The Women of the Christian Patriarchy Movement

Check out this fascinating essay from the latest issue of Mother Jones on the Christian patriarchy movement. And excerpt:

…the movement offers a “separate but equal” division of duties and authority. Men, the embodiment of Christ, are the breadwinners and spiritual leaders in worship, decision making, finances, and sex. Women, representing the church, are encouragers, “completers,” and helpmeets, bound to transform the culture by example and to sacrifice in God’s honor.
Reaching this austere conviction via shared women’s study is a process that oddly parallels the protofeminist consciousness-raising groups of the ’60s and ’70s, in which women recognized their common complaints as part of a larger pattern of oppression. Gloria Steinem called those groups “the primary way women discover that we are not crazy, the system is.” But the Titus 2 message is precisely the opposite: The Lord’s system is righteous, ungrateful feelings are sins to be surmounted, and feminist rebellion is a cultural scourge to be eradicated. The radical leap taken by Titus 2 women is unconditional surrender–an army of Phyllis Schlaflys, fighting for their own subordination based on the promise that the meek shall inherit the Earth. “It is a revolution that will take place on our knees,” writes author and Peace’s contemporary Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Whoa. I’ve already ordered Kathryn Joyce’s new book, Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement from Beacon Press and plan on reviewing it soon!
If you’re in New York, you can see Joyce read from her book at Bluestockings on March 10 and at the Flying Saucer (along with Michelle Goldberg and Jennifer Baumgardner) on March 31. Check out our events calendar for more details.