The Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality of Parenting

This note provides an overview of emerging theological scholarship on parenting, focusing on publications from the last two decades. The first section maps the role of magisterial teaching in shaping Catholic discussions of parenting as a vocation. The second section surveys literature on pregnancy, birth, and adoption, including recent work on the less socially visible experiences of infertility and pregnancy loss. A third section turns to the task of parenting children, addressing scholarship on family spirituality, the moral formation of children, specific ethical issues facing parents, and the relationship of parenting to the common good. Finally, a fourth section introduces the growing literature on motherhood, where women’s experiences of caregiving have proven generative for revisiting questions about care, embodiment, spirituality, and theological anthropology.