Ex-members from the religious group featured in new Duggar docuseries speak out

By AJ Willingham, CNN

A new documentary series about the Duggar family has thrust the ultra-conservative Christian “19 Kids and Counting” brood back into the spotlight, along with their many controversies and evolutions. “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” released last Friday on Amazon Prime Video, is also raising new interest in a ministry called the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) that shaped the family’s unusual lifestyle.

The documentary series features numerous interviews with people formerly affiliated with IBLP, including members of the Duggar family.

CNN interviewed former IBLP members to get a closer look at the group’s influence. But first, some background on the Duggars, their relationship to IBLP and the organization’s history.

The Duggars’ rise to fame and the cancellation of their series

The Duggar Family, made up of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, their children and grandchildren, first appeared in the 2004 Discovery Health TV special “14 Kids and Pregnant Again.” As their family grew over the years, they went on to star in their own TLC reality series, eventually titled “19 Kids and Counting,” which was canceled in 2015. (TLC, which aired “19 Kids and Counting,” now shares parent company Warner Bros. Discovery with CNN.)

The series came to an abrupt end in 2015 when reports surfaced that Josh Duggar, the couple’s eldest child, had allegedly molested young girls when he was a teenager, including four of his sisters. Amid the allegations, Duggar, then 27, issued an apology on Facebook, saying, “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling.”

In the new documentary series, his sister Jill Duggar Dillard said she downplayed her brother’s abuse in a 2015 interview with Fox News because she felt “obligated to help” the family.

The family’s show on TLC was canceled the same year the allegations were made public, though a spin-off series focusing on some of the older Duggar daughters, “Counting On,” followed.

In 2021, Josh Duggar was found guilty of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography in US district court in Arkansas. (“Counting On” was canceled by TLC that year to “give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately,” Variety reported.) He was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison the following year.

This series of events shocked fans and opened the family up to increased public scrutiny. “Shiny Happy People,” the new documentary series, touches on some aspects of their lifestyle and IBLP’s philosophy that critics have described as toxic and dangerous.

In a statement, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar described the documentary as “sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love. Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format. This ‘documentary’ paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.”

IBLP also released a statement on the day the docuseries premiered: “Its misleading and untruthful commentary mocks that which is good and moral in the most sensationalized way possible, both for shock value and for profit.”

CNN has reached out to the Duggars and IBLP for further comment on the documentary and the growing number of people publicly sharing their stories about their time in the organization.

What is IBLP and how are the Duggars connected to it?

IBLP describes itself as “a non-denominational Christian organization with a focus on affirming God’s Word and its principles which are vital to one’s daily walk with Christ.” IBLP’s teachings and programs are centered on the principle that the Christian Bible contains all the knowledge one needs for a successful and educated life. American evangelical minister Bill Gothard, now 88, founded the organization in 1961.

The Duggars openly ascribed to the teachings of IBLP and their homeschooling program, called the Advanced Training Institute (ATI), which ended in 2021. IBLP members were encouraged to homeschool their children, and the ATI curriculum was a big part of the Duggars’ life as portrayed in their reality show.

Much of the inner workings of IBLP and its one-time homeschooling component are shrouded in mystery. Public information about what the organization teaches and what life is like for members can be difficult to find.

Former IBLP members CNN spoke to said the Duggars’ popularity heightened awareness of IBLP and its teachings. On their reality series, the Duggars’ clothing, behavior, homeschooling methods and lifestyle all reflected principles taught through IBLP.

A series of so-called “Wisdom Pamphlets,” which connect Bible verses to academic subjects like science, history and math, formed the core curriculum of ATI. These pamphlets are still for sale on IBLP’s website, and IBLP encourages their use in church and home settings.

IBLP espouses Gothard’s teachings and interpretations of the Bible, which he considered the only text necessary for anyone to lead a successful life.

