PIRJO MARKKOLA*

Abstract

Abstract. In the 19th century, women contributed to social work based on revivalist religious values. They founded orphanages, deaconess institutes and shelters for ‚fallen women. ‛ Even in the Lutheran, very homogenous context of Finland, the question of gender and religion was a multi-faceted issue. Religious reform movements both empowered women and defined proper fields of activity for both sexes. The Christian framework fostered several understandings of women’s calling. The Deaconess Institute of Hel-sinki, founded in 1867, offered one interpretation of a woman’s calling. Em-ma Mäkinen, who founded a shelter for ‚fallen women ‛ in 1880, represented an alternative interpretation of a woman’s calling. The third understanding can be found in the women’s rights movement and in the White Ribbon. Both movements consisted of middle-class women who worked on a broad program ranging from moral reform to political participation.