People of Praise
People of Praise is a Christian community founded in 1971 in South Bend, Indiana, with approximately 1,750 members, primarily Catholics, but also individuals from various Christian denominations. The community emphasizes a covenant lifestyle, where members pledge accountability to spiritual advisors and adhere to traditional gender roles, including male leadership within families. This organization gained significant attention in 2020 with the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, a prominent member, to the U.S. Supreme Court. People of Praise has branches across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, and is rooted in the charismatic Christian movement, which advocates for intense religious experiences and communal living. While the group encourages women to pursue education and careers, it maintains conservative views on gender dynamics, placing men in authoritative roles within the family structure. The community is often described as secretive, with former members raising concerns about its controlling atmosphere. This combination of charismatic religious practice, community involvement, and traditional gender roles continues to elicit both interest and criticism from the public.
People of Praise
Founded in 1971, People of Praise is a controversial Christian community based in South Bend, Indiana. While the majority of the group’s 1,750 members are Catholic, some belong to other Christian churches. To join People of Praise, members must pledge to the group’s covenant, which includes being held accountable to a spiritual advisor and, according to former members, installing husbands as the head of households, giving them authority over their wives and children. People of Praise came into the spotlight in 2020 with President Donald Trump’s nomination of conservative federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court. Coney Barrett and her husband Jesse Barrett are affiliated with People of Praise. As of 2020, People of Praise had branches in twenty-two cities in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.
Background
People of Praise grew out of the charismatic Christian movement of the late twentieth century. Churches participating in the movement adopted Pentecostal practices such as baptism with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Those who spoke in tongues were believed to have uttered words and phrases in a language unknown to them. Speaking in tongues was considered evidence of having been baptized with the Holy Spirit. An aim of the charismatic Christian movement was to have an intense religious experience and live the most radical Christian life possible.
People of Praise was one of several charismatic Christian communities founded during this time. Others included the Word of God in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which at one time had more than three thousand members; Work of Christ in Lansing, Michigan; and Mother of God in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Members of these communities often lived together, sharing meals and prayer times. They were expected to participate in community gatherings, submit to their community’s leader, and contribute financially to their community. Some of these communities were dissolved in the 1990s by local bishops after group leaders were accused of controlling their members’ relationships and finances, telling them that such control was the will of God.
People of Praise was founded in 1971 by Notre Dame graduate students Kevin Ranaghan and Paul DeCelles. At the time of its inception, the group had twenty-nine members.
Overview
Since its founding, People of Praise members have lived in communal homes or in the homes of elders before marrying to give them exposure to family life. Members affirm the Nicene Creed, a statement of Christian belief beginning with the words “We believe in one God, the Father almighty.” Members must agree to a covenant, which is an agreement to follow common principals, to give 5 percent of their annual income to the group, and to attend meetings regularly, which include Sunday afternoon prayer meetings. During these gatherings, members are encouraged to share the goings on in their lives as well as messages that they have received from the Holy Spirit.
Group members are heavily involved in one another’s lives, referring to their community as a devoted family. Members of People of Praise often marry each other and attend one another’s weddings.
Conservative Gender Roles
People of Praise has been harshly criticized for espousing traditional conservative gender roles. The group’s leaders are all men. Women must avoid interrupting men in the group or interfering in their decisions. Once married, men have authority over their wives and children. While People of Praise encourages women to pursue an education and a career, they are to defer to men in all domestic matters. Former female members said the community emphasizes women’s submission to their husbands and other male group members. According to these and other former members, the vast majority of women in People of Praise are homemakers, and those such as Amy Coney Barrett are an anomaly.
Spiritual Advisers
People of Praise practices a form of spiritual direction in which men and unmarried women are appointed a spiritual adviser of the same gender, a more spiritually advanced individual. Members are to consult their spiritual advisor before making important decisions such as buying a car or getting married. Male spiritual advisers are called “heads.” In the past, female spiritual advisers were called “handmaids,” but in 2017 the group changed the title to “women leaders” to avoid being associated with The Handmaid’s Tale, a 1985 dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood that was adapted into a television series. Atwood has said that the inspiration for her novel was a different but similar Christian group. Once a woman marries, her husband becomes her “head,” or adviser.
Secrecy
People of Praise is shrouded in secrecy. The group refuses to release the names of its members. Its constitution is copyrighted and only members have copies. Former members of People of Praise describe the community as having a rigid, controlling atmosphere and being secretive. Because of this, critics have described it as an “extremist religious cult.”
Coney Barrett’s Affiliation
Coney Barrett’s parents belonged to People of Praise as did her husband Jesse Barrett’s family. Coney Barrett lived with cofounder Kevin Ranaghan and his wife Dorothy while in law school. While Coney Barrett has declined to publically comment on her affiliation with People of Praise, she has appeared in the group’s magazine, Vine and Branches, as have her children’s birth announcements. A People of Praise membership directory obtained by The New York Times lists Coney Barrett and her husband as members. From 2015 to 2017, Coney Barrett served on the board of trustees for the Trinity School in South Bend, which was founded by the People of Praise.
Bibliography
Biesecker, Michael and Michelle R. Smith. “Supreme Court nominee Amy Barrett’s ties to faith group draw questions about its treatment of women.” USA Today, 29 Sept. 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/29/people-praise-tied-amy-barrett-knocked-treatment-women/3573879001/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.
Brown, Emma, Jon Swaine and Michelle Boorstein. “Amy Coney Barrett served as a ‘handmaid’ in Christian group.” Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020
Graham, Ruth and Sharon LaFraniere. “Inside People of Praise, the Tight Knit Faith Community of Amy Coney Barrett.” New York Times, 8 Oct. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/us/people-of-praise-amy-coney-barrett.html. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.
Kirchgaessner, Stephanie. “Revealed: ex members of Amy Coney Barrett faith group tell of trauma and sexual abuse.” Guardian, 21 Oct. 2020, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/21/amy-coney-barrett-people-of-praise-trauma-abuse. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.
Kreig, Gregory, Em Steck and Daniel Burke. “Barrett pick draws attention to small religious group.” CNN, 11 Oct. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/09/27/politics/amy-coney-barrett-people-of-praise/index.html. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.
“People of Praise Christian Community.” People of Praise, peopleofpraise.org/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.
“People of Praise, a faith group, deletes mentions and photos of Barrett from its website.” NBC News, 1 Oct. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/people-praise-faith-group-deletes-mentions-photos-barrett-its-website-n1241677. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.
Young, Robin and Serena McMahon. “People of Praise: Amy Coney Barrett’s Affiliation to the Religious Group Raises Questions.” wbur, 14 Oct. 2020, www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/10/14/people-of-praise-amy-coney-barrett. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.