Faith Traditions and the Family

Family life since World War II has undergone dramatic changes. Cultural shifts emphasizing personal needs and fulfillment have transformed traditional understandings of marriage and divorce, gender equality, and sexual behavior, resulting in a marked increase in single-parent homes, dual-income couples, and divorced and blended families. In this book, contributors who represent diverse religious traditions in North America show how their respective traditions have responded to changes in the family in the last half century. Exploring the broad range of responses in their traditions - from conservative to progressive - they reflect on the roles that theology, scripture, and the social sciences have had in this transformation. Further, they take a realistic look at the influence of mainstream religion and its role in future discussions of family life. This exploration offers readers fresh and broad ranges of ways to evaluate their own religious traditions when dealing with issues related to the future of the family. Religious traditions discussed are Southern Baptist, Mormon, Mennonite, Roman Catholic, African Methodist Episcopal, Methodist, Jewish, Presbyterian, United Church of Canada, Episcopal, and ecumenical and interdenominational.