Conceiving Parenthood: American Protestantism and the Spirit of Reproduction

by Amy Laura Hall

Overview

Genetic manipulation. Designer babies. Prenatal screening. The genomic revolution. Cutting-edge issues in reproductive bioethics grab our attention almost daily, prompting strong responses from various sides. As science advances and comes ever closer to "perfect" procreation and "perfectible" babies, controversy has become a constant in bioethical discussion.

Amy Laura Hall seeks out the genesis of such issues rather than trying to divine their future. Her disturbing finding is that mainline Protestantism is complicit in the history and development of reproductive biotechnology. Through analysis of nearly 150 images of the family in the mainstream media in the twentieth century, Hall argues that, by downplaying the gratuity of grace, middle-class Protestants, with American culture at large, have implicitly endorsed the idea of justification through responsibly planned procreation. A tradition that should have welcomed all persons equally has instead fostered a culture of "carefully delineated, racially encoded domesticity."

The research in Conceiving Parenthood is new, the theory provocative, and the illustrations exceptional. The book is replete with photos and advertisements from popular magazines from the 1930s through the 1950s—Parents', Ladies' Home Journal, National Geographic, and so on. Hall's analysis of these ads is startling. Her goal, however, is not simply to startle readers but to encourage new conversations within communities of faith&mdashconversations enabling individuals, couples, congregations, even entire neighborhoods to conceive of parenthood in ways that make room for families and children who are deemed to be outside the proper purview of the right sorts of families.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802875167
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/23/2016
Pages:	460
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Amy Laura Hall is associate professor of theological ethics at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Conceiving Parenthood: American Protestantism and the Spirit of Reproduction     1
Holy Hygiene: Parents', Protestantism, and the Germ-Free Home     21
The Corporate Breast: "Scientific Motherhood" during the Century of Progress     123
To Form a More Perfect Union: Mainline Protestants and the American Eugenics Movement     213
For Domestic Security: The Atomic Age and the Genomic Revolution     291
Conclusion: Reconceiving Parenthood: The Holy Spirit of Procreation     389
Acknowledgments     407
Bibliography     419
Credits     439
Index of Subjects and Names     443

Editorial Reviews

Barbara Katz Rothman
— author of Weaving a Family
"This powerful, thought-provoking book places the new technologies and ideologies of parenting in historical context. There may be no answers we can all agree upon, but Hall has raised questions that all of us — parents and grandparents, medical providers, and those within and outside of religious traditions — need to think hard about."
 
Bernd Wannenwetsch
— Oxford University
"Reading Conceiving Parenthood comes at a risk, but a risk well worth taking. Written in an engaging and brilliantly entertaining style, the book confronts us with the ideology of the familiar and familial — an ideology in which we all are easily and comfortably entrapped. Who would not want to have or be part of a ‘good family'? Working through a wealth of amazing — and embarrassing — material that demonstrates the self-idolizing of the better-offs in twentieth-century American society as it has stylized the image of the ‘right' and ‘decent' family, Amy Laura Hall's analysis is still far from cold-blooded deconstructivism. Drawing on theological voices of brave dissent from the mainstream, her call for ‘reconceiving parenthood' is ultimately a call for mercy and a witness to its transforming presence in the midst of a highly ideologized society."
 
Christine D. Pohl
— Asbury Thelogical Seminary
"There is much to be learned from Amy Laura Hall's rich description and probing analysis of twentieth-century assumptions about responsible parents and children ‘worthy of a place.' Her account powerfully illuminates what is theologically and humanly at stake in contemporary impulses to craft more perfect children."
 
John Swinton
— University of Aberdeen
"This is a truly wonderful book — incisive, thoughtful, and profoundly disturbing. In powerful and moving ways Amy Laura Hall helps us to understand and recognize some of the darker recesses of American history. . . No one can read this book and remain unmoved. . . Conceiving Parenthoodmarks Amy Laura Hall as a scholar worth listening to."
 
Hans G. Ulrich
— University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
"A truly enlightening book that paves the way for a much-needed ethical and theological discussion."
 
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
"Hall's narrative potentially resonates across the theological spectrum."
 
Christianity Today
"Hall's research is exhaustive; her analytical acumen profound. . . [Her] style keeps the book accessible, and her personality is refreshingly present throughout. Four stars."
 
Modern Theology
"Hall has given a superb example of the kind of work ethicists should be cultivating. The book speaks primarily to American Protestant experience (particularly Methodism), but if readers have been attentive to the arguments presented, they should suspect that perhaps there are ways in which their own churches and denominations are complicit with the world, in ways as yet unseen and unknown, against the gospel message of Christ. If we care about naming and uncovering the sins in our midst, we will hopefully take to heart Hall's method and message."

Religious Studies Review
“In a lively, engaging style, Hall offers a book of interest to a wide audience. . . . Readers can expect to be surprised, provoked and challenged.” 
 
Church History
“A forceful critique of modern mainline Protestantism. . . . Conceiving Parenthood is a reminder that happiness comes from many sources, and that most of them come to us small and unexpected.”
 
Christian Scholar’s Review
“Necessary reading for anyone who thinks the Church has yet to offer its most faithful understanding of the family. Amy Laura hall does a masterful job.”
 
American Studies
“A thoughtful and provocative study on [the] history of procreation and parenthood in twentieth-century America.”

Christian Century
“Hall has written an important book, one that should take its place on any list of texts to consult on motherhood, families, religion and American culture.”
 
 American Historical Review
“A powerful work of interdisciplinary historical and cultural analysis that is informed by theological ethics. . . . An important contribution to the ongoing study of eugenics, domesticity, and the history of the family.

From the Publisher