, Bushnell left feeling that "her whole life had been a failure." Yet it was in China that she first became inspired to study Biblical translations. Brushing aside Chinese traditional medicines, Bushnell nevertheless examined Chinese culture more closely than missionaries who had gone before her. She noticed with indignation that the Chinese Bible changed
Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
's fellows from women to men, and after that vowed to devote a portion of her life solely to "a meticulous examination of male bias that had corrupted the English text." While it is not confirmed, many sources claim that Bushnell established a pediatric hospital sponsored by the Woman's Mission Board of the
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...
.


America


Women's Christian Temperance Union

Upon Bushnell and Gilchrist's return from China, both women were looking for a cause that they could stand behind. After disappointment with their recently established American medical practice, the pair joined the
Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...
, or the WCTU. Bushnell returned to her former mentor Willard and became the National Evangelist of the Department of Social Purity. "The largest women's organization of its time," the WCTU championed the causes of families and wives and campaigned to outlaw alcohol, believed to be the root of evil. This reform movement coexisted with the
social purity movement The social purity movement was a late 19th-century social movement that sought to abolish prostitution and other sexual activities that were considered immoral according to Christian morality. The movement was active in English-speaking nations ...
, which sought to level the playing field of men and women by raising men's moral standards rather than lowering women's. Bushnell authored ''The Woman Condemned'', a booklet in which she claimed that “the myth of female virtue only exacerbated the hostile legal environment;" rather than protecting women, the feminization of virtue harmed them. In her work, she accused men who called themselves godly yet did not hold themselves to biblical standards of behavior.


Wisconsin

She attracted the most attention for her Wisconsin Crusade in 1888 against the " white slave trade." Bushnell ignored regional authorities who insisted that it was nonexistent and investigated herself, drawing the conclusion that prostitution in Wisconsin was exploitative and forced. After she succeeded in exposing the prostitution system as unjust, many attempts were made to slander her and take her words out of context, defaming her for creating "cruel lies." In response, Bushnell ordered all of her followers to believe only what she herself published. In 1887, Wisconsin passed Senate Bill 46, affectionately termed the “Kate Bushnell Bill” by her supporters. This piece of legislature made it a felony to abduct unmarried women for the purpose of prostitution and even contained provisions within the bill for mentally disabled women in order to ensure the safety of all women.Hoppin, Ruth. "The Legacy of Katharine Bushnell". Accessed 23 Feb 2013


Global mission work

Frustrated by her newfound notoriety and convinced that her status as somewhat of a celebrity distracted people from reform, Bushnell became a global missionary. For guidance, she wrote to
Josephine Butler Josephine Elizabeth Butler (; 13 April 1828 – 30 December 1906) was an English feminist and social reformer in the Victorian era. She campaigned for women's suffrage, the right of women to better education, the end of coverture in B ...
, a more experienced reformer than herself. Butler encouraged her to go to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, and in 1891 Bushnell brought her friend Elizabeth Andrew along with her. Unlike Bushnell, Andrew “struggled to shed her prejudice against ‘fallen women’” and for a time had difficulty in interacting with prostitutes the pair encountered.


India

From 1891-1893, the two conducted the investigations into prostitution within British camps in the colonies. At the time of Bushnell and Andrew’s visit in the early 1890s, there were around 100 military
cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...
s in India under the control and ownership of Great Britain. With India having the greatest British military presence at about 1000 soldiers per regiment, leaders became worried about the potential outburst of the soldiers due to the lack of a sexual outlet. When the rate of
venereal diseases A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, oral ...
continued to rise alarmingly among the men stationed in India, the British government realized that it was ineffective to merely turn the other way when military men consorted with sex workers, especially when they were paying the soldiers and covering the costs of their consistent transfers and travel expenses. Thus, the
Contagious Diseases Acts The Contagious Diseases Acts (CD Acts) were passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1864, with alterations and additions made by the (29 & 30 Vict. c. 35) and the (32 & 33 Vict. c. 96). In 1862, a committee had been established ...
were instituted in 1864. Women suspected of being prostitutes or carrying venereal diseases could be arrested and sent to
lock hospital A lock hospital was an establishment that specialised in treating venereal disease, sexually transmitted diseases. They operated in Britain and its colonies and territories from the 18th century to the 20th. History The military had a close ...
s to suffer a series of traumatic experiences described by Bushnell and Andrews as follows: The concern was with the potential contamination of British troops rather than the potential spread of foreign diseases among the native population, a point which Bushnell and Andrews emphasize. The pair published ''The Queen’s Daughters in India'', a comprehensive account of their travels throughout India, in 1899. The inspiration for the title came from the missionaries' belief that “the Queen herself must not approve of the measures, ‘for she has daughters of her own; and she cares for her daughters in India also.'" The report consists of the two reformers' descriptions of the harrowing events which took place and their seemingly miraculous entrance into the cantonments. Since the commanding officer of a cantonment has the authority to remove anyone from the garrison at any time for any reason, the women had to step carefully and be sure not to raise suspicion. Furthermore, while they never explicitly lied about their intentions in visiting, they also never explicitly stated their purpose, allowing the officers and the women in charge of running the brothels—the mahaldarnis—to assume that they were there for an evangelical or medical purpose rather than investigative. The women's efforts led to a reprimand for Lord Roberts, the
Commander-in-Chief, India During the period of the Company and Crown rule in India, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the Indian Army from 1833 to 1947. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...
.


