HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Quiverfull is a Christian theological position that sees large families as a blessing from God. It encourages procreation, abstaining from all forms of
birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
, as well as
natural family planning Natural family planning (NFP) comprises the family planning methods approved by the Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations for both achieving and postponing or avoiding pregnancy. In accordance with the Church's teachings regarding s ...
, and sterilization. Some sources have referred to the Quiverfull position as
providentialism In Christianity, providentialism is the belief that all events on Earth are controlled by God. Belief Providentialism was sometimes viewed by its adherents as differing between national providence and personal providence. Some English and Americ ...
, while other sources have simply referred to it as a manifestation of
natalism Natalism (also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position) is an ideology that promotes the reproduction of human life as the preeminent objective of being human. Compare: The term, as it relates to the belief itself, comes from the French wor ...
. (originally published by CBN News
archived
September 24, 2008)
It is most widespread in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
but it also has adherents in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and elsewhere. One 2006 estimate put the number of families which subscribe to this philosophy as ranging from "the thousands to the low tens of thousands".


Historical background

As birth-control methods advanced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many conservative Christian movements issued official statements against their use, citing their incompatibility with biblical beliefs and ideals. In addition, there are those who contend that Quiverfull's "internal growth" model is a manifestation of a broader trend which is reflected in the lifestyles of such groups as
Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...
(particularly
Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
and
Hasidic Jews Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
) and certain Christians including Orthodox
Calvinists Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
of the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, traditional
Anabaptists Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...
(such as
Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite church ...
,
Old Colony Mennonites The name Old Colony Mennonites (German: ''Altkolonier-Mennoniten'') is used to describe that part of the Russian Mennonite movement that is descended from colonists who migrated from the Chortitza Colony in Russia Russia (, , ), or the R ...
and certain
Conservative Mennonites Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Con ...
), some traditional Methodists of the
conservative holiness movement The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Frie ...
, and Laestadian Lutherans of Finland. The former may also be a case of a manifestation of a movement of opinion within some ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional, or other identifiable groups whose members have expressed concern about their continued existence for historical or other reasons. Such philosophies and groups are diverse amongst themselves—being found in all segments and sectors of the political spectrum—and they usually represent, to varying extents, the diversity within their group. The manifestations of such movements and opinions include everything from comparatively high rates of in-group marriage being applauded and gently suggested, to more explicit calls for
endogamy Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
such as is the case with the
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
, to concerns which were expressed by
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
about a higher birth rate amongst
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, to
Decree 770 Decree 770 was a decree of the communist Romanian government of Nicolae Ceaușescu, signed in 1967. It restricted abortion and contraception, and was intended to create a new and large Romanian population. The term (from the Romanian language wor ...
which was issued by
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...
's government in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
with regard to contraception, and other
population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
topics as part of its local variant of the
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n ideology of Juche.


Anglican allowance of birth control

In 1930, the Lambeth Conference issued a statement permitting birth control: "Where there is a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, complete abstinence is the primary and obvious method", but if there was morally sound reasoning for avoiding abstinence, "the Conference agrees that other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of Christian principles". Primary materials on the contemporary debate indicate a wide variety of opinion on the matter. In the decades that followed, birth control became gradually accepted among other Protestants, even among the most conservative evangelicals.


Early Quiverfull authors

In the 20th century, Quiverfull as a modern
Christian movement A Christian movement is a theological, political, or philosophical interpretation of Christianity that is not generally represented by a specific church, sect, or denomination. Religious * The modern 24-7 Prayer Movement: a movement spanning ...
began to emerge. Nancy Campbell began publishing her magazine ''Above Rubies'', which promotes and glorifies stay-at-home mothers who have as many children as possible, in 1977. While Campbell is in measure responsible for formulating Quiverfull ideas, the movement sparked most fully after the 1985 publication of Mary Pride's book ''The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality''. In her book, Pride chronicled her metaphorical journey away from what she labeled
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and anti-natal ideas of
happiness Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...
(within which she had lived as an
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
before her
conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...
to conservative
evangelical Christianity Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
in 1977) toward her discovery of happiness surrounding what she portrayed as the biblically mandated role of wives and mothers as bearers of children and workers in the home under the
authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
of a
husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...
. Pride wrote that such a lifestyle was generally biblically required of all married Christian women, but feminism had duped most Christian women without their awareness, especially in their acceptance of birth control. As the basis for her arguments, Pride selected numerous Bible verses in order to lay out what she saw as the biblical role of women. These included verses which she interpreted as perpetuating her advocacy of compulsory childbearing and her opposition to the use of
birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
which (in her view) was promoted by "the feminist agenda" by which she had formerly lived. Pride's explanations then became a spearheading basis of Quiverfull. The name of the Quiverfull movement comes from , which Pride cited in ''The Way Home'': Pride stated in her book: "The church's sin which has caused us to become unsavory salt incapable of uplifting the society around us is selfishness, lack of love, refusing to consider children an unmitigated blessing. In a word,
family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...
."


