Jinger Duggar Vuolo Details Childhood Experiences Under 'Cult-Like' Religion

'I want to share my story,' the former reality star said in a new bombshell interview.

Jinger Duggar Vuolo is sharing the truth about her journey to freedom after growing up under religious teachings that she said left her "terrified of the outside world."

Vuolo rose to fame as a cast member on her family's popular TLC show, 19 Kids & Counting, a reality series that followed the life of the ever-growing Duggar family. The show largely focused on the family's strict Christian religious beliefs as part of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), a non-denominational religious organization that promotes "male superiority and female obedience," as described in Chicago Magazine. The movement also condemns dancing, alcohol consumption and many parts of contemporary popular culture.

After being raised under the "harmful" IBLP teachings strictly followed by her parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, Vuolo, now 29, is opening up about the lasting effects of the religious upbringing and how she finally found freedom years later.

"Fear was a huge part of my childhood," the former Counting On star told PEOPLE in a new interview published on Wednesday, Jan. 18. "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 even remembered being "terrified" that she might be punished by God when her family found recreational time playing a sport called broomball. "I thought I could be killed in a car accident on the way, because I didn't know if God wanted me to stay home and read my Bible instead," she recalled.

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Vuolo spent much of her life being taught the values of IBLP, which was originally founded in 1961 by since-disgraced minister Bill Gothard. He eventually resigned from the ministry in 2014 following accusations of sexual harassment and molestation of over 30 women, including some who were minors, per the Washington Post.

While talking to PEOPLE, Vuolo admitted that the Gothard's teachings often caused her to spiral into anxiety. "[Gothard's] teachings in a nutshell are based on fear and superstition and leave you in a place where you feel like, 'I don't know what God expects of me.''

"The fear kept me crippled with anxiety. I was terrified of the outside world," she added.

But Vuolo said things began to change for her in 2017, when she started noticing the impact of the strict religious teachings on her, as well as other people who were raised under similar principles.

"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 explained. "There are a lot of cult-like tendencies."

Now, Vuolo has completely left behind the IBLP teachings. While still a devout Christian, she has a much different perspective on faith, which she is hoping to share in her new memoir, Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear.

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"That's the beauty of this journey," she added to the outlet. "The teaching I grew up under was harmful, it was damaging, and there are lasting effects. But I know other people are struggling and people who are still stuck. I want to share my story, and maybe it will help even just one person to be freed."

Becoming Free Indeed is expected to hit shelves on Tuesday, Jan. 31.