Editorial Preface to: The Equal Regard Family and Its Friendly Critics

Abstract

This project celebrates and evaluates Don S. Browning's groundbreaking contribution to critical family theory, the concept of the equal regard family. Browning's ethic of equal regard demands husbands and wives to give equal respect for the dignity and wellbeing of the other, equal devotion to the procreation and nurture of their children, equal access to public and professional life, and equal sacrifice for health and happiness of each other and their family. The contributors to this volume analyze Browning's theory of equal regard with the critical lenses of theology, ethics, pastoral care, evolutionary biology, law, demography, psychology, sociology, and history. This brief article introduces the volume and situates Browning's thought and that of his friendly critics.

Keywords: marriage, equal regard, browning, christian, theology, law, sociology, psychology, pastoral care, family