tia levings writer
Parenting Things
My Gothard Fundie Mentors
Said I Could Skip to Have a Quiverful
Having a giant family for God?
It sounded nice...at first.
Me and my firstborn, newly recruited into Bill Gothard's IBLP by mentors at our Baptist megachurch.
Additional Context
Documentary on the IBLP
To learn more about Bill Gothard's Institute of Basic Life Principles and how fundamentalism spread through America's churches, watch Shiny Happy People on Amazon. A high-level overview of my story is included.
My Memoir
A WELL-TRAINED WIFE: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy, comes out August 2024, with St. Martin's Press. Sign up for book updates at TiaLevings.com
Breaking It All Down
I'm on a mission to help connect the dots between high-control religion and our news headlines today. Find my work on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok & Substack
VIDEOS ABOUT THE LIST
And how does a Quiverful mom decide what to choose?
The Quiverful strategy intentionally neglects the needs of older children by forcing them to become young parents to their siblings.
The Christian Patriarchy wants you to live the way they do. Here's what that means in government.
THE LIST
My mentors, and the fundamentalist authors they recommended, said I was overcomplicating parenting
by doing too much of what the secular world said children needed. They said I could have an unlimited number of babies for God if only I'd simplify my lifestyle and skip these things.
These videos may sound satirical at first, but they are no joke. I use the actual language my mentors used to coax me into agreeing with their ideology.
Advocating for my child’s needs
Autonomy
Critical thinking
Diversity
Government Assistance
Holidays
Mandatory reporters
Medical appointments and well care
Medication
Neighbors
Personal items unique to each child
As survivors of high-control religion and church-sanctioned domestic abuse share their stories,
this list grows. The truth is, the systematic trauma behind closed doors in quiverful families, robs childhoods and requires a lifetime to overcome.
*topics in bold have videos
WHY HAVE AS MANY
BABIES AS POSSIBLE?
Population Dominance to Advance Dominionist Theology: a group of Christian political ideologies that seek to institute a nation that is governed by Christians and based on their understanding of biblical law.
Patriarchal Control of Gender Roles and Complementarianism: Complementarians assign primary headship roles to men and support roles to women based on their interpretation of the Bible. Men are the authority in marriage, parenting, courtship, and politics. Women serve as subordinates, stay home, and submit to male authority in all things.
Population Dominance to Support Racial Supremacy: Christian Nationalists believe America was founded by Christians who modeled its laws and institutions after Protestant ideals that are under threat from non-whites, non-Christians, and immigrants––whom they are mandated by God to dominate. By having a quiverful of babies, they weaponize children in their cultural war to make America a Christian Nation.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
-Psalm 127:5
I escaped high-control religion, healed from religious trauma, and now share the realities of what it’s really like
living in the Christian Fundamentalism influencing our culture and headlines today.
I believe the Christian patriarchy wants to run our country the way they run their homes
––which is why it’s so important we understand how they live.
I'm available to speak to your group or organization about taking conscious steps to safeguard against fundamentalism. I bring the human context and real-life perspective to news and human-interest stories related to:
anti-abortion bills
book bans
travel restrictions for women
religious freedom
gender roles and definitions
high-control religious groups
evangelical Christian cults
traditional lifestyles (aka “trad”)
anti-feminist conservatism
Invite me to be a guest expert on your podcast or news segment, interview and research source, and as a fundie SME for your film or book project. Media and PR inquiries see my One Sheet.
Copyright Tia Levings Writer, LLC 2023