New Duggar Docuseries to Expose the Family's Religious Rot

A new docuseries from Amazon Studios, Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets, promises to expose the sordid truth about the fundamentalist organization at the core of the evangelical mega-family, The Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).

The Duggars rose to prominence in 2008, when Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar had 17 children, a new show on TLC (17 Kids and Counting), and an evangelical Christian fanbase that loudly defended them against critics. The fact that the family profited from television while imposing strict no-screen (and other) rules on their rigorously monitored, home-schooled brood? Didn't seem to matter.

But blatant hypocrisy was the least of the family's problems. In 2015, reports surfaced that the Duggars' eldest son, Josh, had molested five girls, four of whom were his sisters, when he was a teenager. TLC pulled 19 Kids and Counting (the latest iteration of their show) in response, but gave them a new series, Counting On, in its place. Five years later, Josh was arrested on federal charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, and TLC canceled the Duggar spinoff, too.

Now the disgraced family is back on TV, only this time as the subject of a probing new docuseries. Read on for more details about Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets and the disturbing incidents it's likely to address.

What is Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets about?

In December 2021, Variety reported that Amazon Studios greenlit an investigation into the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), a radical Christian organization with which the Duggar family has long been associated. The log line read:

“On the heels of Josh Duggar’s explosive criminal trial, the untitled project will expose shocking connections between some of reality television’s most famous large families and The Institute in Basic Life Principles, a controversial fundamentalist organization and homeschooling empire."

At the time, it seemed like the docuseries would take a closer look at several practicing IBLP families. Now, it's seems it will focus mostly on IBLP through the the Duggars.

What religion is the Duggar family?

The Duggar family has notoriously followed the teachings of Bill Gothard, who founded the Institute in Basic Life Principles, a fundamentalist organization that encourages its followers to have large families and show "biblical character" as defined by Gothard, an evangelical minister from Illinois. (Gothard himself has never been married.)

The organization started in 1961 as a series of seminars by Gothard and eventually grew to include prominent supporters like Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. "As a person who has actually been through the Basic Seminar," Huckabee is quoted as saying on the IBLP website, "I am confident that these are some of the best programs available for instilling character into the lives of people.”

The IBLP discourages its followers from watching TV, listening to pop music, attending public schools, dating, and drinking alcohol. According to IBLP principles, a husband is meant to provide "servant leadership" and a woman is meant to respond with "reverent submission and assistance."

The sixth-oldest Duggar child, Jinger Duggar Vuolo, wrote about her experience as a member of the IBLP in her book Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith From Fear. 

“Fear was a huge part of my childhood," she told People while promoting the memoir. "I thought I had to wear only skirts and dresses to please God. Music with drums, places I went or the wrong friendships could all bring harm.”

“[Gothard's] teachings in a nutshell are based on fear and superstition and leave you in a place where you feel like, 'I don't know what God expects of me,'" she added. “The fear kept me crippled with anxiety. I was terrified of the outside world.”

Is the Duggar family in a cult?

The Institute of Basic Life Principles may not call itself a cult, but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

"There are a lot of cult-like tendencies," Jinger Duggar Vuolo told People.

"The teaching I grew up under was harmful, it was damaging, and there are lasting effects. But I know other people are struggling and people who are still stuck. I want to share my story, and maybe it will help even just one person to be freed."

What was the scandal with the Institute in Basic Life Principles?

Bill Gothard resigned from the ministry in 2014, after more than 30 women accused him of molestation and sexual harassment. Some of his accusers were minors at the time of the alleged crimes. The IBLP Board claimed that its internal investigation found no proof of "criminal activity" but that Gothard "acted in an inappropriate manner."

In 2015, 10 women filed a civil suit against Gothard, who is now 88, charging him and leaders in his ministry with sexual abuse, harassment and cover-up. Gothard was also accused of raping a woman. (He denied any wrongdoing.) The plaintiffs ultimately dismissed the lawsuit in 2018, citing "the unique complexities of [the] case, including the statutes of limitation."