Gothard’s “Seven Basic Principles” are described as “universal Biblical principles that apply to every person, regardless of culture, religion, age, education, or social status.” They cover topics like submission and moral purity that Gothard says, when followed, will improve one’s relationship with God and their family. The principles encourage followers to accept suffering as a blessing, recognize a strict hierarchy of authority and accept that true freedom comes from total obedience to God.

Former members describe attending Gothard’s “Basic Seminar,” which explored his Seven Basic Principles in depth. (Though Gothard is no longer a part of IBLP, a recording of his Basic Seminar is still available online.) IBLP claims 2.5 million people have attended or listened to the Basic Seminar since it was introduced in 1964. The organization also offered other seminars on various subjects and has maintained several “training centers” that offer more rigorous courses.

IBLP’s influence took a hit in 2014 when Gothard resigned as head of IBLP after Recovering Grace, a blog dedicated to ex-IBLP members, published accounts from multiple women accusing Gothard of sexual harassment. Gothard admitted to favoritism and inappropriate conduct in a public statement, but denied more serious claims, saying “I have never kissed a girl nor have I touched a girl immorally or with sexual intent.”

A civil lawsuit followed but was subsequently dropped by the plaintiffs, who cited the statute of limitations among other “unique complexities.”

Even as reports characterized the aftermath as the decline of the organization, IBLP is still active and former members told CNN Gothard’s essential influence on the organization remains. CNN has reached out to Gothard for comment on his time leading IBLP.

In the meantime, the Duggar family has more recently appeared to distance themselves from the organization. “We do not agree with everything taught by Dr. Bill Gothard or IBLP, but some of the life-changing Biblical principles we learned through IBLP’s ministry have helped us deepen our personal walks with God,” the family said in a 2022 statement to NBC.

Strict rules and big questions

John Cornish grew up in a Southern Baptist household in the 1980s. He was homeschooled, and when he was about 5 or 6, he says his family joined IBLP and enrolled him in the ATI education program. Cornish and his family were a part of the organization through his adolescence until he removed himself from IBLP to attend college and study music.

“Part of IBLP’s philosophy was that going to college was discouraged,” he told CNN in a phone interview. “So, when I got the opportunity to pursue music, that’s what got me out.”

Cornish told CNN his family abided by some of the strict rules outlined by IBLP, including no TV or movies in the house, no pants for women, and no “rock music,” which loosely included any music with a heavy drumbeat.

“I remember attending one of the conferences when I was 15 or 16, and Gothard saying that ATI people shouldn’t wear denim because that’s what other people wore and people affiliated with ATI were supposed to exist outside the bounds of mainstream.”

Cornish notes that some of Gothard’s recommendations changed frequently, so what one group heard and followed at a particular time didn’t necessarily line up with what others heard.

“I don’t think the denim thing was widely practiced, I think he just had an idea at the time,” he said.

During his time in IBLP, Cornish said he was sometimes reprimanded for questioning instructions or stepping outside of strict behavioral boundaries.

“I got in trouble once at a training center for just talking to a girl in the parking lot,” he said.

The emphasis on obedience to authority, whether it was to God, Gothard, or one’s parents, was strong.

“The assumption was Gothard had a direct channel to God,” he said. “If you asked questions, you were obviously being influenced by the devil and had a rebel spirit.”

After Cornish left the organization, he continued to maintain his Christian faith. In 2011, he was inspired to share his account of growing up in IBLP on a personal blog.

“It kind of blew up” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of writing about ATI at that time. I got lots of emails, lots of comments, and I got invited into a FB group called ATI student survivors. It was the first time all of these students, who were largely isolated, could piece together shared experiences.”

The response was so overwhelming, Cornish and a group of other ex-members decided to start Recovering Grace. The now-dormant blog still hosts a collection of what it describes as first-hand accounts of IBLP and ATI experiences.

Cornish is proud of the work Recovering Grace has done to provide a place for ex-members to share their stories.

“What I’m seeing now is more people starting their own blogs, on TikTok, places like that, where people that found their way out are now speaking out.”

