Sacrifice and Self‐Care as Relational Processes in Religious Families: The Connections and Tensions
| Author | David C. Dollahite,Hilary D. Pippert,Loren D. Marks |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12388 |
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
H D. P Kansas State University
D C. D L D. M Brigham Young University
Sacrice and Self-Care as Relational Processes in
Religious Families: The Connections and Tensions
Objective: This study seeks to explore ways that
members of religious families (of Abrahamic
faiths) struggle with and address the relational
processes of sacrice and self-care.
Background: Sacrice and self-care inuence
human relationships, and as such, every human
has to learn how to engage in them. Familiesare
one of the many communities in which one must
address sacrice and self-care.
Method: This study provides a qualitative
exploration of sacrice and self-care among
a sample of 198 highly religious (Abrahamic
faiths) families. In-depth analyses explored
motivations, types, and related family processes
among family relationships.
Results: A conceptual model illustrates sac-
rice and self-care in family life using an
interdependence theory approach. Five themes
from the data about how families perceived
and addressed these relational processes are
discussed: (a) tensions between sacrice and
self-care, (b) motivations for sacrice and
self-care, (c) types of sacrice, (d) types of
self-care, and (e) processes in faith and family
relationships.
Discussion: Religious beliefs may shape how
sacrice and self-care processes are perceived
and potential tensions are addressed through
either positive or negative ways. We suggest that
School of Family Science and Human Services, College of
Health and Human Sciences, Kansas State University, 303
Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66502 (dhilary@ksu.edu).
Key Words: interdependence theory, qualitative, sacrice,
self-care, tension.
engaging in sacrice and self-care with equal
quality, not quantity, might be a positive way
to address the emergent tensions between these
processes.
Implications: Through an increased under-
standing of the connections and tensions
between sacrice and self-care, researchers and
practitioners will be able to better recognize
how families positively address these tensions
and collaboratively build resources to help fam-
ily members harmonize engagement in sacrice
and self-care to benet relationships.
According to the Pew Research Center (2018),
73.4% of Americans identify with one of the
three Abrahamic faiths: Christianity, Islam,
and Judaism. Each faith has roots in the story
of Abraham as explained in respective books
of scripture (e.g., Torah, Old Testament, and
Qur’an). In this story, God often asked Abraham
to sacrice, including moving to a distant land
and culminating in the commandment to ritually
sacrice his son (which was prevented by a
last-minute intervention in which God provided
an alternative animal for the sacrice). The
prevalence of these faiths in the United States
and their shared basis in a story of sacrice and
family life provide an intriguing context for
studying the interplay of religiosity, sacrice,
and self-care.
Current research on sacrice focuses on
dyadic dating or marital relationships rather
than the whole family (Impett & Gordon, 2008;
Whitton, Stanley, & Markman, 2002). Similarly,
the relationship between religiosity (e.g., the
534 Family Relations 68 (December 2019): 534–548
DOI:10.1111/fare.12388
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