Consolidation and growth of the movement

After the publication of Pride's ''The Way Home'', various church women and others took up her book and ideas and spread them through informal
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
s. Around this time, numerous church
pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
s issued
sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
s which were in accord with Pride's ideas and various small publications and a few Quiverfull-oriented books appeared. As the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
expanded several years later, the informal networks gradually took on more organized forms as Quiverfull adherents developed numerous Quiverfull-oriented organizations, books,
electronic mailing lists A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is re ...
,
websites A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikipe ...
, and digests, most notably ''The Quiverfull Digest''. The largely decentralized "Quiverfull" movement resulted. From their onset, Quiverfull ideas have sometimes had a polarizing effect among Christians who hold to them and Christians who are skeptical of or disagree with them.


Motivations


Obedience to God

Quiverfull authors and adherents express their core motivation as a desire to obey God's commandments as stated in the Bible. Among these commandments, "
be fruitful and multiply In Judaism, Christianity, and some other Abrahamic religions, the cultural mandate is the divine injunction found in Genesis 1:28, in which God, after having created the world and all in it, ascribes to humankind the tasks of filling, subduing, ...
", "behold, children are a gift of the Lord", and passages showing God acting to open and close the womb are interpreted as giving a basis for their views. Quiverfull adherents typically maintain that their philosophy is first about an open, accepting and obedient attitude toward the possibility of bearing children. Within the view, this attitude may result in many, few or even no children, because God Himself maintains sole provenance over conception and birth. The duty of the Quiverfull adherent is only to maintain an "open willingness" to joyfully receive and not thwart however many children God chooses to bestow.
Contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
in all its forms is seen as inconsistent with this attitude and is thus entirely avoided, as is
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
.


Missionary effort

Quiverfull's principal authors and its adherents also describe their motivation as a missionary effort to raise up many children as Christians to advance the cause of the Christian religion. Its distinguishing viewpoint is to eagerly receive children as blessings from God, eschewing all forms of
contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
, including
natural family planning Natural family planning (NFP) comprises the family planning methods approved by the Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations for both achieving and postponing or avoiding pregnancy. In accordance with the Church's teachings regarding s ...
and sterilization.


Population and demography

According to journalist Kathryn Joyce, writing in the magazine ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'': " e Quiverfull mission is rooted in faith, the unseen," even if "its mandate to be fruitful and multiply has tangible results as well." Others remark that Quiverfull resembles other world-denying fundamentalist movements that grow through internal reproduction and membership retention such as
Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...
(particularly
Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
and
Hasidic Jews Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
), and certain Christian denominations (such as the
Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
and Mennonites, and Laestadian Lutherans in Finland). Many are thriving as seculars and moderates have transitioned to below-replacement fertility.


Beliefs

The principal Quiverfull belief is that Christians should maintain a strongly welcoming attitude toward the possibility of bearing children. With minor exceptions, adherents reject birth control use as completely incompatible with this belief.


