The reconstruction of mothers' religious worldviews after the death of an infant child

This dissertation explores how a mother's religious worldview might be reconstructed following the death of her infant child. Philosopher of religion Ninian Smart defined religious worldview in terms of seven dimensions, which provide the primary philosophical framework for this dissertation.;Extensive semi-structured interviews with thirteen women who experienced the death of an infant between birth and the fourth month of life provide the empirical data. The methodology included interviewing, making observations, and analyzing verbatim transcripts in search of intrinsic and overarching themes.;The results demonstrate that bereaved mothers do reconstruct their worldviews in such a way that the deceased child is experienced as an ongoing reality. All seven of Smart's dimensions emerged as themes: (1) Ritual dimension: Bereaved mothers create rituals to provide them with a sense of ongoing connection with their babies. (2) Material dimension: Linking objects and sacred space are important ways to maintain connection. (3) Experiential dimension: The mother carrying the unborn child is viewed as a model of transcendence, and the same numinous or holy experience is also felt by the mother with the deceased child. (4) Social dimension: Social support for the loss of a baby is difficult to find; groups such as The Compassionate Friends help mothers find meaning. (5) Ethical dimension: Infant loss increases a mother's sense of duty, rearranges her priorities, and compels her to view mothering as a virtue. (6) Mythic dimension: The child's birth, brief life, and death become a sacred story. (7) Doctrinal dimension: The belief system often includes belief in reunion with the child after death. This dissertation discovered that these mothers did not find closure in the conventional religious senses. They found other ways of constructing meaning, which allowed for ongoing symbolic connections to their deceased children.