Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar may not be thrilled with their son James after his latest vacation stop. The Sun reports that James recently stopped by a British pub while visiting London, England. The outlet also published photos from the 12-year-old’s Instagram Stories that show him having a meal and drinking a glass of water during his evening out on the town.
While there is no indication that former 19 Kids and Counting was drinking alcohol, his family is known for being devout Christians who do not drink alcohol. In a previous Cosmopolitan interview, James’ older sister Jill Duggar Dillard addressed the family’s stance on substance usage. “We’ve never intentionally been to a party where we know there’s going to be a lot of drinking,” she said at the time. “I’ve been on the fire department for a few years, and there’s people, young people, 18-year-old girls who have died of an OD. You see the effects, and it makes you stop and think about the consequences of some of those actions.”
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Jinger Duggar Vuolo, another one of James’ older sisters, recently spoke out against the “harmful” religious teachings that she and her siblings were exposed to as children. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, the 29-year-old discussed her new memoir, Becoming Free Indeed, which details how she came to get out from under the strict religious teachings she was indoctrinated with as a young girl. “[I] wanted to share my story because I know that these teachings from Bill Gothard that I followed for so many years are so harmful, and I saw how that really affected my life,” she told PopCulture, referring to the Basic Life Principles organization, which was established in 1961 by disgraced minister Bill Gothard.
“His teachings were based on fear, superstition, manipulation, control,” Jinger continued. “So I really wanted to communicate my story, and I felt like now’s the time, because I’ve had time to work through a lot of the things that I was raised with. So I felt strong enough to speak now.” Notably, many of her family members, including her parents, still live by the teachings of the Basic Life Principles. She has reconciled that she can still have a relationship with her family, even if they don’t see eye-to-eye. “I think that, at some point,” she said, “you just agree to disagree.” Becoming Free Indeed is available now wherever you buy books.
