Faith of Our Mothers: Religiosity in Adult Daughter-Mother Relationships

Abstract

In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, a purposive sample of 12 religious women considered their experiences of religiosity with their mothers and larger family systems. Adult daughters reflected on the significance and meaning of religion in their lives and relationships, particularly the interaction of mothers and adult daughters concerning spirituality, beliefs, and experiences including intergenerational transmission of religiosity. Adult daughters were queried regarding maternal religious influence and the challenges of being women. Data were collected to saturation and analyzed to consider individual narratives about families into the development of three themes: Family Connections, Religious Consciousness, and Encountering Community. Gilligan's theory of moral development, including the ethic of caretaking, is employed to consider religiosity in the adult daughter-mother relationship. Limitations, clinical implications, and future directions are explored.

PHD