The Duggars practice an ultra-strict form of Christianity. A new docuseries alleges the religion is 'cult-like.'
- The Duggar Family grew up under a belief system called the IBLP.
- A core belief in the system was that children should always obey their parents.
In the almost two decades since the Duggar family was introduced to the world in the 2004 Discovery special "14 Children and Pregnant Again!" their conservative Christian lifestyle has captivated viewers' attention, leading to a TLC series called "19 Kids and Counting" and its spinoff "Counting On."
While some aspects of their lives, like their modest standards of dress and the fact that they were relatively sheltered from the outside world via homeschooling and limited media consumption, signaled that they were following the practices of a religious sect, the Duggars' specific beliefs and religion often aren't explicitly mentioned on television. Here's everything to know.
What religion are the Duggars?
The Duggars are Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. In addition to their religion, they follow a conservative Christian Organization known as the Institute of Basic Life Principals (IBLP).
What do the Duggars and other members of the IBLP believe?
As the new Amazon docuseries "Shiny Happy People" details, the IBLP was founded by Bill Gothard in 1961 to promote a moral way of life. The organization was meant to support conservative Christians in a time of unrest, when civil rights movements were gaining traction, free love was being celebrated, and drug culture was more prominent.
Though Gothard was not a minister or religious leader, he taught his followers that living a life worthy of God's love was best achieved by building your character around seven principles: design, authority, responsibility, ownership, suffering, freedom, and success.
According to Jill Dillard, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's second-oldest daughter, and many other ex-IBLP members interviewed in "Shiny Happy People," authority was the most important and focused on principle of all.
Members of the IBLP operated under "umbrellas of protection." Under this model, Christ holds the biggest umbrella, meaning the entity had the most authority over people's lives. Husbands hold the next umbrella of authority, giving them power over their wives, who hold one over their children and workers in the household. Children therefore have no authority over themselves or others — they are simply meant to obey their parents and Christ.
Why are there so many children in the Duggar family?
The IBLP, as well as Jim Bob and Michelle, say they are "independent baptists." But when it comes to family planning, the idea that women should "be fruitful and multiply" comes from a religious moment called the Quiverfull Movement.
The name of the movement is derived from a quote in the Old Testament that uses arrows as a metaphor for children: and says "Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them," according to People.
According to multiple sources, including Jinger Voulo's 2023 memoir, members of the IBLP don't believe in birth control, nor do they believe in anyone's right to plan the size of their family. In Vuolo's book, read by Insider, she said that under Gothard's teachings, women were also encouraged to carry pregnancies as long as their bodies would allow them to, even if doing so meant putting their own health at risk.
In "Shiny Happy People," many former members of the IBLP cited Michael and Debi Pearl's book "To Train Up a Child" as Gothard's preferred resource for child-rearing. The book teaches parents how to spank and hit their children using "extreme measures" without getting in trouble with the law.
In archive footage in the documentary, Michelle describes using a "blanket technique" to teach her children obedience. Ex-IBLP members then describe parents putting children on a blanket with a toy out of their reach. When the child reaches for the toy on their own, parents would physically discourage them from grabbing it until they learned to obey their parents' commands.
What type of education do the Duggar children have?
According to "Shiny Happy People," members of the IBLP follow a curriculum developed by Gothard called the Advanced Training Insitute, or the ATI.
Under this program, children learn through "wisdom booklets" based on the Sermon on the Mount instead of science. According to an image of one of these booklets that's featured in "Shiny Happy People," they feature misinformation, such as claims that pubic lice is transmitted through "immorality."
Subjects in the documentary said that as children got older, their parents sent them to one of Gothard's many centers around the country to do acts of service. At some of those centers, children were allegedly forced to do 16 to 18 hours of manual labor per day.
According to "Shiny Happy People," the ATI is no longer considered a curriculum by the IBLP. Instead, you can buy booklets online as a Bible study.
What are some other teachings of the IBLP?
As followers of the Duggars know, the IBLP had certain modesty standards for women. For example, they should only ever wear long skirts or dresses — never pants. They should also always cover their arms and never wear high heels. According to Amazon's documentary and members of the Duggar family themselves, these rules were mostly put in place so that a woman's clothing would never distract or tempt a man.
On the show, older daughters like Jill and Jinger were often assigned younger children that they were responsible for. It's framed as a "buddy system." But in "Shiny Happy People," women said that they were expected to parent their younger siblings, and in some cases were responsible for infants when they were only 11 years old.
Teenagers in the IBLP are expected to enter into "courtship" with the end goal being marriage. They are not allowed to casually date.
During a courtship, a third party (usually a sibling, as seen on TLC) accompanies couples on dates. The spectator is meant to be a buffer for the couple, so that they don't kiss each other (or more) before marriage and that they only hug each other from the side, so that the front of their bodies don't touch.
Members of the Duggar family were allowed to define their own rules of courtship with Jim Bob and Michelle's approval. So, some couples chose to hold hands before marriage, for example.
Sources in "Shiny Happy People," also said that most of the mainstream entertainment they consumed and toys they played with had to be IBLP approved.
Gothard reportedly believed that the creator of Cabbage Patch dolls was a warlock and that the dolls were demons.
Jim Bob's niece, Amy Duggar King, said in the series that her cousins once had a bonfire to burn Disney items.
Does the IBLP still exist?
Yes, but Gothard is no longer the leader of his own movement.
According to The Washington Post, he resigned as leader of the IBLP in 2014 after more than 30 women accused him of molestation or sexual harassment. Some of the women were minors at the time the behavior took place.
The Post also reported that 10 women brought Gothard up on charges of sexual abuse in 2016. The case was voluntarily dismissed in 2018, due to "unique complexities with the statute of limitations," though the victims emphasized they were not recanting their experiences.
Do all of the Duggars believe in the teachings of the IBLP today?
Alongside her husband Derek, Jill recalls feeling pressure to forgive her brother, Josh Duggar, pubically in 2015, when reports that he molested four of his sisters in 2003 became public. She says she regrets appearing on a Fox News special.
The Dillards also describe being goaded into filming the birth of their first child for TLC. Jill says she was forced to sign a contract for "Counting On" under false pretenses, and that her father Jim Bob tried to get her to sign a contract agreeing to film with the production company in perpetuity for minimum wage.
Jill's cousin, Amy Duggar King, also appears in the documentary denouncing her uncle and the IBLP, though she didn't grow up in the faith.
While Jinger Duggar Voulo's aforementioned 2023 memoir denounced Gothard and the IBLP and described how she was taking steps to unlearn those beliefs, she has not directly spoken ill of her parents publicly.
"Shiny Happy People" is available to stream on Amazon now.