In my own country, Ireland, there was a time before Christianity when pagan Irish worshipped the woman as the symbol of life and death. It was after Ireland got it's independence back that the catholic church gained power over Ireland. Since the great famine took place less than 60 years prior, the population of Ireland was low. Women having children out of wedlock were imprisoned in laundry facilities and their babies taken and "given" away. Contraception was illegal and so was divorce. Those who didn't want to be imprisoned had to marry and were no longer allowed to work for an income. This is less than 100 years ago in catholic Ireland when we were a developing country.