DIVERGENT MODELS OF CHILD-REARING IN POPULAR MANUALS - CONSERVATIVE PROTESTANTS VS THE MAINSTREAM EXPERTS

While most recent discussions of ''the battle over the family'' have f ocused on conflicts over gender roles, this study focuses on contempor ary debates over childrearing practices. This work centers on the chal lenge to mainstream ''expert'' childrearing ideas posed by James Dobso n and other conservative Protestant family advocates. Our study compar es the recommendations of mainstream childrearing experts with those a dvanced by their conservative Protestant counterparts, with particular attention to four key areas: (1) long-term parenting goals; (2) the s tructure of parent-child relations; (3) the definition of parental rol es; and (4) strategies of child discipline and punishment. Particular attention is devoted to the role of two key theological tenets-biblica l ''literalism'' and belief that human nature is sinful - in legitimat ing the distinctive ''traditional'' childrearing practices endorsed by conservative Protestants. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research for subsequent work on conservative Protestantism and conflicts over family values and practices.