Is the Duggar Family Part of the ‘Quiverfull’ Religion?
The main reason the Duggars became famous is because they aren’t like most people. For starters, most families don’t have 19 children. Watching the Duggars is a novelty because their lives are so unique compared to everyone else. That’s why 19 Kids and Counting was such a popular show – it was a fascinating study into how some people choose to live.
At the heart of the Duggar family is their religious beliefs. While more than 2 billion people in the world identify as Christian, there’s a much smaller percentage of those who follow strict rules like the Duggars do. In their family, women don’t ever wear pants and they typically don’t work outside the home. Children are homeschooled. There is no secular music or movie watching permitted.
Critics of the Duggars claim that they’re associated with a controversial sect of Christianity called Quiverfull. But is that assertion true? Read on to find out.
What is Quiverfull?
The Quiverfull movement is a sect of conservative Christians who adhere strictly to certain tenets of the faith. Known as Quiverfull, full quiver, or simply QF, these individuals believe most of all that all children are a gift from God. The movement preaches against birth control and believes that the call to “be fruitful and multiply” comes directly from above. Infertile couples are advised against seeking medical intervention and should instead rely on God’s providence to grow their families.
The “full quiver” in this instance refers to the children in the family – like arrows in a quiver, the more numerous, the better. They get the concept directly from the Bible. Psalm 127 (KJV) says:
“Lo, children are a 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.”
Are the Duggars part of the Quiverfull movement?
Quiverfull families are a subset of Evangelical Christianity. They believe in a patriarchal family structure where the father is the head of the household and the mother cares for the children. QF families also advocate for homesteading and homeschooling, preferring to be self-sufficient rather than relying on the government for services.
Sounds familiar, right? Based on the description of the QF movement, it sounds like the Duggar family believes in the teachings. But the Duggar family addresses that assertion clearly in their book, “A Love That Multiplies,” and promises they do not consider themselves believers in the Quiverfull doctrine.
They say: “Even though Wikipedia and some Internet blogs report that we are part of a QuiverFull movement, we are not. We are simply Bible-believing Christians who desire to follow God’s Word and apply it to our lives.”
What religion do the Duggars follow?
Quiverfull isn’t technically a religion, it’s more of a movement. The Duggars identify as Independent Baptist. While some other evangelical Christians may consider themselves QF, the Duggars do not.
Quiverfull or not, the Duggars certainly have a lot of arrows in their quiver.
