Pro-family organizations in Calgary, 1998: Beliefs, interconnections and allies

This paper presents a comparative study of the beliefs of pro-family organi zations in Calgary and a structural mapping of organizational ties. Data we re gathered in 1998 from documents and semi structured interviews with grou p leaders. Three research problems are addressed. The first concerns the cl oseness of the relationship between pro-family and pro-life groups. We find that all pro-family groups, even those with strong anti-abortion convictio ns, were organizationally and politically distinctive from pro-life groups. The second problem considers the role of Christian beliefs in the movement . We ascertain that although Christian groups were dominant in 1998, promot ion of the heterosexual nuclear family, not doctrinal issues, was fundament al to the movement. The third problem concerns whether the movement was bif urcated between social conservative and centrist segments. The centrist seg ment was quite weak in 1998. Furthermore, one of the groups with a centrist persona, the National Foundation for Family Research and Education, strove to supply scientific legitimation for social conservatives' moral claims a bout the family In conclusion, the article argues that the pro-family movem ent in Calgary has broken free of its initial phase as an anti-feminist cou ntermovement and suggests that the future popularity of pro-family advocacy in Canada will be proportional to the degree that it is couched in a post- feminist framework.