Politics and attitudes to equality

Protestantism was more involved in societal improvements including education, the humanities and science. The Protestants’ rejection of the belief that the priest as an intermediary standing between God and humans and the belief that each job was a calling from God led to a new conception of work; it was now understood to be part of one's religious life, and part of God's plan for humans.^[1] This ‘Protestant work ethic’ came from the idea of importance of good deeds such as working hard to please God as well as worshiping him in church. Many Protestant churches ‘allow’ women to be ordained. United Church of Christ (whose members were once called Congregationalists) and the Universalists (who eventually merged with the Unitarians) started ordaining women in the 19th century.^[2] In some places this is limited. For instance, some priests but can’t be promoted to bishop and beyond.^[2] These churches use the explanation of complementarianism: women have different roles in the church – separate but equal. Protestant churches tend to be a lot more liberal than older churches on issues of equality, but this is not universal and often tends to depend on the incumbent bishop or priest.