This excerpt shows the staunch stance that leaders of the feminist movement were willing to take against the Church. The adoption of freethought philosophies into their declaration proved to be a significant turning point, especially with the acceptance of newfound scientific claims by Charles Darwin regarding his theory of evolution. After looking into the relationship of religion and feminism, the alliance of feminism and science will now be assessed. In the latter part of the 19th century, Darwin publicly made his scientific findings concerning evolution available in his 1859 book titled On the Origin of Species. While Darwin took no part in feminist movements happening in the United States, many freethink feminists hailed Darwin as the
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Darwin’s evolutionary theory explains that all species developed through natural selection of inherited variations that enable organisms to compete against other organisms for natural resources, survival, and reproduction. This theory of how humans came to exist was seen to reject the biblical account of creation, which most freethink feminist cheered. As previously stated, the primary justification for the oppression of women stemmed from the account of Eve and God’s wrath towards her disobedience. With that account now being questioned with new scientific discoveries many freethought feminists believed that the persecution and oppression of women would come to an end along with the biblical account of Adam and …show more content…
Before conducting research, Darwin believed that the primary emphasis would be placed on males, but through sexual selection, maladaptive traits, and reproduction seemingly being more important than conquering, Darwinian science showed the importance that females played within the natural world. First, the concept of sexual selection showed that females within the natural world had the power to make the decision of whom to mate. It was previously thought that males would make the decisions, but based on the observations of maladaptive traits, Darwin came to his final conclusion that females made the choice. During his observation of birds, Darwin noticed that males in multiple species of birds had very colorful and extravagant feathers that appeared to have no benefit to the bird’s survival. With further observation of these male birds, Darwin established that these maladaptistic feathers were useful mechanisms to attract female partners for sexual mating. Through the conclusions on sexual selection and maladaptive traits, one can conclude that the primary action within the animal kingdom is not conquering, but reproducing, highlighting the significance of females within the natural world. Many feminists thought that this idea solidified their argument for the fight for women’s equality as science was beginning to disprove the accepted belief that males were naturally created to overpower
Darwin’s evolutionary theory explains that all species developed through natural selection of inherited variations that enable organisms to compete against other organisms for natural resources, survival, and reproduction. This theory of how humans came to exist was seen to reject the biblical account of creation, which most freethink feminist cheered. As previously stated, the primary justification for the oppression of women stemmed from the account of Eve and God’s wrath towards her disobedience. With that account now being questioned with new scientific discoveries many freethought feminists believed that the persecution and oppression of women would come to an end along with the biblical account of Adam and …show more content…
Before conducting research, Darwin believed that the primary emphasis would be placed on males, but through sexual selection, maladaptive traits, and reproduction seemingly being more important than conquering, Darwinian science showed the importance that females played within the natural world. First, the concept of sexual selection showed that females within the natural world had the power to make the decision of whom to mate. It was previously thought that males would make the decisions, but based on the observations of maladaptive traits, Darwin came to his final conclusion that females made the choice. During his observation of birds, Darwin noticed that males in multiple species of birds had very colorful and extravagant feathers that appeared to have no benefit to the bird’s survival. With further observation of these male birds, Darwin established that these maladaptistic feathers were useful mechanisms to attract female partners for sexual mating. Through the conclusions on sexual selection and maladaptive traits, one can conclude that the primary action within the animal kingdom is not conquering, but reproducing, highlighting the significance of females within the natural world. Many feminists thought that this idea solidified their argument for the fight for women’s equality as science was beginning to disprove the accepted belief that males were naturally created to overpower