A Local Manifestation of a Global Office

Abstract

The office of Biblewoman grew to be a global institution in the second half of the nineteenth century, the heyday of both colonial and missionary expansions. In their eagerness to spread the new religion, local women who had embraced evangelical Christianity in the continents of Asia, Africa, Americas, and Europe appropriated the office of Biblewoman that Protestant missionaries transported from London. The profession became an avenue through which native women exerted influence in the religious affairs of the emerging Christian communities and contributed to the spread of Christianity around the world. As the job title indicates, this ministerial office everywhere was identified with the Bible. Influenced by evangelical tradition, Biblewomen around the world also promoted social reforms and cultural changes in their own contexts, just as their predecessors in the British metropolis did. Recruitment patterns and training methods would change over the years. As the profession took root in different contexts, shaped by particular historical and social dynamics, some of its practices varied. After identifying some common characteristics of the office around the world, this chapter analyzes how and why some features of the office in the Northern Circars differed from its counterparts in other continents.