Jinger Duggar Vuolo discusses her upbringing in “cult-like” religious beliefs

• Vuolo claims she was “terrified” and might be going against God’s plan.
• Gothard, 88, led the church until 2014 when more than 30 women accused him of sexual misconduct.
• Vuolo emphasizes that she is still a devout Christian.

Jinger Duggar Vuolo is speaking openly about the “damaging” Christian doctrines she was forced to adhere to until 2017 before gaining freedom.

The 29-year-old Vuolo says exclusively in this week’s issue of news that “fear was a significant part of my life.” “To appease God, I believed I had to exclusively wear skirts and dresses. The wrong friendships, the areas I attended, or music with drumming might all be harmful.”

Vuolo claims she was “terrified” she might be going against God’s plan even as her family went to play a game of broomball. “Because I wasn’t sure if God intended me to remain home and read my Bible instead,” the author said, “I worried that I would be killed in a vehicle accident on the way.”

She was brought up by her parents Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle Duggar, 56, who were previous stars of TLC’s 19 Kids & Counting and Counting On. The ardent members of the conservative Christian family adhered to the Institute in Basic Life Principles, a group founded in 1961 by disgraced priest Bill Gothard.

According to the IBLP movement, women should be subordinate to their husbands, and members should avoid dating, dancing, and other aspects of contemporary popular culture. Its seminars have featured Jim Bob and Michelle. Gothard, 88, led the church until 2014 when more than 30 women accused him of sexual misconduct.

“[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,’ ” says Vuolo. “The fear kept me crippled with anxiety. I was terrified of the outside world.”

Her outlook started to change in 2017. She claims, “I’m witnessing more of the impacts of his teachings in the lives of my friends and individuals who grew up in that neighborhood with me.” “His ideas were so damaging,” she continues. Numerous cult-like tendencies exist. She ultimately stopped participating in IBLP. Vuolo emphasizes that she is still a devout Christian, but that her perspective on how to live her faith has evolved.

With the publication of her new memoir, Becoming Free Indeed, in which she discusses letting go of her childhood anxieties and embracing a new life that is still grounded in faith but no longer subject to the authority of a single live man, she is now aiming to assist others.

“That’s the beauty of this journey,” she says. “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.”

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