Conceiving Parenthood: American Protestantism and the Spirit of Reproduction (Hardcover)

by Amy Laura Hall (Author)
Key Phrases: scientific motherhood, spiritual efficiency, contraceptive consumers, United States, Century of Progress, Home Journal (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Hall, who teaches theological ethics at Duke, combines perceptive reading with stirring criticism of the corporate-inspired family ideals that have come to pervade the American Christian mainstream. Focusing on the Methodist experience, Hall's narrative potentially resonates across the theological spectrum. How did a denomination with roots in gospel activism come to be so captivated by images of material and technological progress delivered by corporate marketing? Hall mines church publications and popular media to reveal several dynamics at work. Partly because of its attempts to market itself as part of the American dream, the mid-century church became infatuated with an image of the ideal family that inevitably, if unintentionally, encouraged middle-class Protestants to insulate their families from their troubled neighbors. At the same time, corporate and scientific messages undermined the confidence of parents—and particularly mothers—in natural or traditional ways of providing for their children without commercial products and expert advice. Aspiration and anxiety combined to create families that were more focused on themselves, less secure in their Christian identity and less engaged in mission to others. Contrasting these trends with the example of Christ and the unifying message of the sacraments, Hall invites her readers to wage a resistance and reconsider the least of these. (Feb.)
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Review
Hall's narrative potentially resonates across the theological spectrum. -- Publishers Weekly. December 24, 2007

Hall, who teaches theological ethics at Duke, combines perceptive reading with stirring criticism of the corporate-inspired family ideals that have come to pervade the American Christian mainstream. Focusing on the Methodist experience, Hall's narrative potentially resonates across the theological spectrum. How did a denomination with roots in gospel activism come to be so captivated by images of material and technological progress delivered by corporate marketing? Hall mines church publications and popular media to reveal several dynamics at work. Partly because of its attempts to market itself as part of the American dream, the mid-century church became infatuated with an image of the ideal family that inevitably, if unintentionally, encouraged middle-class Protestants to insulate their families from their troubled neighbors. At the same time, corporate and scientific messages undermined the confidence of parents--and particularly mothers--in natural or traditional ways of providing for their children without commercial products and expert advice. Aspiration and anxiety combined to create families that were more focused on themselves, less secure in their Christian identity and less engaged in mission to others. Contrasting these trends with the example of Christ and the unifying message of the sacraments, Hall invites her readers to wage a "resistance" and reconsider "the least of these." -- Publishers Weekly Starred Review, December 24, 2007

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 452 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; illustrated edition edition (December 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802839363
• ISBN-13: 978-0802839367
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #483,681 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquently truthful, desperately needed, April 3, 2008

By	Grazina Bielousova "Grazina" (Durham, NC/Lithuania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am not quite through with the book yet but a couple of brief observations for those who might be interested in reading "Conceiving Parenthood".
First of all, this book is a much needed (although not always pleasant) probing into the "tabboos" of the Protestant church in the United States. In the church culture where most pew sitters and pulpit fillers are somewhat squeemish when it comes to talking about sex or human body, unless in some general terms, this book is bound to cause some ripples. As it were, Amy Laura Hall carefully inspects not only the family's living room but dares venturing into its bedroom and then raises the covers. And, surprinsingly (or not) she finds that the inner workings of procreation among American Protestants are carefully engineered by the ever increasing demands of consumer economy. The book beautifully exposes the subtle and the blatant ways in which women, especially women, are discipled into seeing their own bodies and the bodies of their infants as objects of continuous improvement that requires careful management through certain products or practices (like Lysol douches or germ-free baby formula).
Yet the most thought provoking observation that Dr. Hall makes is the relationship between well- managed and ill-managed bodies, socio-economics and race. The author persuasively shows how the accpetance into the inner circle - be it in the church, the community or the family -depends on the ability to manage one's body, child and household in the acceptable way that is consistent with the scientific progress and the demands of the market economy. The default setting for this program is suburbian middle class whiteness. The way one gets discipled into being a good citizen, good Christian and good parent that can function within this overarching project of progress and engineered perfection is precisely one of the book's undertakings.
While giving answers is not what this book is up to, one finds themselves wondering after reading it what the alternative might look like and how the church which has been coopted into this project might become a sacred space where these conversations can happen.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for anyone (even non-parents!), April 28, 2008

By	Christina (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This book is a thought provoking piece on parenthood. Not only is it a must read for parents who are thinking critically about how to bring up children, it is a must read for every community member who helps contribute to the culture in which children live. Amy Laura Hall's arguments are interesting and well-written and the pictures add a visual emphasis to the points she makes.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written and insightful, March 31, 2008

By	Christopher R. Gillespie (Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For anyone studying the increasing contraception use by protestants, this book is a must-read. The insights into American pop culture's influence upon the practice of the faithful are profound and necessary. Especially useful is her treatment of birthing and nursing.