Rhetoric Race and Religion
Last week, a Pew study revealed that in four out of ten American households with children, the mother is the sole or primary breadwinner for the family, the highest share on record. News of the study resulted in some controversy after a heated exchange between Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and members of an all-male on-air panel on the subject sparked strong responses across media outlets.
For those of us who grew up in certain sectors of the American church, the controversy is not surprising or new. Perhaps you too remember James Dobson taking to the airwaves to tell men that it is their divine responsibility to provide and women that it is their divine responsibility to nurture (as though the two are mutually exclusive). Some Christians continue to characterize fathers who share parenting responsibilities or stay at home with their children as “man fails” and “worse than unbelievers,” instructing women tointentionally avoid earning more money than their husbands, even if it is less practical for their family to do so, or else they will injure their spouse’s ego.
There are a few reasons why these legalistic approaches to gender roles are unnecessary impositions on Christian families and those seeking to participate in the life of the Church and why, without diminishing the importance and value of homemaking or childcare, we should not “shut the door to the kingdom” to families based on their socioeconomic status, unique callings and gifts, household structure, or earning arrangements.
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