Majority doctrine

Most Quiverfull adherents regard children as unqualified blessings, gifts that should be received happily from God. Quiverfull authors Rick and Jan Hess argued for this belief in their 1990 book:
"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord." (Psa. 127:3) Do we really believe that? If children are a gift from God, let's for the sake of argument ask ourselves what other gift or blessing from God we would reject. Money? Would we reject great wealth if God gave it? Not likely! How about good health? Many would say that a man's health is his most treasured possession. But children? Even children given by God? "That's different!" some will plead! All right, is it different? God states right here in no-nonsense language that children are gifts. Do we believe His Word to be true?
Quiverfull authors such as Pride, Provan, and Hess extend this idea to mean that if one child is a blessing, then each additional child is likewise a blessing and not something to be viewed as economically burdensome or unaffordable. When a couple seeks to control family size via birth control they are thus "rejecting God's blessings" he might otherwise give and possibly breaking his commandment to "be fruitful and multiply.". Quote and its chapter available at http://www.jesus-passion.com/contraception.htm Accordingly, Quiverfull theology opposes the general acceptance among mainline Protestant Christians of deliberately limiting family size or spacing children through birth control. For example, Mary Pride argued, "God commanded that sex be at least potentially fruitful (that is, not deliberately unfruitful). ... All forms of sex that shy away from marital fruitfulness are perverted." Adherents believe that God himself controls via
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
how many and how often children are conceived and born, pointing to Bible verses that describe God acting to "open and close the womb" (se
Genesis 20:1829:3130:221 Samuel 1:5-6Isaiah 66:9
. Hess and Hess state that couples "just need to trust God to provide them with the perfect number of children for their situation." Some Quiverfull adherents base their rejection of birth control upon the belief that the Genesis creation and post– Noahic flood Bible passages to "be fruitful and multiply" (se
Genesis 1:22
are un-rescinded biblical commandments. For example, Charles D. Provan argues:
"Be fruitful and multiply"... is a command of God, indeed the first command to a married couple. Birth control obviously involves disobedience to this command, for birth control attempts to prevent being fruitful and multiplying. Therefore birth control is wrong, because it involves disobedience to the Word of God. Nowhere is this command done away with in the entire Bible; therefore it still remains valid for us today.
Quiverfull advocates such as Rick and Jan Hess and Rachel Giove Scott believe that the
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
deceives Christian couples into using birth control so that children God otherwise willed to create are prevented from being born. In addition, a Quiverfull adherent was quoted in the 2001 ''
Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...
'' as making this statement: "Children are made in God's image, and the enemy hates that image, so the more of them he can prevent from being born, the more he likes it."


Infertility

Adherents view barrenness, referred to as an "empty quiver", as something to be accepted from God as His choice, which then becomes a matter of prayer in the hope that God may decide to miraculously intervene. Quiverfull adherents also see infertility treatments as a usurpation of God's
providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
and accordingly reject them. Adoption is viewed as a positive option through which couples can also rely on God's providence to send children. Biblical references to God's love for the orphan and the belief that people are saved through adoption into God's family are often noted. Some circles do accept medical interventions, since improving opportunities for pregnancy is not seen to guarantee it any more than with any healthy couple. Also, some reproductive health problems may be seen as symptomatic of other health problems which need to be addressed generally.


Minority doctrine

Not all Quiverfull families and authors agree with each statement which was made by the movement's principal authors. Samuel Owens considers the possibility that some aspects of a fallen universe may sometimes justify the option to use a non–potentially abortive birth control method. These aspects of a fallen universe include serious illnesses, inevitable
Caesarean sections Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or m ...
, and other problematic situations, such as disabling mental instability and serious marital disharmony. Owens additionally argues that birth control may be permissible for married couples who are called to a "higher moral purpose" than having children, such as caring long-term for many orphans or serving as career
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
in a dangerous location. Despite some variances, all Quiverfull families and authors agree that God's normative ideal for happy, healthy and prosperous married couples is to take no voluntary actions that will prevent them from having children.


Practices


Non-use of contraception

:''Also see:
Fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
and
Infertility Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
, and Protestant views on contraception'' Quiverfull adherents maintain that God "opens and closes the womb" of a woman on a case-by-case basis, and that any attempts to regulate fertility are usurpation of divine power. Thus, the defining practice of a Quiverfull married couple is not to use any form of birth control and to maintain continual "openness to children," that is to say, engaging in routine
sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
with no attempt to limit the possibility of conception. This practice is irrespective of the time of the month during the menstrual cycle, and is considered by Quiverfull adherents to be the principal—if not the primary—aspect of their Christian calling in submission to the Lordship of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
. Proponents of the Quiverfull movement also regard contraceptive pills and other similar contraceptives as unacceptable abortifacients. Some Quiverfull adherents advocate for
birth spacing Birth spacing, pregnancy spacing, inter-birth interval (IBI) or inter-pregnancy interval refers to how soon after a prior pregnancy a woman becomes pregnant or gives birth again. There are health risks associated both with pregnancies placed closel ...
through
breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
, so that the return of fertility after childbirth could be delayed by lactational amenorrhea.


