Edited by founder and chairman of the National Fatherhood Initiative Don Eberly, The Faith Factor in Fatherhood addresses the key role that religious institutions can play in reviving what Eberly calls the 'sacred vocation of fatherhood.' In response to the wider debate regarding the increased expectations that are being placed by policy makers on faith-based institutions to serve important public purposes, contributors to this volume guide denominations, places of worship, and religious social agencies to recover the role they once played in reaching and supporting young men with a message of responsible fatherhood. Ecumenical in scope, the book addresses what each faith community can do to recover its particular heritage of engaged, involved fathering, through methods including instruction, rites of passage programs, stories, ceremonies, mentoring, and community outreach.

Edited by founder and chairman of the National Fatherhood Initiative Don Eberly, The Faith Factor in Fatherhood addresses the key role that religious institutions can play in reviving what Eberly calls the 'sacred vocation of fatherhood.' In response to the wider debate regarding the increased expectations that are being placed by policy makers on faith-based institutions to serve important public purposes, contributors to this volume guide denominations, places of worship, and religious social agencies to recover the role they once played in reaching and supporting young men with a message of responsible fatherhood. Ecumenical in scope, the book addresses what each faith community can do to recover its particular heritage of engaged, involved fathering, through methods including instruction, rites of passage programs, stories, ceremonies, mentoring, and community outreach.

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Spririt of the Fatherhood Movement
Chapter 2 The Story of American Fatherhood
Chapter 3 The Collapse and Recovery of Fatherhood
Chapter 4 Making Great Men and Fathers
Chapter 5 What Americans Belive about Fatherhood and the Role of Religion
Chapter 6 The Heritage of Fatherhood in America's Faith Communities
Chapter 7 Fatherhood in the African American Church
Chapter 8 Fatherhood in the Roman Catholic Tradition
Chapter 9 Fatherhood in the Evangelical Tradition
Chapter 10 Fatherhood in the Mainline Protestant Tradition
Chapter 11 Fatherhood and Faith in the American Public Debate
Chapter 12 The Rise of an American Fatherhood Movement
Chapter 13 The Role of Marriage in Strengthening Fatherhood
Chapter 14 Beyond Government to Faith-Based Community Strategies
Chapter 15 Fatherhood as a Point of Convergence beyond Old Categories
Chapter 16 The Idea of God as Father
Chapter 17 Emerging Attitudes about Gender Roles
Chapter 18 Men as Promise Makers and Keepers
Chapter 19 Restoring Civil Society Through Fatherhood
Chapter 20 Faithful Fathers: The Journey Back
Chapter 21 One Denomination's Initiative
Chapter 22 One Pastor's Personal Struggle
Chapter 23 Recovering the Rites of Male Passage
Chapter 24 One Son's Rite of Passage
Chapter 25 The Power of Male Initiation Ceremonies