Stepping Out on Faith: Family, Gender, and Religious Belonging in the African American Church

• In Event: 165 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 11. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women's Religious Agency II

Abstract

Changes to the meaning of family and how people worship during the latter half of the twentieth century have inspired a broad body of literature regarding how congregations shape attitudes about family and gender equality within an increasingly diverse post-modern society. The current study examines the religious and moral frameworks that may often be invoked within black evangelical communities of faith when thinking about familial roles, love, and gender equality; how such moral frameworks may be maintained; and how they may combine to shape behavioral practices within the private realm of domestic life. This study employs a mixed methods research design including in-depth interviews, home observations, and participant observation at two small congregations located in an affluent suburb of Chicago, Illinois to shed light upon these issues and expand upon what we currently believe to be the relevancy and influential boundaries of contemporary African-American congregational life.

Author

• Kiyona Brewster, Northwestern University