“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.