Beverly LaHaye | |
---|---|
Born |
Beverly Jean Ratcliffe April 30, 1929 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
Residence | Los Angeles, California |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Bob Jones University |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Tim LaHaye (m. 1947-2016; his death) |
Children | Linda Murphy (Vice-Chairman, Concerned Women for America, b. 1948) Larry LaHaye Lee Lahaye (CFO, Concerned Women for America) Lori LaHaye Scheck |
Beverly LaHaye (born April 30, 1929) is an American Christian conservative activist and author who founded Concerned Women for America (CWA) in San Diego, California in 1979 and is the organization's current chair. She was the wife of the late evangelical Christian minister and prolific author of the Left Behind series Timothy LaHaye. They had been married over 60 years. The CWA is a 501(c)(3) public policy women’s organization.
Beverly Jean Ratcliffe was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 30, 1929. She attended Bob Jones University and met Tim LaHaye while a student there. She married Tim on July 5, 1947. Her oldest daughter Linda Murphy was born in 1948 and is the Vice-Chairman of Concerned Women for America. Her oldest son is Larry LaHaye. Lee LaHaye is her youngest son and the CFO of Concerned Women for America. Her youngest daughter is Lori LaHaye Scheck. They have four children and nine grandchildren and live in the Los Angeles area. In 1992, Jerry Falwell's Liberty University gave her an honorary Doctorate of Humanities.
LaHaye wrote The Spirit-Controlled Woman and The Desires of a Woman's Heart. LaHaye has co-written multiple books with . She and her husband co-authored The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love in 1976.
Initially, CWA was a reaction to the National Organization for Women and a 1978 Barbara Walters interview with feminist Betty Friedan. LaHaye stated of the interview that she was convinced Friedan’s goal was a "misguided attempt to dismantle the bedrock of American culture: the family," and that she believed Christian women were not included in discussions of women's rights. She held a rally in a local San Diego auditorium, which marked the beginning of CWA. While CWA was originally intended to be a local group, the organization was established nationwide within two years.