Marriage is For Life in Anna Duggar’s World

As Josh Duggar awaits his trail on child pornography charges, one big question I keep hearing from people regards his wife Anna. Will she leave Josh or allow him back in their home with their six (soon to be seven) children? Josh ‘s release on bail stipulates that he will live with family friends so he isn’t currently home with his wife. However, it’s unlikely Anna will leave Josh as her fundamentalist Christian beliefs stipulate marriage for life and emphasize that a woman’s primary role is a wife and mother. Continue reading Marriage is For Life in Anna Duggar’s World

The Monsterous Regiment Attacks Women in Ministry

In The Monstrous Regiment of Women the Gunn brothers attempt to evoke the language of the Old Testament prophets and warn America of impending doom if they do not return to the gender roles that are laid out in a literal interpretation of the Bible. The film repeatedly references specific God-ordained gender roles that are not open for interpretation. Women are mothers and homemakers and husbands earn money and lead the family – no negotiation.  Even Christian ministry is considered a role that women cannot fulfill. According to the Christian patriarchy movement a woman’s home is her ministry and anything … Continue reading The Monsterous Regiment Attacks Women in Ministry

Taking a Critical Look at the Above Rubies Organization

While there are numerous organizations/movements associated with Christian patriarchy, one of the largest is the international organization Above Rubies.  Above Rubies was founded by Nancy and Collin Campbell over 32 years ago to encourage families to follow a very traditional, complementarian lifestyle. Above Rubies publishes a free magazine (donations requested but not required) once a month that contains articles about the joys of living simply, women who have given up work to stay home, and natural family remedies and family planning (or lack thereof). Nancy Campbell also has an e-newsletter she sends out about once a week. As a regular … Continue reading Taking a Critical Look at the Above Rubies Organization

The Threat of Christian Patriarchy

The Christian patriarchy movement is a fast growing fundamentalist/evangelical movement that is not easy to define.  While mainstream media has     drawn attention to the Quiverfull movement and pop cultural representations of this lifestyle, such as the famous or infamous (however you want to phrase it) Duggar family from 19 and Counting, there are other branches of the patriarchy movement which are not well known nor well researched. Therefore, for the next few blog posts I’m going to try to break down the various organizations associated with the Christian patriarchy movement to help us better understand why mainstream Christian society should … Continue reading The Threat of Christian Patriarchy