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Duggar Family Secrets Are Exposed in New Doc ‘Shiny Happy People’

Duggar Family Secrets Are Exposed in New Doc ‘Shiny Happy People’

Amazon Prime has unleashed a bombshell trailer that dives straight into the dark, messy secrets of the Duggar family.

Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is a limited docuseries that explores the hidden truths beneath the wholesome Americana surface of the reality TV mega-family and the organization they’re members of: The Institute in Basic Life Principles.

So what exactly is IBLP? Founded by Bill Gothard in 1961, it claims to introduce people to Jesus Christ and promote success through following biblical principles. However, as the trailer reveals, this organization allegedly fosters a culture of abuse. “The institute raises little predators,” one man states. Another former follower adds, “IBLP teachings aren’t Christianity, they’re something entirely different.”

The trailer teases interviews with other former members and experts on IBLP, as well as Derrick and Jill Dillard (née Duggar), and Duggar family cousin Amy King. And they aren’t the only Duggar family members speaking out against IBLP teachings.

Earlier this year, younger sister Jinger Vuolo published a book describing her journey “disentangling” her faith from the beliefs she learned as a child. She spoke with RELEVANT about how she’s distanced herself from IBLP doctrine.

“We followed a teacher who taught things that were totally opposite of the Bible, and I would say it was cult-like in nature,” Jinger said. “He would teach a lot of things that were very binding. He was very comfortable placing burdens upon people that he said were Bible but they were actually things the Bible was silent about. So I lived under a lot of fear and superstition. His teachings were full of manipulation. So for the past several years, I’ve been on a journey of disentangling truth from error, finding freedom in Jesus and realizing what the Bible actually says.”

The documentary premieres on Amazon Prime Video on June 2.

© 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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