God's Daughters: Evangelical Women and the Power of Submission

God's Daughters examines the Women's Aglow Fellowship International, an evangelical Christian women's organization with roots in the post-WWII charismatic movement. Through interviews and participant observation, R. Marie Griffith documents how members navigate traditional gender roles and religious submission within their faith community. The book follows women who participate in Aglow's prayer groups, conferences, and ministry activities across the United States. Griffith records their personal testimonies and experiences of spiritual transformation through submitting to divine and earthly authority. The ethnographic study explores how these evangelical women interpret and practice biblical teachings on female subordination within marriage and church life. Their stories reveal complex negotiations between personal empowerment and religious obligation. This analysis of gender, power, and American evangelicalism challenges assumptions about women's agency in conservative Christian movements. The work contributes to broader discussions of how religious beliefs shape identity and social relationships in modern faith communities.

Readers note the book provides an academic examination of Women's Aglow Fellowship International through extensive interviews and participant observation. Many reviewers appreciate Griffith's balanced approach that avoids mocking or dismissing the women's beliefs while maintaining scholarly analysis. Readers liked: - Detailed firsthand accounts and quotes from members - Clear explanation of how women find empowerment through submission - Nuanced look at gender roles in evangelical Christianity Common criticisms: - Writing style can be dense and academic - Some redundancy in examples and analysis - Limited scope focusing only on one organization Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (49 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (12 reviews) Notable reader comment: "Griffith manages to be both sympathetic and critical, allowing these women's voices to be heard while placing their experiences in broader historical and theological context." - Goodreads reviewer Several academic reviewers cite it as a strong ethnographic study that avoids oversimplification of a complex religious movement.

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🔹 Author R. Marie Griffith conducted her research by living among and interviewing members of Women Aglow Fellowship (now Aglow International), one of the largest charismatic women's organizations in the world. 🔹 The book challenges common assumptions about evangelical women's submission, revealing how many women in these communities view submission as a source of power rather than oppression. 🔹 Women Aglow Fellowship, the focus of the book's study, began in 1967 with four women meeting for prayer in Washington state and grew to over 200,000 members by the 1990s. 🔹 The research reveals how women in evangelical movements often reinterpret traditional religious teachings about gender roles to create spaces of authority and influence within their communities. 🔹 Published by University of California Press in 1997, the book became a groundbreaking work in religious studies for its nuanced examination of gender dynamics in evangelical Christianity.