Widening the Historic Circle: The Contribution of Women Religious to the Development of Social Work

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe long-taught history of social work may be missing an important part of its root system. Groups of religious sisters were doing work similar to early English settlement houses years before Toynbee Hall, yet were left out of the history possibly due to their gender, religion, and ethnicity. Using original historic writings and illustrations, this article looks at the early work of women religious – the preferred name for vowed religious women of various faiths – and how they may have had a direct influence on the work of early settlements, an influence not included in social welfare history. The authors call for a social justice response by adding the work of women religious to social welfare history.