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Sunday, March 2nd, 2014

Conservative Leader Bill Gothard on Leave Following Abuse Allegations

Author:     SARAH PULLIAM BAILEY
Source:     Religion News Service
Publication Date:     Feb 28, 2014
Link: Conservative Leader Bill Gothard on Leave Following Abuse Allegations
Stephan:   There has been an rash of stories concerning Theocratic Rightists caught for some kind of sexual dysfunction. I don't think it is a coincidence that most of these accounts are as much about power as they are about sex. I didn't want to run a whole bunch of them, polluting the day's edition, so let this report -- notably written by a conservative news service -- stand for all. I picked this one because this story is not just about a sexually dysfunctional clergy, but a man who was the head of a major Theocratic Right propaganda operation, pushing "conservative-value" sexuality. At this point it is hard to tell whether Rightist leaders are just more out of control than usual, or whether the culture has shifted and this behavior is no longer being tolerated, even in conservative circles. Either way this is a growing trend.

Bill Gothard, an Illinois-based advocate for home schooling and conservative dress who warned against rock music and debt, has been placed on administrative leave after allegations of sexually harassing women who worked at his ministry and failing to report child abuse cases.

Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles was once a popular gathering spot for thousands of Christian families, including the Duggar family from TLC’s ’19 Kids and Counting.” Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute conferences were also popular among devotees of the Quiverfull movement, who promote large families and eschew birth control.

He’s also rubbed shoulders with Republican luminaries. He and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee were photographed at a campaign lunch together; former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue spoke at one of Gothard’s conferences; and Sarah Palin, when she was a small town mayor in Alaska, attended his International Association of Character Cities conferences and declared Wasilla among Gothard’s ‘Cities of Character.”

In a statement posted Thursday (Feb. 27), board chairman Billy Boring told World magazine: ‘After completion of the review, the board will respond at an appropriate time, and in a biblical manner.” Until then, the statement said, Gothard ‘will not be involved in the operations of the ministry. The board of directors […]

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