A Duggar Speaks Out Against Her Church

Finally, a member of the Duggar family has spoken out against Bill Gothard and his church. The leader of what many describe as a cult has had several women accuse him of sexual harassment and assault. While the Duggar family says they have distanced themselves from him, they still participate in his church, the Institute for Basic Life Principles, and teach their children a curriculum based on its values.

However, a Duggar has finally spoken up against IBLP, but it isn’t who you expect. This time, Amy Duggar, the “liberal” cousin of the bunch, has used her social media platform to speak out against Gothard and his church.

According to Amy Duggar, Bill Gothard’s teaching is “extremely questionable,” something that may offend many of her extended family members. They are currently in Australia and New Zealand promoting IBLP with most of their unmarried children (except John David who stayed behind in Arkansas).

Amy Duggar said that she wanted to “clear the air” and had to be “true to herself” in order to write the tweet. She said she received many private messages asking about her feelings on the church, and she stated that she had to be true to herself and tweet what she really thought.

Bill Gothard and his teachings are partially blamed on Josh Duggar, the eldest son, and his molestation scandal. In 2015, it was discovered that Josh had molested five young women including four of his younger sisters. Homeschooling curriculum that Michelle Duggar uses for her family was found to contain a worksheet that described almost the exact situation the Duggar family found themselves in. It was clarified that the worksheet was published in the 1990s, before the family’s secret was made public. However, the worksheet did make it clear that it was partially the sexual abuse victim’s fault for tempting their abuser with either inappropriate conduct or clothing choices.

Amy Duggar has always been the more liberal cousin of the family and recently was interviewed on a podcast about her famous family. She stated she didn’t know what was on the curriculum for Michelle’s homeschool, but did say that she thought the children were extremely intelligent.