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‘The Church is … My Family’: Exploring the Interrelationship between Familial and Religious Practices and Spaces

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  • Sonya Sharma

    (Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, Abbey House, Palace Green, Durham DH1 3RS, England)

Abstract

This paper considers the interrelationship between family and church, their practices and spaces. Three areas that emerged from qualitative interviews with women who were current and former churchgoers are addressed. First, women described their ‘church as family’ because of personal histories of attending with family and family-like relationships. Second, the resonance between family and church practices and spaces mapped onto other geographies such as gender. Third, experiences of belonging were narrated through the trope ‘church as family’, yet disrupted by racial and classed encounters. The women's experiences demonstrate that intimate practices and spaces of family are permeable and not necessarily bound to conventional formations or sites. They can stretch beyond the household into other spaces, such as church, whereby congregational members are part of kin networks or become ‘chosen families' or a ‘personal community’ that is familial. By looking at this interrelationship, the ways in which people ‘do family’ may offer insights into how and why people may ‘do church’.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonya Sharma, 2012. "‘The Church is … My Family’: Exploring the Interrelationship between Familial and Religious Practices and Spaces," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(4), pages 816-831, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:44:y:2012:i:4:p:816-831
    DOI: 10.1068/a4447
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Spencer, Liz & Pahl, Ray, 2010. "Family, friends and personal communities: changing models-in-the-mind," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-01, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    church; family; gender; religion; women;
    All these keywords.

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