Jinger Duggar Vuolo, one of the siblings of the Counting On family, is opening up about the "harmful" Christian teachings she was raised under.
"Fear was a huge part of my childhood," Jinger, now 29, told People. She says she found freedom from the beliefs in 2017.
"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,” she told the outlet.
Her fear ran deep as a child.
When her family would sometimes go play a sport called broomball, Jinger said she was "terrified" that doing so would defy God’s will.
"I thought I could be killed in a car accident on the way, because I didn't know if God wanted me to stay home and read my Bible instead."
The former 19 Kids & Counting star was raised by her parents — Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle Duggar, 56. The family was strictly Christian and were devoted to the teachings of Basic Life Principles. The organization was established in 1961 by now-disgraced minister Bill Gothard.
The movement, which teaches women to be subservient to their husbands, also shuns dancing, dating, and basically anything to do with modern culture, according to People. Both of Jinger’s parents have spoken at seminars for the organization.
Bill Gothard, 88, was the leader of the church until 2014, when more than 30 women came forward with sexual assault allegations against him.
"[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,'" Jinger told the outlet. "The fear kept me crippled with anxiety."
"I was terrified of the outside world," she continued.
Her view of the world shifted in 2017, and she began to walk away from that approach to religion. However, she remains adamant that she is still Christian.
"His teachings were so harmful, and I'm seeing more of the effects of that in the lives of my friends and people who grew up in that community with me," she said. "There are a lot of cult-like tendencies."
