Jill Duggar Explains Toxic IBLP Organization: It’s a Fear-Driven Cult!

By releasing her memoir, Counting The Cost, Jill Duggar made a brave choice and exposed her awful parents.

She shared more than many had expected. And while a lot of us knew how awful Jim Bob and Michelle are, hearing it from one of their children is reaching more people than before.

One other topic that some diehard Duggar stans have balked at accepting is the characterization of IBLP and the Duggar church as a “cult.”

Well, growing up in this cult defined Jill’s whole life. And she describes it as a cult. Seriously — read it in her own words.

Amidst the launch of Counting The Cost, Jill Duggar spoke to People about the nightmarish religious body that defined so much of her life.

“I really do think that IBLP is a form of a cult,” she explained. This is clear pushback against IBLP apologists.

“I think that even if you remove the person in leadership,” Jill noted. “A lot of those same values and principles are still being taught. So it doesn’t fix the problem.”

“I think that’s what some people think like, ‘Oh, we’ve removed Bill Gothard from the situation. It makes everything better,’” Jill explained.

“No,” she correctly responded. “It changes and maybe adds a nice storefront to the picture.” Well phrased.

“But,” Jill continued, “it doesn’t change the overall principles that are still being taught and held to.”

“I think that’s the scary part,” Jill assessed.

She elaborated: “That you really have to look deeper and see how does this affect people in the long run.”

Jill revealed: “My dad even said somewhat recently on a family group text, he was like, ‘You owe your life to Mr. Gothard.’” Chilling, ominous words.

“I’m like, ‘No,’ I think that you just have to not look at the sugarcoating, or whatever,” Jill expressed.

“They try and gloss it up and repackage it,” she described.

“But you have to look at the long haul, how it really flushed out,” Jill asserted. “What do these principles look like.” (They look like abuse, because they are abusive on many levels)

She advises people to “be careful not to get sucked into something because it looks great.”

Jill continued: “Or because you see a family that you’re like, ‘Oh, I want to be like that,’ and ignore the warning signs.”

Wise words! Many cults and similarly predatory organizations operate the same way. And, arguably, the whole point of Jim Bob putting his kids on TV was to advertise a sanitized version of their twisted way of life.

“I didn’t want to have to write this story,” Jill affirmed about her book.

“I do love my parents,” she stated. Oh, that’s sad. “I love my siblings.” That’s less sad.

Jill admitted: “I struggle with the weightiness of it. But I feel called to do this.”

“I feel passionate about empowering other people to find their voice,” Jill stated.

“And,” she continued, “if they do that through my story, great.”

Jill concluded by affirming that “I want them to feel like they’re not alone.” That is a very positive motive.

“I’ll call it what I think it is, a cult,” Derick chimed in about IBLP. “A lot of verses in the Bible are taken out of context and manipulated.”

He said that this is “for people who are not desiring to follow Jesus but wanting to control and manipulate and see this as an opportunity.”

Derick added: “The organization has attracted people who have that goal and see the ability to use it for that.”

“It’s attractive to people who are vulnerable or looking to fix certain problems, and it takes ’em down to a completely different path that’s harmful,” Derick explained.

“A lot of what they teach is fear-driven,” Jill described.

“But I think it’s important to make decisions that you feel good about,” she expressed. “As parents, we don’t want to teach them to fear, which is hard to do.”