Jinger Duggar Vuolo is getting real about her intense Christian upbringing.
Of course, her parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were proud of the way they brought up their overly large clan — enough so they showed it off on television in many seasons of 19 Kids and Counting. But now, the 29-year-old reality TV veteran is looking back on her early life as part of the famous Duggar family — and the lasting damage it caused.
Related: Did Jinger And Her Husband Subtly Shade Josh Duggar After Child Porn Sentence??
As Perezcious readers and TLC viewers will know, Jinger and her siblings were raised under extreme Christian ideas which demonized sex and segregated the boys and girls. As the family was led by the now-57-year-old Jim Bob, Jinger grew up learning to be subservient to men. Other IBLP guidelines forbid things like dancing and dating. Infamously, the family and other followers shunned most of Americana and all of pop culture.
This all came from the tutelage of the Institute in Basic Life Principles. That right-leaning organization was first established by notorious minister Bill Gothard way back in 1961. Ever since, it has served as a foundation for the Duggars’ unique way of life. Gothard’s IBLP guide — which reinforced a patriarchal society in which women were second-class to men — was popular in some Christian sects, and particularly with the Duggar fam. Gothard, now 88 years old, led the calling until 2014 when dozens of women came forward with harassment and molestation accusations against him. That next year, further accusations came out regarding alleged sexual abuse against minors, too.
And of course, the Duggars faced their own sexual misconduct scandal as well, as eldest son Josh Duggar confessed as a teen to molesting his younger sisters, something that Jim Bob was able to keep quiet until it finally leaked in 2015. Josh was convicted on child porn charges years later — and during the trial he was accused of molesting more young girls, as young as 4 years old.
One might take away from all this that warping young boys’ minds with the preachings of a child molester is likely to create more child molesters. You know, just observing from the outside…
As for what it was like being a little girl in that environment? Sounds like a pretty horrifying way to grow up. Finally Jinger is ready to talk about it. After first leaving the IBLP umbrella in 2017, she spent the last few years soul-searching. And in a new interview with People that hit newsstands this week, she’s opening up for the first time with a clear head.
Recalling her restrictive childhood, Jinger explained:
“Fear was a huge part of my childhood. I thought I had to wear only skirts and dresses to please God. Music with drums, places I went or the wrong friendships could all bring harm.”
The shame and guilt this culture of fear cultivated was real, too. Jinger recalled feeling guilty in childhood when her family left their compound one day to play a sport called broomball. Having fun instead of praying could go against God, she remembers thinking at the time:
“I thought I could be killed in a car accident on the way, because I didn’t know if God wanted me to stay home and read my Bible instead.”
OMG…
Jinger has also thought deeply about Gothard’s controversial ways. Looking back on how she was brought up under the restrictive IBLP theology, she told the mag:
“[Gothard’s] teachings in a nutshell are based on fear and superstition and leave you in a place where you feel like, ‘I don’t know what God expects of me.’ The fear kept me crippled with anxiety. I was terrified of the outside world.”
And she continued on from there, adding her take on the “cult-like” aspects of growing up in that environment:
“His teachings were so harmful, and I’m seeing more of the effects of that in the lives of my friends and people who grew up in that community with me. There are a lot of cult-like tendencies.”
As we noted above, Jinger walked away from the IBLP in 2017. Her life since then has been full of ups and downs, but she made it very clear she is still a “strong Christian.” However, while she still believes in God, she’s trying to figure out a more sustainable, welcoming, and reasonable way to worship.
Related: Josh Duggar Demands New Child Porn Trial — He Claims The FBI Did WHAT?!
To that end, she’s been working on her memoir, Becoming Free Indeed, which is scheduled to hit bookstores at the very end of this month. And Jinger is excited about the journey she’s been on while writing it — and examining her faith. She optimistically concluded to the mag that she is looking ahead to a more healthy and welcoming religious life:
“That’s the beauty of this journey. The teaching I grew up under was harmful, it was damaging, and there are lasting effects. But I know other people are struggling and people who are still stuck. I want to share my story, and maybe it will help even just one person to be freed.”
Amen!
We hope other people in restrictive faith communities can see the light, as it were, and be moved to take action like Jinger. Her journey has been difficult, but her resiliency through it continues to be inspiring. We wish her the best going forward. And with the memoir release at the end of the month!
Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via TLC/YouTube/Jinger Duggar Vuolo/Instagram]
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