Jackson Duggar Pushes Back on Criticism of His Family’s Religion, Denies They’re Part of a Cult

Jackson Duggar, former TLC star and one of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children, recently defended the Duggar Family’s affiliation with the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP), insisting that the controversial religion founded by Bill Gothard is “not a cult,” despite what people may believe.

The 21-year-old addressed the rumors about his family and the IBLP while revealing to social media influencer Joe Bonham that his “biggest financial flex” is owning property– a ten-acre piece of land in Arkansas that he purchased for around $350,000. Jackson then informed the influencer that he and his family are famous from their reality shows, much to the influencer’s surprise.

Jackson was then asked to reveal one thing about his family’s show(s) that nobody else knows, to which he volunteered the fact that many people assume he grew up in a cult due to his family’s involvement with the IBLP. “A lot of people think we were in a cult, and the key is that we were not in a cult,” Jackson insisted, before revealing why so many people have made this assumption. “ … because of a man named Bill Gothard who went around and he shared the gospel and did different things, but he also did some other things that were kind of off … ,” Jackson said.

Jackson went on to argue that, just because he and his family attended Bill Gothard’s conferences and events and followed his teachings, that doesn’t mean they followed him. “We went to his conferences once or twice a year, we were involved a lot in whatever they did, but we were not a part of everything,” he said. ““So, a lot of people think we were in a cult, but we grew up with great parents who taught us about the Bible and shared the gospel with us.”

Jackson noted that he and his family have been accused of being in a cult “many times” throughout his life, though he insisted it was only because some people believed that Bill Gothard “was a cult leader.” “Amazon Prime actually did a whole documentary on it,” he said, referring to the 2023 docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, which focused on the controversies surrounding the former TLC family and their connection to the IBLP. “People try to give you lies, people try to feed you lies, but the truth, in the end, will win out. And the Holy Spirit of God, who is inside living and can teach us and lead us and guide us into all truth.” 

While Jackson claimed that “people” have referred to the IBLP as a cult, he neglected to mention that certain members of his own family have made the same claim, including his sister Jinger Duggar Vuolo, who has blasted the beliefs she grew up in, calling the IBLP both cult-like and fear-driven. “The teaching I grew up under, it was harmful,” she told People while promoting her 2023 book, Becoming Free Indeed. “I want to be vulnerable to share my story and hopefully it will help even just one person to be free from this.” 

Jackson’s older sister Jill Duggar Dillard also publicly spoke out against the IBLP when she and husband Derick Dillard participated in the 2023 Amazon docuseries about the Duggars and the IBLP, as did Jim Bob’s niece Amy Duggar King. Jackson also credited him father with teaching him and his siblings how to support themselves. “My dad’s been an entrepreneur and has taught all of us to be entrepreneurs,” Jackson said, pointing out Jim Bob in the crowd, along with some of his siblings.

When asked if being on the show had helped him purchase his property, Jackson insisted that the accomplishment was largely the result of his dad teaching him and his siblings to “use our money in a wise way.” 

“ … it wasn’t like it was a lot of money [from the show], but it was enough to where you could, as long as you used it wisely, you could build it,” Jackson claimed. Watch a clip from Jackson’s interview below.