Beverly LaHaye


Beverly LaHaye is an American Christian conservative activist and author who founded Concerned Women for America in San Diego, California in 1979. She was the wife of Tim LaHaye, the late evangelical Christian minister and prolific author of the Left Behind series, until his death in 2016.

Life and education

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; they married in 1947. The LaHayes had four children: Linda, Larry, Lee, and Lori. The LaHayes had nine grandchildren. The LaHayes were married for 69 years before Tim LaHaye died in 2016.

Published works

LaHaye and her husband co-authored The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love in 1976.
LaHaye wrote The Spirit-Controlled Woman in 1976, a companion to her husband's book The Spirit-Controlled Temperament. A revised and expanded edition of the book, The New Spirit-Controlled Woman, was released in 2005. The Desires of a Woman's Heart was released in 1993.

Concerned Women for America (CWA)

LaHaye formed Concerned Women for America in 1979. Initially, CWA was a reaction to the National Organization for Women and a 1978 Barbara Walters interview with feminist Betty Friedan. Regarding the Friedan interview, LaHaye stated that she believed Friedan’s goal was "to dismantle the bedrock of American culture: the family," and that Christian women were not included in discussions of women's rights. LaHaye 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. The organization calls itself
"the nation's largest public policy women's organization devoted to biblical principles." When CWA's headquarters moved to Washington, D.C., LaHaye "announced at a press conference: 'This is our message: the feminists do not speak for all women in America, and CWA is here in Washington to end the monopoly of feminists who claim to speak for all women.'"
CWA is a nonprofit organization under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code that is "supported by hundreds of local chapters across the country." In 2014, Salon stated that "CWA become a powerful political force, claiming over half a million members."