IBLP Tenets Insist That Women Should Be Subservient To Men

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Content warning: mention of sexual assault.

The Duggar family documentary Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets dives into the dark side of the brood's rise to fame. In 2015, it was revealed that the eldest Duggar child, Josh, had sexually assaulted several young women as a teenager—including four of his sisters.

The documentary investigates the lengths Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar went to hide this information about their son. It also details the ideologies of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, or IBLP—the family's controversial religion that may have had something to do with these events and other harm.

The Institute in Basic Life Principles is an extremely conservative Christian organization founded by Bill Gothard. The organization describes itself as a "Christian-centered discipleship for individuals and families through events, programs, and teaching resources," but Shiny Happy People reveals the abusive tactics and problematic lessons at its core.

Here's everything to know about the IBLP, the religion followed and promoted by The Duggar family.

What is the IBLP?

The IBLP isn't technically a religion by itself—but rather a Christian-leaning organization. It was founded in 1961, originally as a campus group called "Campus Teams" according to Chicago magazine. Its ideals stemmed from a master's thesis Bill Gothard wrote at Wheaton College in Illinois. Originally, the group focused on helping teens resolve conflicts with their families.

In 1974, the organization was renamed the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, and then given its current name in 1989—Institute in Basic Life Principles. The religion detailed exactly how its members should act—down to how women should style their hair. It also created several offshoot organizations and ideologies including Advanced Training Institute, or ATI.

ATI was a biblically-inspired curriculum that integrated Christian teachings into all school subjects. Based on reports in Shiny Happy People, it seemed many IBLP families would substitute an academic education with ATI, but the lessons were far from standardized.

In one interview in Shiny Happy People, a former IBLP member said she had only learned up to fractions in math—and her father said that was satisfactory because it's all she needed to bake (women in the IBLP followed very traditional domestic roles). ATI stopped acting as an exclusive education program in 2021, according to its website.

Who is Bill Gothard?

Bill Gothard is the founder and leader of the IBLP. He is currently 88 years old and founded the IBLP shortly after graduating college because he thought his peers "seemed to lack direction in life and were making unwise decisions," per InTouch Weekly.

Gothard situated himself at the top of a hierarchy he created for the IBLP—which was extremely authoritarian, per Chicago magazine. He engaged in countless problematic practices, in addition to the teachings he instilled on members.

Although he had no medical degree, he saw members for counseling and gave objectively poor advice (in a lawsuit against Gothard, one member alleged that he told her not to seek psychological treatment after being raped as a young girl). He also regularly recruited "attractive" young staffers to work closely with him.

In 2014, several women members accused Gothard of sexual harrassment. The organization pursued an internal investigation that same year and he eventually stepped down. IBLP deemed his behavior inappropriate, but not illegal, per Chicago magazine. Several former members filed a lawsuit against Gothard in 2015, but it was dismissed due to statute of limitation issues, according to Yahoo.

Gothard currently resides in La Grange, Illinois, according to tax records obtained by Patch. The IBLP headquarters relocated from Hinsdale, Illinois to Big Sandy, Texas in September 2015, per Chicago magazine.

What rules do the IBLP follow?

IBLP's main gist is that men are subservient to God and women are subservient to men. However, Bill Gothard often inserted himself in the place of God, making himself an almost cult-like leader of the organization, according to Shiny Happy People.

IBLP rules get specific, but most fall under an umbrella of order. The documentary details the discipline invoked on children by their parents (which leans toward emotional and physical abuse). But one former member says that this type of discipline is also expected between husbands and wives, due to the "umbrella" hierarchy.

Most of the IBLP rules fall under this main practice, but they can become extensive. Dancing, rock music (including Christian rock), and even Cabbage Patch Kids dolls are prohibited. Women are required to dress in ways that avert "eye-traps" or anything that could be construed as revealing or sexual to a male gaze—including pants, skirts that hit above the knee, long necklaces, and sleeveless shirts. Television and most books are also prohibited.

Also: Traditional dating is forbidden within the IBLP. As documented on 19 Kids and Counting, members must go through a specific courting process that's mostly orchestrated by the parents of those pursuing a relationship. Courting is defined on the Duggar family website as "a commitment to honor and protect both individuals in the process of getting to know one another." It involves a couple spending time with each individual's families and often refraining from intimacy of any kind until marriage.

Tim Levendusky currently runs the IBLP.

According to its website, Tim Levendusky now runs the organization. He lives in Big Sandy, Texas with his wife and son—and he leads the IBLP Board of Directors with three other men: Gil Bates, David York, and John Bechtle.

The IBLP estimates that more than 2.5 million people have attended its seminars. And because it is split into so many offshoots, it's difficult to ascertain how many members are currently affiliated with the organization.

Not all of the Duggars follow IBLP.

While Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar often preached the teachings of IBLP on their television shows, and continue to do so on their family blog, some of the older Duggar children have broken off from their family's beliefs.

Jinger Vuolo née Duggar recently released an entire memoir, Becoming Free Indeed, about breaking away from IBLP practices. In her book, she compares her older brother, Josh, to Bill Gothard. “My faith is still intact, but it has changed. Instead of leaving the faith entirely, I've been disentangling it," she wrote in her memoir, per PEOPLE.

Jill Dillard née Duggar has also stepped away from the IBLP and details her experience in Shiny Happy People. She also plans to release a memoir of her own, Counting The Cost with her husband, Derick, which will examine the "red flags" she noticed within her family.

Jessa Seewald née Duggar has also publicly broken away from some IBLP ideologies (including her clothing choices and allowing her children to dance), but she's never publicly renounced its teachings.

You can learn more about the IBLP and The Duggars in Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets now streaming on Amazon Prime.

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