Family organization, homeschooling, homesteading

:''Also see:
Dominionism Dominion theology (also known as dominionism) is a group of Christian political ideologies that seek to institute a nation which is governed by Christians and based on their understandings of biblical law. Extents of rule and ways of acquiring go ...
, and
Patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...
'' Quiverfull authors and adherents advocate for and seek to model a return to biblical patriarchy. Mary Pride has more recently attempted to distance herself from the patriarchy movement and from a focus on the father's role in training daughters. In a column published in her magazine ''Practical Homeschooling'' in 2009, as well as in the afterword to the 25th-anniversary edition of ''The Way Home'', Pride clarified her position that it is primarily mothers, not fathers, who should teach girls about women's roles and duties. As Emily McGowin notes in her 2018 book ''Quivering Families'', however, " ridedifferentiates herself from these approaches without denying the underlying gender hierarchy and pronatalism." Quiverfull authors typically organize family governance to reflect an "umbrella of protection" with the mother as a
homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
under the
authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
of her
husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...
and the children under the authority of both. Parents seek to largely shelter their children from aspects of culture deemed adversarial to their religious beliefs. Additionally, Quiverfull families strongly incline toward
homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
and toward
homesteading Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Pur ...
in a
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
area. However, exceptions exist in substantial enough proportions that these latter two items are general and are often idealized correlations to Quiverfull practices and not integral parts of them.


Sterilization reversals

Quiverfull adherents Brad and Dawn Irons run ''Blessed Arrows Sterilization Reversal Ministry''. The couple advocates for Quiverfull ideas while providing funding, physician referrals, and support to Protestants wishing to undergo sterilization reversal surgery. Protestants such as
Bill Gothard William W. Gothard Jr. (born November 2, 1934) is an American Christian minister, speaker, and writer, and the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), an ultra-conservative Christian organization. His conservative teachings ...
also advocate for reversals, saying that sterilized couples have "cut off children" and should devote themselves instead to "raising up godly seed".


Criticism

The movement has been criticized by journalists from ''
Glamour Magazine ''Glamour'' is today an online women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. For many years a traditional hard-copy magazine, it was founded in 1939 and first published in April 1939 in the United States. It was originally called '' ...
'' for what they perceive to be
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
and a demeaning approach to women.


Criticism from other Christians

James B. Jordan James Burrell Jordan (born December 31, 1949) is an American Protestant theologian and author. He is the director of Biblical Horizons ministries, an organisation in Niceville, Florida that publishes books, essays and other media dealing with Bibl ...
maintains that, while children are indeed blessings, they are only one among a wide range of blessings God offers, and prayerfully choosing foci among them is part of prudent Christian
stewardship Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature, economics, health, property, information, theology, cultural resources e ...
. John Piper's Desiring God Ministries has published some comments that relate to Quiverfull:
Just because something is a gift from the Lord does not mean that it is wrong to be a steward of when or whether you will come into possession of it. It is wrong to reason that since A is good and a gift from the Lord, then we must pursue as much of A as possible. God has made this a world in which tradeoffs have to be made and we cannot do everything to the fullest extent. For kingdom purposes, it might be wise not to get married. And for kingdom purposes, it might be wise to regulate the size of one's family and to regulate when the new additions to the family will likely arrive. As
Wayne Grudem Wayne A. Grudem (born 1948) is a New Testament scholar turned theologian, seminary professor, and author. He co-founded the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and served as the general editor of the ''ESV Study Bible''. Life Grudem was bo ...
has said, "it is okay to place less emphasis on some good activities in order to focus on other good activities."


Criticism from former Quiverfull adherents

Some women who have left the Quiverfull movement are now vocally critical of it. Vyckie Garrison spent 16 years living the Quiverfull lifestyle and had seven children before leaving her husband and ultimately becoming an atheist. She told ''Vice'' that her health was negatively affected by so many births and that over time, her husband became "a tyrant." Garrison founded the blog ''No Longer Quivering'' to share her own story and the stories of other women who had been harmed by the Quiverfull lifestyle. The blog is now maintained by Suzanne Titkemeyer, another former Quiverfull adherent who describes her years in the movement as "disastrous." Likewise, some children who were raised in Quiverfull homes have grown up to speak out against the movement. In 2018, Eve ännahEttinger and Kieryn Darkwater started a podcast called ''Kitchen Table Cult'' in which they discuss their experiences of being raised Quiverfull and connect the ideology to current events such as the election of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. In a 2015 interview about their upbringing, Ettinger said that in Quiverfull families, "the parents are just as confused as the kids, and often are struggling with deep-set psychological issues and need as much therapy and compassion as the kids do to recover from the dehumanizing reality of trying to have a perfect Quiverfull family to please a demanding and holy God."


