“I Have to Trust God to Protect My Babies”: Anti‐Black Racism, Black Motherwork‐Related Stress, and Religious Coping

ABSTRACT This study explores the role of religious coping among Black, predominantly middle class, mothers as a response to motherwork‐related stress. This study considers one broad research question: What is the role of religion in shaping the perceived impact of motherwork‐related stress on Black mothers’ well‐being? To address this question, we utilized theories of motherwork, stress perspective, and vicarious racism to understand religious coping through in‐depth interviews with 26 Black mothers of children in adolescence and young adulthood across the United States. Mothers in this study describe their constant need for motherwork due to anti‐Black racism and their subsequent motherwork‐related stress. While mothers describe anti‐Black racism as looking to remove their agency, religious coping tools are a way to empower themselves. Through a Black feminist lens, this article highlights how Black mothers view their motherwork, the stress that it generates, and the importance of religious coping in the wake of this stress.