The Transforming Power of the Nuns : Women, Religion, and Cultural Change in Ireland, 1750-1900

Mary Peckham Magray argues that the Irish Catholic cultural revolution in the nineteenth century was effected not only by male elites, as previous scholarship has claimed, but also by the most overlooked and underestimated women in Ireland: the nuns. Once thought to be merely passive servants of the male clerical hierarchy, women's religious orders were in fact at the very center of the creation of a devout Catholic culture in Ireland. Often well-educated, articulate, and evangelical, nuns were much more social and ambitious than traditional stereotypical views have held. They used their wealth and their authority to effect changes in both the religious practices and daily activity of the larger Irish Catholic population, and by doing so, Magray argues, deserve a far larger place in the Irish historical record than they have previously been accorded. Magray's innovative work challenges some of the most widely held assumptions of social history in nineteenth-century Ireland. It will be of interest to scholars and students of Irish history, religious history, women's studies, and sociology. Mary Peckham Magray argues that the Irish Catholic cultural revolution in the nineteenth century was effected not only by male elites, as previous scholarship has claimed, but also by the most overlooked and underestimated women in Ireland: the nuns. Once thought to be merely passive servants of the male clerical hierarchy, women's religious orders were in fact at the very center of the creation of a devout Catholic culture in Ireland. Often educated, articulate, and evangelical, nuns were much more socially engaged and personally ambitious than traditional stereotypical views have held. They used their wealth and their authority to effect changes in both the religious practices and common behavior of the larger Irish Catholic population and, by doing so, Magray argues, deserve a far larger place in the Irish historical record than they have previously been accorded. Magray's work will be of interest to scholars and students of Irish history, religious history, women's studies, and sociology. Contents......Page 12 One: Women Religious and the Devotional Revolution......Page 18 Two: Founding Women......Page 29 Three: Convents, Class, and Catholic Identity......Page 47 Four: Intimate Boundaries......Page 61 Five: Cultural Authority......Page 95 Six: Transforming Catholic Culture......Page 108 Seven: Bishops, Priests, and Nuns......Page 128 Eight: Conclusion......Page 148 Appendix......Page 152 Abbreviations......Page 156 Notes......Page 158 Bibliography......Page 188 C......Page 200 M......Page 201 S......Page 202 W......Page 203 Challenging widely-held assumptions of 19th-century social history in Ireland, this book examines the influence of Irish nuns on the Irish Catholic cultural revolution. It claims they were not merely passive servants, but educated women at the centre of the creation of a devout Catholic culture