Foster care in a “religious context”

Interviews with foster parents of the Tenrikyo faith

Abstract

　This study considers the meaning of nurture according to the faith of foster parents who believe in the Tenrikyo religion. There have been few studies conducted of foster parents of the Tenrikyo faith, a gap this study aims to fill. This study contributes new findings to the study of the relationship between faith/religion and social welfare.

　Analysis of the interview data yielded the following clarification. The reason the participants became foster parents was the “human assistance orientation” of the Tenrikyo faith. As concerns the position of foster parents, both “relational unlimitedness” and “time unlimitedness” were generated from their religious belief. Foster parents of the Tenrikyo faith understand their relationship with their foster children in terms of their religious belief. This understanding is termed “religious context” in this study.

　This “religious context” will be an important framework for future foster parent studies and welfare studies. In addition, as the number of foster parents following the Tenrikyo faith increases, this framework will become practically important for understanding foster parents.