This new much-best Christian Patriarchy way is on the fresh new verge from failure after some 
alleged products, problems, plus between the movement’s leaders.
Amanda Marcotte
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have put many years and a lot of work into putting a smiling, nearly normal-seeming face on the extreme Christian right. The couple adheres to a fringe strain of fundamentalist Christianity dubbed the “Christian patriarchy” or sometimes the “Quiverfull” movement, and while there is a lot of internal diversity to the movement, they generally preach a combination of beliefs that run counter to mainstream America: absolute female submission, a ban on dating, homeschooling, a rejection of higher education for women, and shunning of contraception in favor of trying to have as many children as humanly possible. The movement is controversial even within Christian right circles, but the Duggars have tried to counter that with their popular reality TV show 19 Kids & Counting, where they present themselves as a wholesome everyday family that just happens to be a little more fecund and conservative than average.
The strategy has been surprisingly effective, with Michelle Duggar being able to act like she’s just like any other reality TV star, giving gender information and revealing treatments. Jim Bob has also been able to turn their fame into an opportunity to get political power, chumming doing with presidential candidates and speaking at the much more traditional old-fashioned situations. While many in the Christian right are still skeptical of Biblical patriarchy’s extremism, this charm offensive has clearly softened up resistance and is giving this fringe an ability to throw their political weight around. The fact that Republicans have started to step up the anti-contraception rhetoric lately appears, in part, to be the result of this tiny group of extremists Christians putting a smiley face on absolutist anti-contraception sentiments.
But correct because Duggars are starting so you’re able to cash in on this difficult propaganda really works, it appears to be the nation they arrive of-the small however, growing world of rigid Biblical patriarchy-is actually genuine chance of collapsing. When you find yourself adherents to that particular version of Christianity, like the Duggars, wanna painting an enthusiastic uber-healthy face on their families and you can beliefs, unsightly truths is eventually beginning to leak away regarding the trouble off cheating and you may alleged sexual punishment in the community.
The latest scandal is a doozy. Back in , Doug Phillips, who, in his capacity as the president of Vision Forum Ministries, is probably the most important leader in the world of Biblical patriarchy, admitted so you’re able to cheating into the his girlfriend and resigned as president of his ministry. “I engaged in a lengthy, inappropriate relationship with a woman,” he wrote. “While we did not ‘know’ each other in a Biblical sense, it was nevertheless inappropriately romantic and affectionate.” Shortly after his confession, Eyes Forum Ministries closed upwards store, unable to continue with the stink of sex scandal upon them.
Gender Scandal Rocks the newest Duggars’ Christian Patriarchy Way
It’s hard to underestimate the importance of Phillips in the small world of extreme fundamentalists. His father is one of the most important beginning fathers of one’s Christian best way generally, and Doug extended his work by largely building this culture of the far Christian right as we know it, especially if you watch 19 Kids & Counting. The Duggar family are friends and acolytes of Phillips, and Vision Forum, in turn, has used Michelle Duggar in their efforts to demonize contraception, including giving her an award for “Mommy of the year” for having so many children.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that there may be more to this entire scandal than the typical minister-caught-cheating story. The woman with whom Phillips confessed to an “inappropriate” relationship, named Lourdes Torres-Manteufel, filed suit in Bexar County, Texas, accusing the new effective Christian right chief out of pressing the girl into a multi-year abusive relationship that allegedly featured frequent sexual assault. While the complaint never mentions sexual intercourse, it does claim that he repeatedly groped and masturbated on her while she protested. The plaintiff alleges she was basically moved into Phillips’ house with his wife and children, taken on many family vacations, and given work as a caretaker for the family, all while secretly being bullied into sexual encounters without consent. She even claims that Phillips told her that they would marry soon, as he believed that his wife was about to die.