What Religion are the Duggars?

They may not be the funniest family on the television or the most adventurous one, but nobody can deny the fact that the Duggars are among the most intriguing households on the idiot box. The star of the TLC’s '19 Kids & Counting' and its latest spin-off, 'Jill and Jessa: Counting On,' the Duggars, and their surprisingly well-behaved children know how to keep viewers engaged.

The one thing that has surprised many people is the strict religious values that the family follows. Whether it is forbidding the women in their family from wearing pants or requiring their children to take permission before getting involved with the opposite sex, almost everything they do has left viewers wondering what religion the family is actually following. And, we are here with the answer.

(Image Courtesy: Betches)

Baptists

Though the Duggars have been consistently accused of misleading answers regarding the faith they belong to or avoiding the topic, there have been a few rare incidents when Jim Bob Duggar himself proclaimed that they are Baptists. However, ‘Baptists’ is an umbrella term, which incorporates within itself, hundreds, if not thousands of sub-groups, committees, conventions and individual congregations.

Therefore, while the Duggar family lies on the fringes of Christianity of the United States, one may call them an unrecognized sect, or a loose network of individual congregations. The closest you can explain them is Independent Baptists, who are ultra-conservative and have no tolerance for personal freedom.

But if you have ever known any Independent Baptist households, then you would know that the Duggars are quite more conservative or extreme than them on most religious and lifestyle issues. This has made many fans of the show believe that the family is driving its beliefs from somewhere other than the Independent Baptist discipline.

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Quiverfull

Since the Duggars’ version of Christianity which prohibits birth control and asks followers to have as many kids as they want has a striking resemblance to the Quiverfull Movement. If you haven’t heard about it before, Quiverfull or Christian Patriarchy movement is a pro-family, anti-feminist belief system that was popularized in the US in the 1970s by Reverend Bill Gothard.

Some arguments that can be made in favor of this theory are that the teaching material used by the Duggars for homeschooling their 19 kids are Quiverfull. Also, the family is often found referring to the spiritual teachings of the belief system while voicing their views on the topics of sexual abuse and sexual relations.

Josh Duggar, Jim’s son’s sex scandal came to light, he was sent for rehabilitation at a religious facility approved by Gothard. The religious leader had also been referred to as an ‘inspiration’ and a close family friend of the family. However, since 2015, when Gothard was disgraced from his rank at Institute for Basic Life Principles, owing to sex scandals, the family has cut ties with him and hesitant about publically accepting the faith system. But whatever the religious rules the Duggars may follow, one thing is certain that they are extreme and very possessive of their faith.

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Did you find all the information you were looking for on TLC’s extreme right-winged family? Did the article help remove your doubts? Tell us through your comments below. Also, do you think that the Duggars’ system of belief would work in today’s modern world? We would love to hear from you.

(Featured Image Courtesy: Huffington Post)