How Full Is Your Quiver?

These activities have encouraged more discussion of quiverfull ideas among conservative Christians. Stephanie Coontz, director of research for the Council on Contemporary Families, says she has increasingly noticed articles on the subject in the Christian press. Part of the reason, she argues, is that conservatives are reacting to revolutionary changes in women's social roles and seeking to re-impose a more traditional order. "The rhetoric is getting more shrill because people are getting more desperate," she says. "It's a backlash that I don't feel will triumph. In the past, large families were helpful economically, but today, they become a disadvantage, especially to younger kids who don't get as many resources."

Don’t tell that to Ken and Devon Carpenter. They live on 21 acres outside of Nashville, Tenn., with their 8 children, ages 1 to 15. The Carpenters are what some have described as “back-to-the-land” Christians, typical among the quiverfull community. They embrace homeschooling, grow some of their own food and reject television in favor of evening family time singing or reading. Though Ken admits life isn’t always easy—last spring, all eight kids came down with chicken pox at once—he says the family became “exponentially happier” after relinquishing control of Devon’s womb to God. He’s counting on his eldest daughter Peyton, 12, to carry on the tradition. She “will stay under my covering until I turn her over in marriage to a God-honoring young man,” he says. Hopefully, he adds, they too will reap a full quiver.

© 2006