Notable adherents

* Doug Phillips, a
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and the son of
U.S. Constitution Party The Constitution Party, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers' Party until 1999, is a political party in the United States that promotes a religious conservative view of the principles and intents of the United States Constitution. The party plat ...
leader Howard Phillips. From 1998 to 2013, Doug Phillips was the president of
Vision Forum Ministries Vision Forum was an evangelical Christian organization based in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1998; its president was Doug Phillips, son of U.S. Constitution Party leader Howard Phillips. Vision Forum Ministries was a 501(c) non-profi ...
, a now-defunct organization which advocated biblical patriarchy,
creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...
,
homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
, and Quiverfull. Phillips and his wife, Beall, have seven children. * Charles D. Provan, whose book ''The Bible and Birth Control'' is routinely cited by Quiverfull adherents as providing an important theological justification for their movement. Provan was mentioned in a November 27, 2006, article about Quiverfull in ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
''. He also authored books and articles on other
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
topics. Before Provan's death in 2007, he and his wife had 10 children. * R. C. Sproul, Jr., a
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and the son of the noted Reformed theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries, Robert Charles Sproul. Sproul Jr. and his wife, Denise, had eight children before Denise died.


See also

* Breeder (slang) *
Childfree Voluntary childlessness, also called being childfree, describes the voluntary choice to not have children. In most societies and for most of human history, choosing not to have children was both difficult and undesirable. The availability of rel ...
*
Turpin case The Turpin case involved the child maltreatment, maltreatment of children and dependent adults by their parents, David and Louise Turpin of Perris, California, U.S. The ages of the 13 Crime victim, victims ranged from 2 years old to 29. On Janua ...
* Christian views on contraception *
Overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale m ...
*
Traducianism In Christian theology, traducianism is a doctrine about the origin of the soul holding that this immaterial aspect is transmitted through natural generation along with the body, the material aspect of human beings. That is, human propagation is of ...
*
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT) is an environmental movement that calls for all people to abstain from reproduction in order to cause the gradual voluntary extinction of humankind. VHEMT supports human extinction primarily becaus ...
* ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which h ...
''


References


Further reading


Books advocating a Quiverfull position

* Adams, Shelly and Morgan. ''Arrows in His Hand'' (children's book). Monument Pub., Monument, CO: 2007. * Andrews, Robert. ''The Family: God's Weapon for Victory''. Winepress Publishing 1996. ; Sentinel Press 2002. * Campbell, Nancy. ''Be Fruitful and Multiply.'' Vision Forum, San Antonio, TX: 2003. *Flanders, Jennifer. ''Love Your Husband/Love Yourself: Embracing God's Purpose for Passion in Marriage.'' Prescott Publishing, Tyler, TX: 2010. * Hess, Rick and Jan. ''A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ.'' Wolgemuth & Hyatt Publishers, Brentwood, TN: 1990. * Houghton, Craig. ''Family UNplanning.'' Xulon Press, Longwood, FL: 2006. * Owen, Jr., Samuel A. ''Letting God Plan Your Family.'' Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL: 1990. * Pride, Mary. ''The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality.'' Good News Pub, Wheaton, IL: 1985. * Provan, Charles D. ''The Bible and Birth Control.'' Zimmer Printing, Monongahela, PA: 1989. **Chapter of Provan's boo
available here
Audio files of Provan's complete book available by searching with his name at sermonaudio.com * Scott, Rachel. ''Birthing God's Mighty Warriors.'' Xulon Press, Longwood, FL: 2004.


Books which advocate Quiverfull as a secondary focus

* Farris, Vickie. ''A Mom Just Like You''. B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN: 2002.


Sources which are critical of Quiverfull

* Ettinger, Eve, and Kieryn Darkwater
''Kitchen Table Cult''
podcast. *Joyce, Kathryn
Women’s Liberation Through Submission: An Evangelical Anti-Feminism Is Born
* Joyce, Kathryn. ''Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement''. Beacon Press, Boston, MA: 2009. . * McFarland, Hillary
"Quivering Daughters: Hope and Healing for the Daughters of Patriarchy".
Darklight Press, 2010. * McGowin, Emily
Quivering Families: The Quiverfull Movement and Evangelical Theology of the Family
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018. * McKeown, John. "US Protestant natalist reception of Old Testament "fruitful verses": a critique." Liverpool University PhD thesis, 2011
Revised as book God's Babies: Natalism and Bible Interpretation in Modern America, OpenBook, 2014.
* *
No Longer Quivering
' blog (originally created by Vyckie Garrison).


External links


QuiverFull.Com

Video feeds of ABC News ''Nightline'' on Quiverfull
* {{Authority control Christian fundamentalism Christian movements Christian new religious movements Christian terminology Conservatism in the United States Evangelicalism in the United States Homeschooling Natalism Religious views on birth control Social conservatism