19 Kids and Counting star calls famous family a 'cult' and shares rules she had to live by
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Anish Vij
Featured Image Credit: People/YouTube/TLC
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Jinger Duggar Vuolo has revealed what life was like being raised by a family who she says follows a 'harmful' Christian cult.
The former 19 Kids & Counting star says 'fear was a huge part of my childhood' as she opened up about her family's loyalty to the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) group, founded by disgraced minister Bill Gothard in 1961.
In 2014, the founder stepped down from the IBLP after 34 women accused him of alleged sexual harassment and molestation.
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In an interview with People, Jinger reveals how 'damaging' her childhood was.
"The teaching I grew up under was harmful, it was damaging, and there are lasting effects. I want to share my story," the 29-year-old said.
"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.
"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."
"[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'," she added.
"The fear kept me crippled with anxiety. I was terrified of the outside world."
In 2017, she decided to change her outlook and walked away from the IBLP.
"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," she says.
"There are a lot of cult-like tendencies."
With the release of her new memoir Becoming Free Indeed, she hopes to 'help even just one person to be freed'.
"That's the beauty of this journey," she says.
UNILAD has contacted the Duggar family for comment.
For those unaware, 19 Kids & Counting was an American reality TV series which followed the Duggar family - parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar along with their 19 children, consisting of nine daughters and ten sons.
All their names began with the letter 'J'.
All of the children are homeschooled and access to entertainment such as movies and television is limited.
The show was cancelled in 2015 after controversy surrounding the Duggars' eldest son Josh.
Last year, he was found guilty of receiving and possessing child porn and was sentenced to 12 years in jail.