Title

All the Different Pieces of Me Being Integrated : Religion/Spirituality and Identity in Working Christian Mothers

School/Department

Rosemead School of Psychology

Publication Date

6-1-2022

Abstract

The current qualitative study explored experiences of religion/spirituality and their impact on women’s identities among Christian working mothers in academia. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted and the data analyzed using the grounded theory method. The resultant themes reflected the roles and functions of religion/spirituality in women’s lives and in their identities, primarily by establishing a core sense of self that unified all of their roles and “selves.” Religion/spirituality also served as meaning-making frameworks that provided purpose both to the self and to each of the women’s roles, while religion/spirituality also pervaded every aspect of the self, coloring women’s experience and driving their decisions. Further, women discussed religion/spirituality providing a sense of purpose by which they could pursue actualization and transcendence through generative means in each of their roles. The results indicate that spiritual identity may be a broader and more fundamental element of identity than previously considered. Implications of the current data and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Keywords

gender issues; God concepts; God image; Marriage and family systems

Publication Title

Journal of Psychology and Theology

Volume

50

Issue

2

First Page

139

Last Page

159

DOI of Published Version

10.1177/0091647121990630

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