Jill Duggar Dillard Calls Out Family's Longtime Church as a 'Cult'

Jill Duggar Dillard is getting brutally honest about the church she was brought up in—which she now says is in the "form of a cult."

The former reality star grew up in the famous Duggar family, known for their TLC show 19 Kids and Counting.

Her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, raised their larger-than-life family as followers of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), an ultra-conservative Christian organization founded by minister Bill Gothard. The controversial organization—which promotes female obedience and male superiority—puts restrictions on many parts of contemporary pop culture, including dating, clothing, music, and dancing.

Gothard has since resigned from his position as leader of IBLP following accusations of sexual harassment and molestation, which he denied.

Now that Jill, 32, is no longer connected to IBLP, she has no problem pointing out the problematic nature of the organization.

"I really do think that IBLP is a form of a cult," she told PEOPLE in a new interview published Friday, Sept. 8.

"I think that even if you remove the person in leadership, a lot of those same values and principles are still being taught, so it doesn't fix the problem," she explained, noting that Gothard's resignation has not changed the organization's harmful teachings.

"I think that's the scary part that you really have to look deeper and see how does this affect people in the long run," she added, while revealing that her dad still believes in Gothard's mission.

"My dad even said somewhat recently on a family group text, he was like, 'You owe your life to Mr. Gothard,'" Jill said of dad Jim Bob, 58. "I'm like, 'No,' I think that you just have to not look at the sugarcoating, or whatever. They try and gloss it up and repackage it. But you have to look at the long haul, how it really flushed out. What do these principles look like."

Jill's sister, Jinger Duggar Vuolo previously spoke out about the "cult-like" religion as well, telling the outlet earlier this year that IBLP made her "terrified of the outside world."

"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 stated, adding, "The fear kept me crippled with anxiety."

"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 at the time. "There are a lot of cult-like tendencies."

In January, Ginger released her memoir Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear, where she talks about her new perspective on faith since leaving the IBLP teachings behind.

Now, Jill is following in her sister's footsteps with her own memoir, Counting the Cost, about to hit bookshelves on Sept. 12.

Next: Jill Duggar Dillard Says She Wasn't Paid for TLC Shows