A father’s place is also in the home
Moses must ascend a mountain to encounter God the Father in a cloud, the reading from the Book of Exodus says this Holy Trinity Sunday, which is also Father’s Day. Scripture commentator Alice Camille points out in Exploring the Word that the remote father figure of generations past, both in religion . . .
Moses must ascend a mountain to encounter God the Father in a cloud, the reading from Exodus says this Holy Trinity Sunday, which is also Father’s Day. Scripture commentator Alice Camille points out in Exploring the Word that the remote father figure of generations past, both in religion and daily life, has come down from the mountain and dwells among us. New data from Pew Research Center on a rise in stay-at-home dads backs this up.
The number of fathers who do not work outside the home has risen markedly in the [ast fewyears, up to 2 million in 2012. High unemployment rates around the time of the recent recession contributed to these increases but the biggest factor in the long-term growth in these “stay-at-home fathers” is the rising number of fathers who are at home primarily to care for their family.
The total amount of fathers who are at home with their children for any reason has nearly doubled since 1989, when 1.1 million were in this category. It reached its highest point—2.2 million—in 2010, just after the official end of the recession.
While most stay-at-home parents are mothers, fathers represent a growing share of all at-home parents—16 percent in 2012, up from 10 percent in 1989. Twenty-one percent say the main reason they are home is to care for their home or family. That represents a fourfold increase from 1989, when only 5 percent of stay-at-home fathers said they were home primarily to care for family.
Homily hint: Father Richard Rohr, O.F.M. says that when he was doing prison chaplaincy work he found that nearly every man he encountered had a wounded relationship with his father. The rise in stay-at-home dads holds much potential to bring fathers closer to their children. Make sure dads in these positions receive your affirmation for the choices they have made.
The number of fathers who do not work outside the home has risen markedly in the [ast fewyears, up to 2 million in 2012. High unemployment rates around the time of the recent recession contributed to these increases but the biggest factor in the long-term growth in these “stay-at-home fathers” is the rising number of fathers who are at home primarily to care for their family.
The total amount of fathers who are at home with their children for any reason has nearly doubled since 1989, when 1.1 million were in this category. It reached its highest point—2.2 million—in 2010, just after the official end of the recession.
While most stay-at-home parents are mothers, fathers represent a growing share of all at-home parents—16 percent in 2012, up from 10 percent in 1989. Twenty-one percent say the main reason they are home is to care for their home or family. That represents a fourfold increase from 1989, when only 5 percent of stay-at-home fathers said they were home primarily to care for family.
Homily hint: Father Richard Rohr, O.F.M. says that when he was doing prison chaplaincy work he found that nearly every man he encountered had a wounded relationship with his father. The rise in stay-at-home dads holds much potential to bring fathers closer to their children. Make sure dads in these positions receive your affirmation for the choices they have made.
Source: An article by Gretchen Livingston for PewSocialTrends.org