Australia and New Zealand

In early October 1892, Andrew and Bushnell travelled from Queensland, Australia to New Zealand. They first spoke in Auckland, giving an overview of the U.S. WCTU history and emphasising the concepts of temperance and social purity. Beginning on October 25, they spoke for several weeks in churches on behalf of the World WCTU, and allowed for the WCTU NZ president,
Annie Jane Schnackenberg Annie Jane Schnackenberg ( Allen; 22 November 1835 – 2 May 1905) was a New Zealand Wesleyanism, Wesleyan missionary, temperance and welfare worker, and suffragist. She served as president of the Auckland branch of the Women's Christian Tempera ...
, to invite the attendees to become members of a local Union as they worked on various projects, including the right for women to vote in national elections. In full agreement with the Auckland WCTU's efforts to push for the repeal of the 1869 Contagious Diseases Act, Dr. Bushnell "denounced the mocking conventionality of society which brands women and exculpates men." Together they reinforced the work the WCTU NZ was doing in pushing for women's right to vote - a victory won in 1893.


Books

They coauthored two books about their experiences, ''The Queen's Daughters in India'' and ''Heathen Slaves and Christian Rulers''. The British government subsequently commissioned her to look into the opium trade between India and China.Kroeger, Catherine C. "The Legacy of Katherine Bushnell: a Hermeneutic for Women of Faith." ''Priscilla Papers,'' Fall 1995. Available through
Christians for Biblical Equality Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) is an organization that promotes Christian egalitarianism and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CBE's Mission Statement reads: "CBE exists to promote biblical justice and community by educating C ...


''God's Word to Women''

Throughout the nineteenth century, women struggled with "oppressive interpretations of the Bible that deprived them of their power and dignity." Bushnell has been called the most prominent voice declaring the Bible as liberating of women. Her classic book, ''God's Word to Women'',Bushnell, Katherine. ''God's Word to Women''. Minneapolis: Christians for Biblical Equality, 2003. was first published in book form in 1921. At the time she was 65 years old. ''God's Word to Women'' began as a correspondence course in 1908. In 1916, the loose single sheets were bound into two paper-covered volumes, which evolved into the cloth-bound 1921 edition. The book created a stir in America and elsewhere. It did not have mass appeal when first published because of its scholarly content and the few scholars interested in the topic. It relies on translation of ancient
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
and
Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...
and ancient Hebrew culture. However, the book is now valued highly by Christian egalitarian scholars. It is now in public domain and is available online both electronically and in print. It has been termed a groundbreaking study of what the Bible really says about women. The book is a culmination of her life's work. It was compiled from a correspondence course of the same name. In it, she works through every biblical portion interpreted to mean that women are inferior to men. This included the topics of women not being allowed to preach, required subordination to their husbands,
polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
, and head coverings. She wrote that male-biased mistranslations of the Bible, instead of "hastening the coming of the day of God, are hindering the preparation for that coming." The scriptural status of women continued to be of intense concern to her. Bushnell believed that mistranslations were responsible for the social and spiritual subjugation of women. As may be seen in the above quotation, she was very "plain-spoken" in her writing. Further, she wrote, God does not approve "that law which places Jehovah in a position secondary to her husband in a wife's life." In another passage from her book, she courageously wrote:


Death

Bushnell died on January 26, 1946, only a few days before her 91st birthday.


References


Sources

* Scott W. Stern, ''The Trials of Nina McCall: Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Government Plan to Imprison "Promiscuous" Wonen'' (Boston: Beacon Press, 2018)


External links

*
Brief biography
* Kristin Kobes Du Mez,
A New Gospel for Women: Katharine Bushnell and the Challenge of Christian Feminism
'. Oxford University Press. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell, Katharine 1855 births 1946 deaths Christian feminist biblical scholars Christian feminist theologians Methodist missionaries in China American Methodist missionaries Christian medical missionaries Female Christian missionaries American expatriates in China Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century