Several members of the Duggar family have spoken out about their standing with the Institute in Basic Life Principles church (IBLP) over the years.
The former reality TV family’s connection to the controversial church — founded by conservative Christian minister Bill Gothard in 1961 — was explored in the bombshell Prime Video docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, which premiered in June 2023. In the series, the family’s cousin Amy Duggar recalled hearing the phrase “be fruitful and multiply” and being required to follow IBLP’s modesty rules throughout her childhood.
Jill Duggar — the fourth eldest of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children — also claimed that IBLP parents often used corporal punishment against their kids from an early age. The show explored the concept of “Blanket Training,” in which children are placed on a blanket with a singular toy nearby and are faced with consequences — sometimes physical — if they try to touch it.
Gothard, stepped down from IBLP in 2014 after being accused of sexual harassment and abuse by multiple women, some of whom were minors at the time of their incidents. He has since denied the allegations against him.
Scroll down to see where each of the Duggar kids stands with IBLP today:
