This chapter considers the purpose and goals of Calvinist moral discipline, based on biblical precedent. It details popular reaction to the consistories, and considers the church’s disciplinary priorities: eradicating superstition and popular culture, punishing illicit sexuality, ensuring harmony, and dealing with public misconduct. Next, we examine the membership of the consistory—the identity of ministers and elders, their social status, and the process of co-optation on to the consistory. We consider the relationship between sacred and secular governance, and the overlap among consuls, councillors, and elders. We examine the operation of the consistory—the nature of interrogations, the reliance on hearsay, the shaming punishments it inflicted, its other responsibilities beyond moral discipline, and the links between Protestant churches. Finally, given the consistory’s agenda of enforcing patriarchy, we consider their attempts to implement domestic patriarchy, and their preoccupation with women’s appearance and sexuality, seen in their crusades against women’s clothing and prostitution.
Making Over Poor Women: Gender, Race, Class & Body Size in a Welfare-to-Work Nonprofit Organization
