AN EXAMINATION OF INFLUENCES ON CHRISTIAN PARENTS’ CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF RELIGIOUSLY RELATED CHILD MALTREATMENT AND RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION LAWS IN INDIANA
Creators: name: Murfree, Lauren V
Publisher: name: Purdue University Graduate School
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 420601
subject: Community child health
classificationCode: 420604
subject: Injury prevention
classificationCode: 449999
subject: Other human society not elsewhere classified
classificationCode: 440706
subject: Health policy
classificationCode: 440799
subject: Policy and administration not elsewhere classified
classificationCode: 470101
subject: Communication studies

description: Exposure to child maltreatment and neglect have lifelong negative impacts (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2016; Sheffler et al., 2020; Vig et al., 2020). While there are known risk factors that make a child more likely to experience abuse, there is little examination of the potential influence of parent or caregiver religious beliefs on the perpetration of child maltreatment (Beller et al., 2021; Ellison &amp; Bradshaw, 2009; Rodrigues &amp; Henderson, 2010; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a). The prevalence of religiously related child maltreatment (RRCM) in the United States is unknown, and research has been limited to examinations of outlying Christian groups (Asser &amp; Swan, 1998; Bottoms et al., 2015; Bullis, 1991; Simon et al., 2012; Sinal et al., 2008). However, there are some indications that instances of religiously related child maltreatment have been found to occur in mainstream sects such as Protestant denominations (Bottoms et al., 1995; Bottoms et al., 2015). This dissertation sought to examine how mainstream Protestant Christian parents (Evangelical &amp; Mainline) conceptualized what was harmful or not to children in relation to their religious belief systems. Furthermore, this research examined the potential factors of influence on how Protestant Christian parents perceived child maltreatment and their perceptions of religious exemption applications to children.An exploratory qualitative research design was taken to examine these research questions. A total of 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Indiana Protestant Christian parents. Interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using reflective thematic analysis (Braun &amp; Clarke, 2019; Braun &amp; Clarke, 2020a, 2020b). Findings indicated that Protestant Christian parents across both denominations considered their religious beliefs to be a positive influence on how they raise their children, in particular, how they modeled showing love without judgment to others. Denominational differences were seen in modeling of love without judgment to marginalized communities. The personal experiences of Protestant Christian parents and their religious beliefs were influential factors on how these parents perceived what was harmful to children. When examining parents' awareness of religious exemption applications to childcare and parenting, most Protestant Christian parents indicated limited awareness. Thematic tensions were present when examining parents’ discussions of the use of religious exemptions for childcare and parenting practices. One tension was the parental right to religious exemption use versus the potential harm that could befall children through the use of such religious exemptions. These findings provide direction for future research to improve understanding of how mainstream Protestant Christian parents conceptualize what is harmful to children and the factors of influence.