Institute in Basic Life Principles: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:53, 28 January 2025

Revision as of 18:06, 28 January 2025

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=== Teaching on Marriage ===

IBLP's curriculum focuses heavily on the roles and responsibilities of men and women within a marriage covenant. A husband's leadership authority over his family is God-given, and he is required to be kind, patient, loving, respectful and unselfish in his dealings with his wife and children. He is also to be humble and ready to listen.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Cult Dad Debunked |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iyyf-xyMZo |url-status=live}}</ref> Men are responsible to protect and provide for their families.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marriage ceremony in IBLP |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdqjVOweZF8 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The wife is expected to respect her husband and his position, encourage and support him, keep the home and nurture her children. Within marriage, IBLP teaches that God "grants spouses [[Marital rape|full access]] to each other's bodies for sexual gratification" and warns against "[[Sexual consent|resistance]] or indifference to a husband's need for physical intimacy".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |date=2011-10-21 |title=How can I meet my husband's basic needs? |url=https://iblp.org/questions/how-can-i-meet-my-husbands-basic-needs |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Institute in Basic Life Principles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202001533/https://iblp.org/questions/how-can-i-meet-my-husbands-basic-needs |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> A married couple should not seek financial independence from one another. Inwardly, married women are admonished to nurture a meek and quiet spirit, while outwardly maintaining beauty, remaining "well-groomed", and striving to dress to "please their husbands".<ref name=":0" />

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== Allegations and investigations==

A number of former adherentsparticipants of IBLP programs have describedalleged that the organization and/or associated circles asis a [[cult]]<ref name=Chicago>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Bryan |title=The Cult Next Door |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2016/Institute-in-Basic-Life-Principles-Hinsdale/ |access-date=September 11, 2020 |work=[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]] |date=June 20, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='I broke away from a strict homeschooling community cult' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42701297 |access-date=September 11, 2020 |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=February 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tracy |first1=Jenna |title=My childhood in a cult is hard to imagine - but my survival is truly unbelievable |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/01/childhood-in-cult-hard-imagine-survival-truly-unbelievable |access-date=September 11, 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=June 1, 2015}}</ref>, although this has been shown to be untrue.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Cult Claims Debunked |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ndEtVmbVlM |url-status=live}}</ref> Don Veinot, president of [[Midwest Christian Outreach]], saysfalsely alleged that theBill Gothard was a charismatic leader, had authoritarian control, IBLP practiced isolation of members, severe punishments, and demand for absolute and blind loyalty, that this addadded up to IBLP being "cult-like".<ref name=Chicago /> But when these allegations were investigated<ref byname=":3" an outside source/>, many of these claims have come into question.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Shiny Slander YouTube channel |url=https://www.youtube.com/@ShinySLANDER |url-status=live}}</ref> It came to light that there was no authoritarian control from the IBLP organization over families who participated in it, no isolation of members, no severe punishments inflicted by IBLP, and no demand for absolute or blind loyalty to the organization whatsoever.

It has been established the IBLP by definition is not a cult.<ref name=":1" /> It is an organization that promotes Biblical principles for success in life as interpreted by its founder and leadership.

In the 1980s, the organization faced "a major sex scandal" when Gothard's brother, Steve Gothard, resigned as administrative director after having affairs with several secretaries of the institute.<ref name="newrepublic.com">{{Cite magazine |last=Pease |first=Joshua |url=https://newrepublic.com/amp/article/151787/bill-gothard-fundamentalist-trap |title=The Fundamentalist Trap |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |date=22 October 2018 |access-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601163818/https://newrepublic.com/article/151787/bill-gothard-fundamentalist-trap |archive-date=1 June 2023}}</ref> According to accounts reported by [[Midwest Christian Outreach]] founders Ron and Joy Veinot (in their book ''A Matter of Basic Principles''), the board recommended that Bill resign from the board. But in truth, Bill Gothard requested a leave of absence to allow the investigation of the allegations to conclude and he took one. A few weeks later he returned to his position and continued his leadership role in the organization.

In 2014, Gothard resigned as President of IBLP after reports that he had sexually harassed multiple women and failed to report allegations of child abuse in the organization which he believed would damage the organization if he remained although he denied any sexual misconduct or criminal activity. An investigation into these allegations by the IBLP board concluded he did not act "criminally" in any way including sexually, but did act "inappropriately" by not avoiding the appearance of evil, and notified him that he would not be returning to the organization in any capacity. The board was concerned that it would appear to condone sexual harassment in the age of "me too" and therefore did not want Gothard to return to his position.

On October 20, 2015, a civil lawsuit based on repressed memories alleging a sex-abuse cover-up involving several minors was filed in DuPage County, Illinois against IBLP and its board of directors. ''Gretchen Wilkinson et al. vs. Institute in Basic Life Principles and William W. Gothard Jr.'' was brought on behalf of five female plaintiffs in order to "seek redress and damages for personal injuries based on the negligent and willful and wanton acts and omissions of the defendants with regard to sexual abuse and sexual harassment and similar allegations of malfeasance suffered by the plaintiffs."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wilkinson v. Inst. in Basic Life Principles, 2020 IL App (2d) 190254 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/wilkinson-v-inst-in-basic-life-principles |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=casetext.com}}</ref> "Besides monetary damages, they have asked a DuPage County judge to bar IBLP leaders from alleged plans to liquidate resources estimated at more than $100&nbsp;million while they close the institute's headquarters near Oak Brook and relocate to Texas, the lawsuit states."<ref name="chicagotribune">{{Cite news |last=Gutowski |first=Christy |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-dupage-ministry-lawsuit-update-met-20160218-story.html |title=More former followers of DuPage ministry allege abuse, harassment |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=April 18, 2017}}</ref> Five additional accusers joined the suit in January 2016, and even more in February 2016, bringing the grand total of complainants to sixteen women and two men. Each plaintiff was seeking $50,000 per count with an average total of $400,000 per person.

It has now been disclosed that every count in the lawsuit was based on repressed memories<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wilkinson vs IBLP Third Amended |url=https://www.recoveringgrace.org/media/Third-Amended-Complaint-filed-08-18-2016.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Transcript Wilkinson vs IBLP |url=http://www.discoveringgrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cs-01-10-19-wilkinson-vs.-iblp-pm.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The claims made by the women involved have been disputed due to their lack of evidence, the fact that repressed memories have been shown to be false<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, How Reliable are Repressed Memories? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2OegI6wvI |url-status=live}}</ref>, and in many cases testimony of family members, friends and personal correspondence several of the women sent to Gothard that shows a completely different picture than the one described by their complaints.<ref name=":2" />

==In the media==