Building the old time religion: women Evangelists in the progressive era

During the progessive era, a period of unprecedented ingenuity, women evangelists built the old time religion with brick and mortar, uniforms and automobiles, fresh converts and devoted proteges.

Across America, entrepreneurial women founded churches, denominations, religious training schools, rescue homes, rescue missions and evangelistic organizations.

Until now, these intrepid women have gone largely unnoticed, though their collective yet unchoreographed decision to build institutions in the service of evangelism marked a seismic shift in American Christianity.