Throughout the Reformation and the Enlightenment Europeans began to question and strive to reform and find answers however there were also Europeans who wanted continuities throughout the time periods. The Reformation marked a change in views of the Catholic Church and brought up questioning on the church’s teachings. Many Europeans, especially Martin Luther, disagreed with the church’s practice of selling of indulgences. Because of this the 95 theses formed, which led to the formation of new religions and a change in the corruption of the church. Later however, during the Enlightenment, people started to stray away from the ideas of the Catholic church. Europeans used to abide by teachings of the church but during this time they focused on reason and scientific proof. Many people began questioning everything and taking things into consideration, which caused liberal ideas to form. Throughout the Reformation and the Enlightenment women’s role continued to be inferior to males’ roles in homes and in society. On the other hand, women have had improvements on opportunities offered to them.

During the Reformation to the Enlightenment, women went from having a lack of opportunity to having more freedom and chance at education. For example, in the 15 and 16 hundred, women had a specific role of taking care of tasks in a household. Women were expected to teach their children to read and to be a caretaker, which limited their opportunity for education. Their only position in education was teaching the children, which did increase literacy rates in women. Women during the time were not able to have a formal education for themselves, which constricted them to be in the household in addition to their position in society. However, during the Enlightenment, many philosophers began to believe that women should have rights, causing an improvement for opportunities available for women. For example, Catherine the Great provided formal education for daughters of nobility. Although this reform did not consider all women, the difference allowed for middle class women to have an education. Additionally, female writers began to arise, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, which helped in the spread of the enlightenment. Women’s role from the Reformation to the Enlightenment has changed from not being provided education and having to take care of the household and the children in it to being able to have the opportunity of education, which led to the spread of enlightened ideas.

Although there were changes in the attitude for women, women were still seen to be inferior to men, due to their position in the household and their difference in equality. During the Reformation, Martin Luther believed that Christian women were supposed to model being submissive to men and being Christian charity. Men were seen as the superior of a household, where women acted as a caretaker. Men were also able to own businesses and property, while women were not able to own anything and were not able to conduct legal transactions. Men in a household had ownership of all legal issues. These roles in household affairs held women at a lower position. Moreover, women did not have equal rights as men. This is seen in the Enlightenment in the Declaration of the Right of Man and Citizen. The declaration says that all men remain free and have equal rights, however it does not say that women have any rights that are equal to men, showing that women are not equally as free. During the Enlightenment and Reformation women have not been granted the amount of freedom and rights men have, due to the fact that women are seen as inferior. In the Reformation and the Enlightenment, women have been seen as inferior to men, which was seen in a woman’s position in the household and in the rights that have been granted to men but not women.