Re: about feminism

"Without the support of the social conservatives in the Church, those neofeminists never would've gotten a foothold because the general tone of the 60s movement was toward liberalization of everything, including sex."

I agree - but as qtns noted, despite the church's anti-sexual attitudes there was no special concern about age until the rise of feminism, beginning in the 19th century. Though it was not common in the very small middle and upper classes of Europe, child marriage has been accepted throughout history and in all cultures prior to the modern age. Seven was a little young, but not unheard of - and marriage by age twelve or fourteen has been common almost everywhere.

Besides this, there have been long periods where church doctrine was very strict in theory but lax in actual practice. Many visitors to Rome prior to the Reformation were astonished to find the large numbers of prostitutes catering to the priests, and to find that most of the priests had mistresses. Besides this, even where strict rules about sex were enforced amongst the middle class, they were seldom enforced with regards to men's casual relationships with lower class girls. In some times and places in Europe children were considered to have an insatiable appetite for sex, so no one even attempted to control their sexual antics.

You pose an interesting thought about how the dynamic of cooperation between the church and anti-sex feminism arose, but it does not change the fact that the fault lies with strains in both traditions - nor does it change the fact that there are both feminists and religious persons who oppose what has become the dominant view. Changing that view will likewise require our reaching out to both groups, and reminding them of the traditional values they have forgotten.