Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Preaching Motherhood And Womanhood From The Christian Pulpit: Information Dissemination And Use, Darin S. Freeburg

Faculty Publications

The sermons clergy preach every Sunday can provide tremendous insight into current religious thinking about motherhood and womanhood. A database of sermons preached by clergy from a sample of Christian churches in the United States was searched for sermons given on Mother's Day 2014. A grounded theory approach explored how clergy framed these constructs. Results show that although clergy tend to frame these concepts in stereotypical ways, there is great complexity in how this is done. Clergy use a variety of information sources to preach on the roles of women and mothers, providing insight into the very construction of these …