American Women in Religion Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri Tekakwitha was a Mohawk born near central New York in 1656. She converted to Catholicism at age 19. She maintained her strong faith and desire for peace during a time of violent conflict between the Mohawks and French. This often put her in conflict with her people. Her purity and faith gained her admiration among the Jesuit Priests. Kateri became known as The Lily of the Mohawks. She died at age 24 of an undefined illness.

She was canonized in 2012.

Answer: Antoinette Brown Blackwell

Antoinette Brown was born in NY in 1825. She joined the Congregational Church at age 9. She finished her schooling at 16, then started teaching. Antoinette went to Oberlin College to study theology. The school was reluctant to accept a female theology student.

They let her take the classes but would not honor her certification. She wrote many published articles and expressed her views on women's rights and abolition. Antoinette was finally given a license to preach in 1851 then offered a position as Minister of a Congregationalist Church in S. Butler, NY.

In 1902 she left the Congregational Church, and helped found the Unitarian Society in NJ. She died at age 96.

Answer: Ann Lee

In 1774 Ann Lee came to America with several of her followers because of a revelation she had. They settled in Colonie, NY. Some of her followers thought of her as the second coming of Christ. She died in 1784, at age 48.

Shakers evolved from the Quakers of England. They were noted for dancing at religious services, which gave them their name 'Shakers'. They practiced celibacy. Most new members were orphans taken in by their communities. At their peak there were over 6000 members in 25 communities. As of March 2017, there were only two Shakers remaining.

Answer: Mary Baker Eddy

Mary Baker was born on a farm in New Hampshire in 1851. Her father was a very strict fundamentalist. Mary was frail and often fainted. She later attended a girls' college. She married twice and had a son. Her first husband died young, and she divorced her second husband.

She later spent three years on biblical study. In 1875 she wrote "Science and Health", and in 1879 she and her students established the Church of Christ, Scientist. Mary Baker Eddy died of pneumonia in 1910.

Answer: Anne Hutchinson

Anne Marbury was born in England in 1591. Anne and her husband William Hutchinson had 15 children. They were followers of the preacher John Cotton. When John Cotton moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Hutchinsons soon followed. Preacher Cotton and his followers had some disagreement with the colony leaders about the nature of grace.

This is known as the Antinomian Controversy. Anne was often outspoken on her views and was expelled from the colony. She later moved to New York, where she and some family members were killed by Siwanoy Indians about 1643.

Answer: First Westerner to be named a reincarnate lama

Alyce Zeoli was born in Brooklyn in 1949 to a Jewish mother and Catholic father. She married twice and had two sons. Both marriages ended in divorce. Alyce later met a Tibetan Buddhist monk named Penor Rinpoche. Through his guidance, Alyce was eventually identified as a reincarnated Buddhist Lama. In 1988 she was renamed Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.

In 2016, Jetsunma announced plans to build a monastery for 500 monks and nuns, but no concrete details were provided.

Answer: Reform Judaism

Sally Jane Priesand was born in 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio. She decided she wanted to be a rabbi at age 16. She attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. While other women had studied at this rabbinical college, Sally was the first to graduate. After graduation she was offered a position at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City. She retired in 2006.

Sally was the second female rabbi in the world. The first female rabbi was Regina Jonas of Germany, who died in a concentration camp in 1944.

Answer: Nation of Islam

Ava Muhammad was born in 1951. She graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and belongs to the New York Bar Association. She was national spokesperson for Minister Farrakhan. Ava has written several books and hosted a radio talk show. In 1998 she became the first female minister at Mosque Maryam in Chicago. She serves with the Nation of Islam.

Answer: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City in 1774. She was raised in the Episcopal Church. At 19 she married businessman William Seton. They had five children. William died of tuberculosis when Elizabeth was age 30. After her husband's death, she became acquainted with Catholicism and later converted to the Catholic faith.

In order to support her family, Elizabeth started a school for young ladies. After struggling in NY, she moved to Maryland and established Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School for Catholic Girls.

She later founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's. Mother Seton contracted tuberculosis and died in 1821 at age 46.

Answer: The Orthodox Union

All the churches listed do not allow women to serve as priests/ministers.

In 2017 the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, or Orthodox Union, adopted rules making it clear that women may not function in any clerical way. However, women have been elected as national office holders.

Mormons have allowed women as missionaries and teachers.
The Roman Catholic Church does allow women to distribute communion and read from the pulpit.
Wahhabism is the most strict on gender roles but there was not any new written policy on the subject in 2017.