Ex-‘Counting On’ Star Jinger Duggar Calls Her Upbringing ‘Cult-Like’ and ‘Damaging’
Jinger Dugger is sharing her truth. The former Counting On star’s upcoming book, Becoming Free Indeed, details her journey away from the ultra-conservative religion of her childhood and toward a different kind of faith. It was a process that began years ago, when she first began to realize the harmful nature of her parents’ beliefs.
Jinger Duggar opens up about ‘19 Kids and Counting’ childhood in her new memoir
Jinger, along with her 18 brothers and sisters grew up on TV, first on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting and then on the follow-up series, Counting On. Their parents, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, embraced a conservative Christian lifestyle built around the ideas of Bill Gothard and his Institute in Basic Life Principles. The children were homeschooled, girls were not allowed to wear pants, and dancing and listening to non-Christian music was forbidden.
Though the Duggars played the role of the perfect family on TV, the reality was less than idyllic. Jinger’s older brother Josh sexually abused several of his siblings, it was later revealed. Meanwhile, the strict religious teachings led Jinger to believe that she was constantly falling short of God’s expectations for her.
“Fear was a huge part of my childhood,” Jinger recently said in an interview with People. “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.”
Even participating in wholesome family activities “terrified” Jinger, she shared. She worried God wanted her to stay home and read the Bible instead.
The ‘Counting On’ star calls her upbringing ‘cult-like’
Jinger said the IBLP teachings her parents followed were “based on fear and superstition.” That left her “crippled with anxiety” and “terrified of the outside world.” But as she entered adulthood, she began to question the beliefs of her childhood.
The reality star – who married former pro soccer player Jeremy Vuolo in 2016 – saw that some people she knew were drifting away from the IBLP. She also began to hear troubling stories about Gothard. (The religious leader has been accused of abusing multiple women, The Washington Post reported.)
“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,” Jinger told People. “There are a lot of cult-like tendencies.”
“The teaching I grew up under was harmful, it was damaging, and there are lasting effects,” she said.
Jinger Duggar wrote her book for others who’ve been harmed by religion
The one-time reality star eventually rejected the IBLP beliefs she was raised under, though she did not reject Christianity entirely. Now, Jinger wants to distance herself from the principles her family espoused on Counting On.
“I knew I needed to speak publicly about this because I promoted teachings that I now believe are damaging,” she told Publisher’s Weekly.
With her new book, Jinger hopes to help others who’ve had similar experiences with religion.
“I wrote this book for any of you who are wanting to examine your beliefs without abandoning God. If you’ve been hurt by the teachings of Bill Gothard, or any religious leader who claimed to speak for God but didn’t, I wrote this for you,” Jinger said in a YouTube video.
“When you grow up in a tight-knit community where everyone believes the same things about everything, it can be hard to even consider the possibility that what you were taught may have been wrong,” she added. “But we all need to, even if it’s hard.”
Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith From Fear releases on January 31, 2023. It is available for pre-order now.
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