Religion and the Family
Gail S Risch editor Ronald A Simkins editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Creighton University,U.S.
Published:15th Sep '08
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
In this volume, the complex relationships between religion and the family is explored by fourteen scholars across a range of disciplines. Grounded in a shared focus on the evolving realities of family life and religious beliefs and practice in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, past and present, the essays address key questions: How has religion shaped conceptions of and life in the family? How have experiences of the family shaped religion? Drawing on Biblical studies, theology, spirituality, history, anthropology, sociology, political science, and law, the contributors offer a new, more complex, picture and historically nuanced of this symbiotic relationship.
Family has been and continues to be a surprisingly evolving reality,
and each permutation carries with it a new constellation of religious
ideas and practices. Whether tradition refers to several hundred
years or to merely two or three generations, it is always, to varying
degrees, adapted and transformed as it is passed on. Religion was
enmeshed in the family so that as definitions of the family and marriage
shifted over time, religion was shaped accordingly. But the
converse is also true. Religion has shaped our understanding of the
family. Most weddings in the United States, for example, are conducted
by clergy and take place in a religious institution, regardless
of the religious devotion or piety of the couple. . . . The tension
around family diversity is acutely illustrated by the polarized “family
values” debate that emerged over a decade ago and continues to undergird
political and religious discourse related to family issues.
ISBN: 9781881871491
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
285 pages