Mothering Fundamentalism: The Transformation of Modern Women into Fundamentalists

Despite upbringings influenced by modern feminism, many women choose to identify with new communities in the modern religious revivalist movement in the United States who claim to represent and embrace the patriarchal values against which their mothers and grandmothers fought. Because women’s mothering is determinative to the family, it is therefore central to transforming larger social structures. This literature review is taken from a study which employed a qualitative design incorporating thematic analysis of interviews to explore how women’s attitudes about being a mother and mothering change when theychange religious communities from liberal paradigms to fundamentalist, enclavist belief systems. This has implicit relevance to the field of transpersonal psychology, which could incorporate the spiritual experiences of an often-ignored group.