Cotton Mather called them "the hidden ones." Although historians of religion occasionally refer to the fact that women have always constituted a majority of churchgoers, until recently none of them have investigated the historical implications of the situation or v the role of woman in the church. But the focus of church history has been moving toward a broader awareness, from studying religious institutions and their pastors to studying the people-the laity-and the nature of religious experience. This book explores the many common elements of this experience for women in church and temple, regardless of their differences in faith.
