ABSTRACT
In contemporary literature and woodcuts, the picture of life in the separatist churches and the sects was of sexual licentiousness. Sexual politics, which involved women's desires to play a part in the decision-making of the congregation, and men's desires to keep them under control, were central to the life of the separatist congregations. By contrast, household duties were less emphasised in the more radical sects than they were in the Anglican church. A widow, cast down by the death of her husband, also found comfort in sermons and several Scriptural texts. Male leaders of the sect wanted women to obey them, or the church, rather than husbands. Contradiction and ambiguity marked the attitudes of both sexes to female roles in the church. Excommunication presented problems to small separatist congregations. Women's determination to claim their rights and responsibilities as good Christian women posed a challenge to the male leaders.