Purity culture and a ‘godly countenance’

Bev Burrell said her family joined ATI the second year it was offered, in 1985. When she was 17, Burrell attended IBLP’s Indianapolis Training Center for a year. There, she lived full-time in a dorm-like environment and attended educational programs organized by IBLP. She said she met or spoke with Gothard personally on several occasions. She describes an upbringing for young girls that resembles a form of “purity culture,” which is prevalent in evangelical Christian communities.

Burrell said women and girls were encouraged to always smile and speak pleasantly, and maintain a “godly countenance.”

“We were taught a song when we were young called the ‘Smile Song.” Basically we’re all thanking Jesus for the smile he gave us and our smile being like the gospel to everybody else,” Burrell told CNN in a phone interview.

“There was a big emphasis on the face. There was a big emphasis on your eyes. Gothard claimed that he could know whether you were righteous or unrighteous by looking into your eyes.”

IBLP and ATI programs also had strict guidelines for how girls and women should dress.

“Basically, don’t show any skin. Don’t draw attention to yourself. There (were) a whole bunch of dress codes,” Burrell said. “I remember when I was at a seminar, I was about 18, and they had a woman come out and talk about how a woman should dress for her husband. They recommended long flannel, down to your arms down to your toes. Because if she wore something sexy, it would train her husband to lust for other women.”

Such attention to submissiveness was an overarching part of the IBLP lifestyle, Burrell said.

“When looking back at it, women were more objects to be used by the men in their lives, whether their husbands or fathers’ right to be told what to do. They do not have agency to make a decision apart from their father or apart from their husband.”

Burrell also said women of childbearing age were encouraged to reverse tubal ligation procedures in order to have more children.

She described attending the organization’s annual meeting in the late 1990s, which at the time was held at Neyland Stadium on the University of Tennessee campus. She says families who had children after tubal ligation reversal were publicly praised, and some meetings would feature a choir said to be made up of children born after such a procedure.

“They would have families come up every year, to my knowledge, and they would clap when they’d bring the babies up. And eventually as these babies got older, they would have these little choirs.”

“But I also knew other women, and this was one of the hardest parts of the week for them,” she adds. “Because they’d had reversals, and God didn’t give them any more children. So, what about them?”

Burrell also spent a year at IBLP’s Training Center in Indianapolis in the mid-1990s when she was about 17.

“They had to personally approve every piece of music you brought in (to the center). They also would not let you keep keys if you brought a car. You had to get permission to leave the building,” she said. “They had mandatory fasting on Sundays. Before we called home, they told us not to say anything negative.”

After her time in Indianapolis, Burrell said she reached a turning point and started making plans to leave the group. Years later, she was one of the ex-members to help found Recovering Grace. Burrell is currently completing a degree in counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Under the ‘umbrella of authority’

Clint Heacock’s family was a part of IBLP, but he was not homeschooled as a child. He said his family and several other families at their Seattle church were members of the organization and attended seminars and meetings. The things they learned there influenced their home life.

One of IBLP’s most well-known teachings is a model called the “Umbrella of Protection,” which illustrates the hierarchy of a godly family: God, the largest umbrella, protects the father, who protects the mother, and then the children.

“And I can remember that very well, that it’s all about submitting to the authority above you that God has put above you,” Heacock told CNN in a Zoom interview. “If you go outside of that umbrella, you’re fair game to the attacks of Satan and you can’t be protected in a way. So, if you violate these principles, you’re basically putting the middle finger up to God as it were and are fair game to the attacks of the devil.”

Heacock says his family drifted away from IBLP in the 1980s. Later in his life, Heacock attended Bible school and seminary, and worked as a pastor of a church. He eventually left the Christian faith and now says he identifies as an atheist. He hosts a podcast called “MindShift” that discusses, among other things, what he describes as the “dangers posed by the Christian Right”

“I’m dealing with what’s called religious trauma,” he says. “That’s why I do the podcast, I’m helping other people process their stuff as well. It’s healing myself, but it’s also helping other people.”

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