Beverly LaHaye (born April 30, 1929) is an American Christian

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

activist and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who founded

Concerned Women for America Concerned Women for America (CWA) is a socially conservative, evangelical Christian Nonprofit organization, non-profit women's 501(c)_organization#501(c)(4), legislative action committee in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., W ...

(CWA) in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

in 1979. She was the wife of

Tim LaHaye Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the ''Left Behind'' series of apocalyptic fiction, which he ...

, the

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

minister and prolific author of the ''

Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise that started with a series of 16 bestselling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It focuses on a seven-year conflict between the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, a ...

'' series, until his death in 2016.

Life and education

Beverly Jean was born in metro

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

on April 30, 1929 to Lowell Ardo and Nellie Elizabeth (née Pitts) Davenport. Her father was a factory worker in

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...

and died of a ruptured appendix when Beverly was almost two years old. Within two years, Nellie Elizabeth married Daniel Ratcliffe, a tool maker in the auto industry in Oakland County, Michigan. From then on, Beverly Jean and her older sister Blanche Aileen used their stepfather's surname as their own. She graduated from

Highland Park Community High School Highland Park Community High School (often known as Highland Park High School) was a public high school in Highland Park, Michigan. About 775 students attended Highland Park in about 2012. Its mascot is the polar bears, and its school colors are ...

in 1946, the highest degree she would ever earn. She attended

Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...

(then named Bob Jones College) one year and married Tim LaHaye after that year in 1947. In 69 years of marriage, the LaHayes had four children, Linda, Larry, Lee, and Lori, and nine grandchildren.

Published works

LaHaye and her husband co-authored '' The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love'' in 1976. LaHaye wrote ''The Spirit-Controlled Woman'' in 1976, a companion to her husband's book ''The Spirit-Controlled Temperament''. A revised and expanded edition of the book, ''The New Spirit-Controlled Woman'', was released in 2005. ''The Desires of a Woman's Heart'' was released in 1993.

Concerned Women for America (CWA)

LaHaye formed Concerned Women for America in 1979. Initially, CWA was a reaction to the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

and a 1978 Barbara Walters interview with feminist

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

.Gardiner, S.,
Concerned Women for America: A Case Study
", Feminism and Women's Studies, 28 August 2006. Online as of 19 April 2007. LaHaye stated that she believed Friedan’s goal was "to dismantle the bedrock of American culture: the family," and that Christian women were not included in discussions of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. LaHaye held a rally in a local

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

auditorium which marked the beginning of CWA.Beverly LaHaye marks three decades of promoting traditional values through CWA
''Christian Examiner.com,'' 20 December 09. Retrieved: 14 September 2013. While CWA was originally intended to be a local group, the organization was established nationwide within two years. The organization calls itself "the nation's largest public policy women's organization devoted to biblical principles." When CWA's headquarters moved to Washington, D.C., LaHaye "announced at a press conference: 'This is our message: the feminists do not speak for all women in America, and CWA is here in Washington to end the monopoly of feminists who claim to speak for all women.'" CWA is a nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue CodeConcerned Women for America
''Fact Check.Org,'' October 2010. Retrieved: 14 September 2013. that is "supported by hundreds of local chapters across the country." In 2014, ''Salon'' stated that "CWA adbecome a powerful political force, claiming over half a million members."

Bibliography

* ''How to Develop Your Child's Temperament'' (1977) * ''I Am a Woman by God's Design'' (1980) * '' The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love'' (1976) (co-authored with Timothy LaHaye) * ''The Desires of a Woman's Heart'' (1993) * ''The Restless Woman'' (1984) * ''The Spirit-Controlled Woman'' (1976)

References

External links

Beverly LaHaye appearances on C-SPAN

Beverly LaHaye biography (CWFA)

Beverly LaHaye biography (National Women's History Museum)

The Beverly LaHaye Institute

Concerned Women for America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahaye, Beverly 1929 births Living people American nonprofit executives American anti-abortion activists Intelligent design advocates Protestant writers California Republicans Women nonprofit executives New Right (United States) Female critics of feminism Activists from California 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women