Books

5 Books on the History of Christian Parenting in America

Chosen by David P. Setran, author of “Christian Parenting: Wisdom and Perspectives from American History.”

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Growing Up Protestant: Parents, Children, and Mainline Churches Margaret Lamberts Bendroth

Bendroth’s analysis of mainline American Protestants and their families is one of the few historical treatments to focus on the 20th century. Her introduction looks at mid-19th-century Christian child-rearing, but she follows up by examining the rise of parenting experts in the early 20th century, the influence of the world wars, the role of the 1950s, and family-values debates between the 1960s and the 1980s.

The Christian Home in Victorian America, 1840–1900 Colleen McDannell

The best histories of Christian parenting give glimpses into everyday practices. McDannell details not only the most common devotional practices in 19th-century American homes, but also the physical materials—paintings, statues, Bibles, bookmarks, parlor decorations, and architectural touches—that supported what she calls the “rituals of the hearth.”

Help for Distressed Parents Cotton Mather

One cannot fully appreciate the nature of early-American Christian parenting without diving into the writings of Cotton Mather. In Help for Distressed Parents (1695), Mather provides heartfelt comfort and counsel for Christian parents struggling with rebellious children. He assures them that they are not alone, pointing to biblical examples of parents who shared this burden. And he encourages them to pray and fast with “Agony of Soul” for their children’s salvation.

The Mother at Home John S. C. Abbott

Abbott’s classic 1833 text reflects the pervasive 19th-century notion that mothers “have as powerful an influence over the welfare of future generations, as all other earthly causes combined.” Stressing conversion, obedience, and the power of prayer, Abbott’s book encourages mothers to present religion in its “cheerful” aspect, speaking to children about Jesus’ love and the joys of heaven.

The Father’s Book Theodore Dwight

Dwight’s 19th-century book—one of the few written to fathers in this era—contains much on religious teaching, but it also reflects Victorian values in its insistence that parenting is chiefly concerned with forming habits. Christian training, therefore, includes care in fostering regular sleeping hours, healthy diet and exercise, and proper manners. Dwight emphasizes moderation in all things, discouraging overstimulation in eating, games, and reading.

Also in this issue

Our cover story this month examines the career of a relatively unknown linguist whose life is a microcosm of the transformation that global Bible translation has undergone in the past half century. Also in this issue: Why religious moderates aren’t winning elections, the next-gen leaders of the Vineyard, and the sin of cutting corners.

Cover Story

The Woman Who Gave the World a Thousand Names for God

Christian Aid Agencies Have a New Approach to Famine

Online Seminary Isn’t B-League

After the Boomers, New Leaders Bring New Life to the Vineyard

Come On, Let Us Adore Him

Testimony

Before I Got Saved, I Got Shipped Off and Strung Out

Negligence Is a Deadly Sin

Found on Bushes? No!

Editorial

Where the Unborn Are People

Political Empathy Takes Work

Bring Back Altar Calls

News

20% of Polling Places Are in Churches. We Mapped Them.

News

Moral Middle Candidates Want to Save America (But They Keep Losing)

News

Evangelical School Strikes Deal with Chick-fil-A Franchises

What Does the End of ‘Roe v. Wade’ Require of Us?

News

What the First Black Death Victim Wanted the World to Know

News

Migrants to Europe Are Changing Churches

The Rise of the Pentecostal Fusionists

Review

If We Can’t Reason Together, How Can We Worship Together?

Review

Faith and Doubt Aren’t Black and White

New & Noteworthy Fiction

View issue

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Join CT for a Live Book Awards Event

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Sitting in the dark helps us truly appreciate the light.

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