Christianity and the Making of the Modern Family: Ruling Ideologies, Diverse Realities

From the author of the groundbreaking Sexism and God-Talk and Womanguides, a masterful work that sheds light on two of our oldest institutions
How did a religion whose founding proponents advocated a shocking disregard of earthly ties come to extol the virtues of the "traditional" family? In this richly textured history of the relationship between Christianity and the family, Rosemary Radford Ruether traces the development of these centerpieces of modern life to reveal the misconceptions at the heart of the "family values" debate.

"Ruether combines careful scholarship, theological reflection, and passionate vision, and her suggested alternative to the family model that the Christian right favors and would make injunctive will ring true to those living in a world where both Christianity and families are diverse." —Steven Schroeder, Booklist

"A highly readable and important political stab at timely theological and cultural questions." —Sandra Collins, Library Journal

"Provocative . . . [Ruether's] impressive scholarship, interweaving social history with religious history, puts the family in a fascinating historical context." —Marilyn Gardner, The Christian Science Monitor

"Through a new reading of history, [Ruether] leads us to the question, Is there a new way of reading family, sex, and procreation theologically that can support a more just and sustainable vision of family, home, and work?" —Rosemary Keller, editor of In Our Own Voices: Four Centuries of American Women's Religious Writing