Many current social and cultural forces discourage father involvement with children. An important, but usually overlooked, positive influence on men and fathering is religion. This article presents some of the findings of the scant social science literature on fathering and religion; discusses the ways that religion encourages and supports responsible, involved fathering; touches on some of the similarities between the men's movement and religion; and addresses some of the concerns expressed about religion and fathering, including possible negative effects of religion, different forms of spirituality, and religion and gender roles. I argue that future scholarship and practice may well show that religion (i.e., a covenant faith community with teachings and narratives that enhance spirituality and encourage morality) is the most powerful, meaningful, and sustained influence for encouraging men to be fully involved in children's lives.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BlankenhornD. (1995). Fatherless America: Confronting our most urgent social problem. New York: Basic Books.
2.
BlyR. (1990). Iron John: A book about men. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
3.
CallV. R. A., & HeatonT. B. (1997). Religious influence on marital stability. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36, 382–392.
4.
CanfieldK. (1996). The heart of a father: How dads can shape the destiny of America. Chicago: Northfield Publishing.
5.
ClarkC.WorthingtonE. L., & DanserD. B. (1988). The transmission of religious beliefs and practices from parents to firstborn early adolescent sons. Journal of Marriage and Family, 50, 463–472.
6.
CorneauG. (1991). Absent fathers, lost sons: The search for masculine identity. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
7.
DienhartA., & DalyK. (1997). Men and women cocreating father involvement in a nongenerative culture. In HawkinsA. J. & DollahiteD. C. (Eds.), Generative fathering: Beyond deficit perspectives (pp. 147–166). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
8.
DohertyW. J.KouneskiE. F., & EricksonM. F. (1998). Responsible fathering: An overview and conceptual framework. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 277–292.
9.
DollahiteD. C., & HawkinsA. J. (1998). A conceptual ethic of generative fathering. The Journal of Men's Studies, 7, 109–132.
10.
DollahiteD. C.MarksL. D.OlsonM. M. (1998). Faithful fathering in trying times: Religious beliefs and practices of Latter-day Saint fathers of children with special needs. The Journal of Men's Studies, 7, 71–93.
11.
DollahiteD. C.SlifeB. D., & HawkinsA. J. (1998). Family generativity and generative counseling: Helping families keep faith with the next generation. In McAdamsD. P. & de St. AubinE. (Eds.), Generativity and adult development: How and why we care for the next generation (pp. 449–481). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
12.
DohertyW. J. (1990). Beyond reactivity and the deficit model of manhood: A commentary on articles by Napier, Pittman, and Gottman. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 17, 29–32.
13.
EriksonE. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
14.
EriksonE. H. (1982). The life cycle completed. New York: Norton.
15.
FurrowJ. L. (1998). The ideal father: Religious narratives and the role of fatherhood. The Journal of Men's Studies, 7, 17–32.
16.
FurstenbergF. F. (1988). Good dads-bad dads: Two faces of fatherhood. In CherlinA. (Ed.), The changing American family and public policy (pp. 193–218). Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.
17.
GarbarinoJ. (1993). Reinventing fatherhood. Families in Society, 74, 51–54.
18.
GersonK. (1997). An institutional perspective on generative fathering: Creating social supports for parenting equality. In HawkinsA. J. & DollahiteD. C. (Eds.), Generative fathering: Beyond deficit perspectives (pp. 36–51). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19.
GiesbrechtN. (1995). Parenting style and adolescent religious commitment. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 14, 228–238.
20.
GriswoldR. L. (1997). Generative fathering: A historical perspective. In HawkinsA. J. & DollahiteD. C. (Eds.), Generative fathering: Beyond deficit perspectives (pp. 71–86). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
21.
HarrisI. M. (1997). The ten tenets of male spirituality. The Journal of Men's Studies, 6, 29–53.
22.
HawkinsA. J., & DollahiteD. C. (1997). Beyond the role inadequacy perspective of fathering. In HawkinsA. J. & DollahiteD. C. (Eds.), Generative fathering: Beyond deficit perspectives (pp. 3–17). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
23.
HawkinsA. J.DollahiteD. C., & RhoadesC. (1993). Turning the hearts of the fathers to the children: Nurturing the next generation. BYU Studies, 33, 273–291.
24.
HochschildA. R. (1997). The time bind: When work becomes home and home becomes work. New York: Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
25.
KeenS. (1991). Fire in the belly: On being a man. New York: Bantam Books.
26.
KraemerS. (1991). The origins of fatherhood: An ancient family process. Family Process, 30, 377–392.
27.
LaRossaR. (1988). Fatherhood and social change. Family Relations, 36, 451–458.
28.
LaRossaR. (1997). The modernization of fatherhood: A social and political history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
29.
LatshawJ. S. (1998). The centrality of faith in fathers' role construction: The faithful father and the Axis Mundi paradigm. The Journal of Men's Studies, 7, 53–70.
MarcianoT. D. (1991). Religion and its impacts on fatherhood. In BozettF. W. & HansonS. M. H. (Eds.), Fatherhood and families in cultural context (pp. 138–161). New York: Springer.
32.
MarsiglioW. (1995). Fatherhood scholarship: An overview and agenda for the future. In MarsiglioW. (Ed.), Fatherhood: Contemporary theory, research, and social policy (pp. 1–20). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
33.
MatthewsD. A., & LarsonD. B. (1995). The faith factor, volume III: An annotated bibliography of clinical research on spiritual subjects: Enhancing life satisfaction. Rockville, MD: National Institute for Healthcare Research.
34.
MatthewsD. A., & SaundersD. M. (1997). The faith factor, volume IV: An annotated bibliography of clinical research on spiritual subjects: Prevention and treatment of illness, addictions, and delinquency. Rockville, MD: National Institute for Healthcare Research.
35.
MeadeM. (1993). Men and the water of life: Initiation and the tempering of men. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.
36.
MooreR., & GilletteD. (1990). King, warrior, magician, lover: Rediscovering the archetypes of the mature masculine. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.
37.
MooreR., & GilletteD. (1992). The king within: Accessing the king in the male psyche. New York: William Morrow.
38.
NewportF., & SaadL. (1997, March). Religious faith is widespread but many skip church. The Gallup Poll Monthly.
39.
NockS. (in press). Marriage in men's lives. New York: Oxford University Press.
40.
PalkovitzR., & PalmG. F. (1998). Fatherhood and faith in formation: The developmental effects of fathering on religiosity and values. the Journal of Men's Studies, 7, 71–93.
41.
PargamentK. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Guilford Press.
42.
PopenoeD. (1996). Life without father. New York: The Free Press.
43.
SnareyJ. (1993). How fathers care for the next generation: A four decade study. Boston: Harvard University Press.
