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About Quiverfull
Though the term is never used in Virtuous Women, the Wagner family practices Quiverfull beliefs. The Quiverfull movement gets its name and definition from the bible:
”Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”
-Psalm 127:3-5 (King James Version)
In short, the primary characteristic of a Quiverfull family is the belief that women should accept every child as an unconditional blessing and that family planning is immoral. This includes all family planning, even times of abstinence, if the intention is to avoid a woman’s fertile days and therefore pregnancy. Depending on the source, Quiverfull families aim for a minimum of five or six children, and sometimes end up with a dozen or more.
Of course, the bible verse quoted talks about how men are rewarded with children. Quiverfull families also practice Christian patriarchy. They follow strict gender roles. The man of the house has absolute power and control over his wife and children, and considers himself responsible for their spiritual, physical, and material well-being. Wives are to be submissive to their husbands and dedicate themselves to supporting his needs, having and raising the children, and keeping the home. Children are to be obedient to their parents. Daughters are expected to help their mothers care for younger siblings and keep the home, and are trained to be future wives. Higher education, careers, and independent living are discouraged (or prohibited) as options for daughters. They are supposed to live at home until they marry. Often, their marriages come after the patriarch has overseen a supervised courtship.
Quiverfull is also a movement, though not one with a centralized leadership structure. It’s also called the Christian Patriarchy movement. The general idea is to raise up many Christian children to advance the cause of their version of the Christian religion. As Cynthia Jeub, a woman raised in the movement, explained in a 2019 article (see link below), ”The metaphor of a quiver full of arrows defines children as weapons to be used to win the world for Christian conservative values.”
- Read the full article by Cynthia Jeub here.
- Tia Levings is a survivor of Christian patriarchy and writes about the movement and her experiences here.
- Andrew Pledger describes himself as a cult survivor, podcaster, and digital creator. You can learn more about his experiences here.
For a general overview of Quiverfull beliefs and history, I recommend the book Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement by Kathryn Joyce (Beacon Press, 2009)
