Evangelical Identity and Gendered Family Life

Posted on January 29, 2006
Filed Under Family, Religion, Sexuality, Women's Issues

Evangelical Identity and Gendered Family Life. Edited by Sally K. Gallagher, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, 2003. 244 pp. $23.00 (paperback).

How do educated, religious women manage the possible disparities between concepts such as feminism and religious belief structures? How are the social expectations for construction of family, complete with gendered family responsibilities, negotiated for women who, by having careers or other roles outside the home, may experience tension between their religious beliefs and their economic realities? Sally K. Gallagher, a sociologist, addresses these issues and other dilemmas at the intersection of gender, family, and faith, in her book, Evangelical Identity and Gendered Family Life.

Drawing on her 3-year research project with more than 300 evangelical participants, Gallagher lays down a historical framework and presents the findings as she endeavors to “… help situate current discussions of evangelical family values within a broader theoretical perspective that is useful for understanding not only this particular population but also rapid transformations in gender, work, and family more generally” (p. 17). Using a sample population that includes a wide range of self-identified evangelicals, she succeeds in what is a well-developed and carefully supported series of analyses about the perspectives of modern evangelical Protestants.

The book is divided into three parts, and Gallagher begins by addressing evangelical ideals. including family values, historical perspectives on Protestantism, and contemporary ideals. In the next section she reflects on these ideals in various contexts, presenting research findings along with analysis and plenty of excerpts from interviews with participants to expand her points or to show disparity between interpretations of values on, for example, women working outside the home. Several areas of consideration receive thorough treatment as Gallagher devotes Chapter 4 to “Faith and Family,” Chapter 5 to “Spiritual Leadership and Decision Making,” Chapter 6 to “Dividing the Labor of Parenting and Housework,” and Chapter 7 to “Employment and the Needs of Children.” Gallagher employs a “toolbox” metaphor throughout the volume to describe how people collect the “tools” of their faiths and use them in social situations. Part 1, with the historical perspectives and explanations of terminology, establishes what is in the toolbox. Part 2 shows the various tools in use.

The final section of the text then considers what would happen if the notion of husband’s headship no longer played a role in evangelical rhetoric and practice, and Chapter 9 concludes with a contemplation of the broader implications of this work in terms of sociology and family. The text concludes with appendices on research methods, data and results tables, and interpretations of key biblical texts–a crucial component for the reader unfamiliar with referenced Biblical passages.

In her presentation of evangelical Protestants, Gallagher addresses clear distinctions between evangelicalism and fundamentalism as she traces the roots of American Protestantism. Although a possible given for religious scholars, her explanations are useful not only for framing the results of her research, but also for providing the neophyte in religious traditions with a sense of context. This contextualization addresses from where seemingly divergent belief structures may have emerged and in what ways they are challenged, incorporated, or accommodated within the family practices of evangelical participants. Gallagher is also careful to confront some prevailing rhetoric regarding issues such as family values and women’s place in the home or at work, by providing sufficient historical information to help debunk the way we, as a society, never actually were.

While addressing feminism and gender issues in evangelical rhetoric, Gallagher argues that evangelical Protestants are not simply attempting to make gender essentialism more acceptable through their rhetoric, nor are they accommodating or selling out to popular culture. Instead, the muting of language seen in written work “… reflects both the needs of a changing audience as well as the desire to blunt the sharpest edges of a debate that has threatened to divide a religious subculture intent on maintaining both its orthodox core and its broad appeal” (p. 61). These kinds of observations regarding the data in a larger social context help the reader to develop a more complete understanding of the complex and nuanced–and not entirely consistent–interpretations the participants provide throughout the text.

The two key discussions of gender applications in this volume are first of the man’s expected leadership, authority, and accountability even within the family structure, and, second, the notion of marital partnership for men and women. Headship, or man’s authority, is widely cited by the participants as a way to have both partners fulfill their gendered roles within the family or as a hierarchical structure that reflects subservience to God. Gallagher provides strong examples of various viewpoints from her participants regarding the ways in which they balance gender roles and ideas of leadership within the family. She also does a solid job of weaving these examples into writing in an integrative, easily readable fashion, whether building support for a particular concept or showing juxtaposition between divergent interpretations.

A synthesis of the extensive data from the participants addresses the key question of abandoning the notion of husband’s headship. This analysis is a definite strength, as it posits removal of a seemingly precarious ideal against all that would be missing from families and within the larger evangelical community without these obligations and expectations of a man. By considering the removal of this role, Gallagher deftly rounds out the discussion of gendered family life for evangelicals. She provides her reader with a strong sense of how such a role can operate for women within the evangelical community who see themselves as spiritually equal, but as occupying distinct and gendered positions within their families and religious communities.

Gallagher has written a comprehensive work dealing with gendered identity, evangelical ideals, and the modern family. The strongest criticisms I can make about this text pertain to issues of unbalanced sentence structure and wordy presentation of historical information. The content is compelling and clearly documented, the presentation is logical and structured, and the organization is such that most of the chapters could stand alone for supplemental reading. Overall, Gallagher finds the right balance between enough historical context and enough new research to be appealing to readers interested in gendered identity and religion.

Rebecca Sanford

Monmouth University