"We want to make it abundantly clear that by dismissing our lawsuit at this time, we are not recanting our experiences or dismissing the incalculable damage that we believe Gothard has done by his actions and certain teachings," their statement continued. "Nor are we disregarding that his organization chose to protect themselves instead of those under their care."

Who is Josh Duggar?

Josh Duggar is the oldest of the Duggar children, born March 3, 1988. In 2022, he was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for downloading images of child sex abuse.

What did Josh Duggar do?

In 2022, Josh Duggar was convicted of downloading images of child sex abuse. He was first arrested on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography in 2021, after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tracked an I.P. address that had been sharing child sexual abuse material to a desktop computer at Duggar's used-car lot in Arkansas.

According to prosecutors, Duggar installed a password-protected partition on the hard drive of his work computer as a way to evade detection. According to his sentencing memorandum, he had downloaded roughly 600 photographs and seven videos of violent child sexual abuse. He's currently serving a more than 12-year sentence in Texas.

Years prior to his conviction, a 2015 report from In Touch revealed that the eldest Duggar child had molested five girls, four of whom were his sisters, as a teenager. In an interview with Fox News, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said that they dealt with the troubling incident by having their son talk to a law officer and attend counseling. “He was still a kid. He was still a juvenile. He wasn’t an adult,” Jim Bob said. “This was not rape or anything like that. This was touching someone over their clothes.”

As it turned out, the state trooper who helped the Duggar family overlook their son's criminal behavior is serving 56 years in an Arkansas prison on child pornography charges, and the counseling Josh attended was actually an uncertified IBLP training center.

IBLP founder Bill Gothard told the Daily Mail that the eldest Duggar kid "was put to work helping with the renovations" and enrolled in "lust counseling."

That's not all: Months after the In Touch report surfaced, Josh confessed to cheating on his wife after news broke that he had signed up for Ashley Madison, a website that famously arranged extramarital affairs. His family subsequently revealed that he'd checked into a "long-term treatment center."

Where is Josh Duggar now?

Josh Duggar is serving a more than 12-year sentence for possession of child pornography in a federal corrections facility in Seagoville, Texas. His wife, Anna Duggar, and their seven children—who range in age from 13 years to 19 months—remain in Arkansas.

How many Duggar “kids” still live at home?

Five of the Duggar kids are minors and four more remain unmarried, which means there are presumably nine Duggar "kids" living at home. These include:

Jason Duggar

Jason was born April 21, 2020, making him 23 years old.

James Dugar

James was born July 7, 2001, making him 21.

Justin Duggar

Justin was born Nov. 15, 2002, making him 20.

Jackson Duggar

Jackson was born May 23, 2004, making him 18.

Johannah Duggar

Johannah was born Oct. 11, 2005, making her 17.

Jennifer Duggar

Jennifer was born Aug. 2, 2007, making her 15.

Jordyn-Grace Duggar

Jordyn-Grace was born Dec. 18, 2008, making her 14.

Josie Duggar

Josie was born Dec. 10, 2009, making her 13.

Tyler Wayne Hutchins

Tyler was born Feb. 10, 2008, making him 15.

Did the Duggars have more than 19 kids?

The Duggars have 19 biological children but they also took guardianship of a boy named Tyler in 2016. Tyler, now 15, is the biological son of Michelle's niece Rachel Hutchins, who reportedly couldn't care for her child due to legal and addiction problems. Michelle Duggar also had one miscarriage and a stillborn baby.

Is there a trailer for Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets?

Yes, and it features two of the Duggar children, Jill and Amy. "We were part of IBLP as early as I could remember," Jill says in the footage.

Other former members appear in the trailer, too. "Gothard turned every father into a cult leader and every home into an island," one says. "The Institute raises little predators," another adds.

The overall message of the trailer seems to be that the rot runs deep at the Institute in Basic Life Institute.

Will any of the Duggars appear in Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets?

We know from the trailer that Jill and Amy Duggar will appear in the documentary. Jill is one of the four sisters who Josh molested; she came forward as one of his victims in 2015.

What is the release date for Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets?

Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets premieres June 2.

How to watch Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets

Shiny Happy People: The Duggar Family Secrets will stream on Prime Video.

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