Duggar family and ‘cult’ religion exposed in docuseries: ‘Raises little predators’
An explosive new trailer for a docuseries about the Duggar family from “19 Kids and Counting” was released on Thursday and claims to “expose the truth” about a religion that many claim “raises little predators” and “turned every father into a cult leader.”
TLC’s now-canceled reality show chronicled the kids’ lives as they were brought up by parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar in an ultrastrict religious group, the Institute in Basic Life Principles.
The limited docuseries, “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” will be “exposing the truth” behind the family and the IBLP, an organization established in 1961 by minister Bill Gothard, since forced out under allegations of abuse.
“World domination was the goal,” one man in the trailer alleged.
Another woman even claimed that the institute “raises little predators.”
The series will feature two members of the Duggar family, Jim Bob and Michelle’s second eldest daughter, 32-year-old Jill Dillard, and her cousin, Amy King, 36. Both Jill and Amy have previously spoken out about their upbringings in the organization.
“As details of the family and their scandals unfold, we realize they’re part of an insidious, much larger threat already in motion, with democracy itself in peril,” the new series’ logline reads.
“The biggest feature of Bill Gothard’s teachings is authority,” one woman said in the trailer. “Kids obey the parents, wives obey their husbands, everyone obeys Bill Gothard.”
“Gothard turned every father into a cult leader and every home into an island,” claimed another source.
Some of the religion’s rules and teachings included that wives should obey their husbands and that members should refrain from dating, dancing and consuming pop culture, according to People.
The docuseries is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, June 2.
The Post reached out to the Duggar family, TLC and the IBLP for comment.
Another of Jim Bob and Michelle’s children, Jinger Duggar Vuolo, recently penned a memoir about her childhood, titled “Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith From Fear,” exploring her journey to freedom from the religion.
“Fear was a huge part of my childhood,” Vuolo, 29, said in a January interview.
“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.”
She also revealed that the practices she was brought up with made her “terrified” of the outside world.
“[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,’” Vuolo alleged. “The fear kept me crippled with anxiety. I was terrified of the outside world.”
Vuolo described herself as still being a “strong Christian,” but no longer abides by the teachings of the IBLP.
In 2015, TLC announced that it had canceled “19 Kids and Counting.”
The network also dropped a spinoff of the show called “Counting On” after Josh Duggar was arrested on child porn charges in 2021. The 35-year-old is currently serving a 12-year sentence after being found guilty of possession of child porn.
