Christian Feminist Podcast, Episode #80: The Christian Patriarchy Movement

Katie Grubbs, Victoria Reynolds Farmer and Blake Miller discuss the Christian Patriarchy movement.

-Introduction: why we chose this topic and how the organization of this episode will differ slightly from our usual method



-Our previous personal experience with/exposure to this movement

-Major groups involved in this movement (Vision Forum, ATI, etc.)

-What do these people believe?

-Summary (by Blake) and discussion of the beliefs outlined in the Vision Forum tenets article and Libby Anne’s articles from Patheos



-Question 1: How does this movement affect people? Summary (by Victoria) and discussion of the “college” article and other ways this movement could negatively affect women and men

-Question 2: How does this movement differ from the mainstream of complementarian thought? Summary (by Katie) and discussion of the R21 article



Katie: Amelia to Zora: 26 Women Who Changed the World

Blake: Stephen King’s Sleeping Beauties

Victoria: No Longer Quivering and Recovering Grace



Other links:

The Tenets of Biblical Patriarchy

What is Christian Patriarchy?

Men and Women in Christian Patriarchy

Why I Wish I Had Gone to College

The Patriarchy Movement: 5 Areas of Grave Concern

Vision Forum and Titanic Worship

5 thoughts on “Christian Feminist Podcast, Episode #80: The Christian Patriarchy Movement

  1. A few notes of correction:

    Recovering Grace is a ministry to those affected by Bill Gothard’s organizations, not Vision Forum. The Umbrella of Protection concept was popularized by Gothard.

    Above Rubies is the magazine of Nancy Campbell, not Michael and Debi Pearl’s family. They do live near each other in Tennessee. Nancy Campbell and some of her adult children have adopted from Liberia; this too was not the Pearls.


  2. Thank you. This was both really helpful and really hard to listen to. This was helpful because it helped me better understand friends who came from this movement. It was also helpful and hard because, though I didn’t come from this movement, it is very reminiscent of many of the ways I was taught about Christianity and gender-based roles. I was especially struck by the belief that a man is the highest authority in his home and that it is egregious if someone from the church steps in. It had never dawned on me that something else could be true; I was taught for a long time that a man was the absolutely highest authority over his family. Though it was hard to have to think about parts of my life I’ve left behind, this discussion helped me give shape to the way that I understand my experience. So, thank you.

    1. Thanks so much for your honest comments on our episode, Jane! I’m so glad that we produced something thought-provoking for you.


  3. Thank you for tackling this important topic. Another excellent source of information about this misogynistic cult is the excellent book by Kathryn Joyce, “Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement”

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