Origins and Highlights of the Special Issue on Fathering, Faith, and Spirituality.

Dollahite, David C.

This introduction presents the origins of the papers first presented at a symposium titled "Faithful Fathering: Spiritual Narratives and Religious Meanings" that was organized for the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) in Arlington, Virginia, in November of 1997. Next, a brief summary of the papers found in this special issue of The Journal of Men's Studies is presented.

This special issue of The Journal of Men's Studies on fathering, faith, and spirituality had its genesis in a symposium tiffed "Faithful Fathering: Spiritual Narratives and Religious Meanings" that I organized at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) in Arlington, Virginia, in November of 1997. Those of us who participated had long felt that there were some important connections between religion and father involvement that were being overlooked, yet we wondered how a symposium on faith and fathering would be received at NCFR, a prestigious international, interdisciplinary scholarly and professional organization. We need not have worried. The room was filled to overflowing, and the response to the symposium was enthusiastic. Many scholars and practitioners expressed appreciation that this topic was being addressed. This encouraged us to try to publish our papers as a collection in a professional journal. We are grateful that Jim Doyle, editor of The Journal of Men's Studies, allowed us to submit the papers as a group. Jim invited me to serve as guest editor and suggested that some additional articles on fathering would round out the special issue.

This special issue includes an introductory essay on religion and fathering, revised versions of the four papers presented at NCFR, reaction papers on these four papers from four discussants, two additional papers on fathering, and reviews on recent books on fathering. "Fathering, Faith, and Spirituality" by David Dollahite discusses various influences on fathering with an emphasis on religious influences and argues for more scholarly appreciation for and work on religion and fathering. James Furrow's "The Ideal Father: Religious Narratives and the Role of Fatherhood" draws on three theoretical perspectives to advance an understanding of the role that religious values play in a social construction of ideal fatherhood. "Fatherhood and Faith in Formation: The Developmental Effects of Fathering on Religiosity and Values" by Rob Palkovitz and Glen Palm, uses information from interviews with men to examine the changes in values/priorities and religious beliefs/practices initiated by the transition to parenthood and subsequent fathering. Jason Latshaw's "The Centrality of Faith in Fathers' Role Construction: The Faithful Father and the Axis Mundi Paradigm" employs Christian fathers' reflections on their fathering to examine the relationship between centrality of faith and fathering in role construction for men. "Faithful Fathering in Trying Times: Religious Beliefs and Practices of Latter-day Saint Fathers of Children with Special Needs," by David Dollahite, Loren Marks, and Mike Olson, uses fathers' narratives to explore religious beliefs and practices among Mormon fathers facing the challenge of fathering special-needs children. These papers all present both narratives and concepts relating to faith and fathering, combining theory and story in various ways.

Four "reaction papers" by scholars familiar with fathering and spirituality include responses by the two discussants for the symposium, Wade Horn, who is a national leader in the involved fathering movement, and Don Swenson, who is a respected scholar on religion and family. Along with these, we are fortunate to be able to include "reaction papers" by Sam Femiano and Merle Longwood, experts on men's issues and male spirituality.

This special issue also includes two additional articles. David Dollahite and Alan Hawkins's "A Conceptual Ethic of Generative Fathering" presents a framework for thinking about and promoting generative fathering and illustrates this framework with numerous narratives from fathers. And Shawn Christiansen and Rob Palkovitz's "Exploring Erikson's Psychosocial Theory of Development: Generativity and Its Relationship to Paternal Identity, Intimacy, and involvement in Childcare" uses the Eriksonian idea of generativity to understand fathering and paternal identity. These last two papers share the assumption that care for the next generation is both a fundamental duty and a critical developmental opportunity for fathers.

As guest editor, I want to personally thank Jim Doyle for his enthusiastic reception of our collection of papers and for all his efforts to bring this issue to print in a smooth and timely way. I wish to thank all the authors and book reviewers for their contributions. And, on behalf of all the authors, I want to express appreciation to our four discussants for their helpful comments and suggestions. I hope that this special issue will make a small contribution to an increase in the attention scholars and practitioners pay to the important, positive influence religious beliefs, practices, narratives, and communities can have on turning the hearts, minds, hands, and souls of fathers to their children.

David C. Dollahite is an associate professor of family sciences, adjunct associate professor of religious education, and founder of the Institute for Faithful Fathering at Brigham (Young University, Provo, Utah. He received an M.S. in marriage and family therapy from BYU and a Ph.D. in family social sciences from the University of Minnesota. He has served as co-chair of the Men in Families Focus Group of the National Council on Family Relations and is president of the Utah Council on Family Relations. He is a clinical member of the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy. He and his wife, Mary, have six children. (Dave_Dollahite@byu.edu)

Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to David C. Dollahite, Department of Family Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, or dave_dollahite@byu.edu.