Maternal Silences: Motherhood and Voluntary Childlessness in Contemporary Christianity

In Christianity, there is an ideology of motherhood that pervades scripture, ritual, and doctrine, yet there is an academic silence that means relatively little space has been given to motherhood and mothering, and even less to voluntary childlessness, from a faith perspective. By drawing on qualita...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Llewellyn, Dawn 1977- (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Brill [2016]
In: Religion & gender
Jahr: 2016, Band: 6, Heft: 1, Seiten: 64-79
normierte Schlagwort(-folgen):B Christentum / Mutterschaft / Kinderlosigkeit / Rollenerwartung / Ausgrenzung / Geschichte 2011-2013
RelBib Classification:CB Christliche Existenz; Spiritualität
FD Kontextuelle Theologie
KAJ Kirchengeschichte 1914-; neueste Zeit
NBE Anthropologie
NCF Sexualethik
weitere Schlagwörter:B voluntary childlessness
B Caroline Gatrell
B Christianity
B Motherhood
B maternal silences
B maternal bodies
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Zusammenfassung:In Christianity, there is an ideology of motherhood that pervades scripture, ritual, and doctrine, yet there is an academic silence that means relatively little space has been given to motherhood and mothering, and even less to voluntary childlessness, from a faith perspective. By drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews with Christian women living in Britain, narrating their experiences of motherhood and voluntary childlessness, I suggest there are also lived maternal silences encountered by women in contemporary Christianity. There is a maternal expectation produced through church teaching, liturgy and culture that constructs women as ‘maternal bodies’ (Gatrell 2008); this silences and marginalises women from articulating their complex relationship with religion, motherhood, and childlessness in ways that challenge their spiritual development. However, this article also introduces the everyday and intentional tactics women employ to disrupt the maternal expectation, and hereby interrupt the maternal silence.
ISSN:1878-5417
Enthält:Enthalten in: Religion & gender
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.18352/rg.10131