Constructions of Mothering in Pentecostal Charismatic Churches in South Africa

Abstract

This article examines how contemporary forms of the ideal middle-class mother presented in popular South African women’s magazines is taken up and re-coded by three Pentecostal Charismatic Christian churches in Johannesburg to construct their concept of the ideal Christian mother. With the following four biblical texts as a background—1 Timothy 2:13–15, Ephesians 5:21–6:9, Proverbs 31:9–31 and Titus 2:5—this article, which does not offer an exegesis of these texts but rather draws on ethnographic research, shows how these texts are loosely used by these churches to inform their teaching on ideal mothering. All three churches in the study give women extensive support and help to show them that through the power of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of the church, they can attain the ideal of the perfect mother as portrayed in popular culture.