Quiverfull Religion Explained: Duggar Family Faith in Spotlight

by Scott Wu | September 1, 2009 at 02:56 pm

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Quiverfull is a religious movement among conservative evangelical Christians. It sees children as blessings from God, and avoid all forms of birth control, even natural family planning, which is approved by the Roman Catholic Church as a method of family planning. The movement is most active in the United States, and began receiving media attention in the US in 2004. After that, various news outlets have reported on Quiverfull from different angles and perspectives. Now, with the Duggar family expecting their 19th child, public interest in quiverfull ensued.

The name "quiverfull" comes from the Old Testament, Psalm 127:3-5. It is also called "quiver full, "full quiver, "quiverfull-minded", or "QF" Christian.

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.(emphasis added).KJV

So why quiverfull?

The prime motivation is religious. Followers adhere to God's commands in the Bible, "be fruitful and multiply," (Genesis 1:22; 9:7) and "behold, children are a gift of the Lord" (Psalm 127:3). Thus any form of contraception is inconsistent with God's command, not to mention abortion.

Feminists are among those who speak critically of the movement. Quiverfull has been called anti-feminist and pose danger to women's health as well as children's.

Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff, a former ardent Quiverfull adherent, birth-mother of eleven children, and former editor of Gentle Spirit Magazine, argues that the Quiverfull movement is one "in which women and children are routinely and systematically subordinated and subjugated by the men in their lives - fathers, husbands, older sons,. . .pastors, elders, leaders - as a matter of biblical principle."[36] Seelhoff charges that Quiverful adherents "never talk about the victims of the movement, other than to distance themselves, to explain how it is that the victims are aberrations." [37][38]