The new far-proper Christian Patriarchy movement is found on the newest brink from collapse shortly after some alleged affairs, problems, plus involving the movement’s frontrunners.
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 “Religious 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, offering gender tips and sharing treatments. Jim Bob has also been able to turn their fame into an opportunity to get political power, chumming up to which have presidential candidates and talking in the far more popular old-fashioned occurrences. 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.
However, best since the Duggars are beginning to make the most of all of this tough propaganda functions, it looks the country they are available away from-the little however, increasing arena of tight Biblical patriarchy-is actually real likelihood of collapsing. While adherents to that particular sort of Christianity, for instance the Duggars, need to color an enthusiastic uber-healthful face on their families and you can viewpoints, unsightly facts was eventually just starting to leak away regarding your dilemmas out of unfaithfulness and you may so-called intimate discipline 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, confessed in order to cheating into the his partner 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, Vision Discussion board Ministries signed upwards store, unable to continue with the stink of sex scandal upon them.
Gender Scandal Stones the fresh Duggars’ Christian Patriarchy Direction
It’s hard to underestimate the importance of Phillips in the small world of extreme fundamentalists. His father is one of the most vital founding dads of your Christian right course 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 “Mother of the season” 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 strong Religious proper commander off driving their 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.
