Shiny Happy People: Exposing the secrets of an evangelical poster family

Amazon’s hit documentary makes for uncomfortable viewing, says Sophie Killingley. But she believes Christians should engage with it, and be mindful that such abuses aren’t confined to America’s Bible Belt. They could happen in a church near you too 

“Shiny Happy People laughing. Shiny Happy People holding hands” sing REM on their hit 1991 song ‘Shiny Happy People’.

And that’s certainly the impression portrayed by evangelical poster family, The Duggars, in their TV show 19 kids and counting, a staple of American reality TV in the mid 2000s.

The show followed the exploits of devout Baptists Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar who believed God should determine the number of children they would have, and therefore avoided the use of birth control. It ran for ten seasons. 

The new Amazon Prime documentary Shiny Happy People…