‘Counting On’: You Won’t Believe Some of the Questions Potential Suitors Have to Answer Before Being Allowed to Court a Duggar
Rumors have once again surfaced that Jana Duggar is courting Lawson Bates. While fans of both the Duggar family and their reality TV counterparts, the Bates family might be ‘shipping the couple, Lawson is going have a lot of questions to answer before courtship even enters the picture.
The Duggar family requires all potential suitors to fill out a lengthy questionnaire. Jim Bob Duggar, the family patriarch, peruses the answers, along with the daughter in question, and together they decide if the young man is righteous enough to enter the family. If Lawson is, indeed, courting Jana Duggar, he probably filled out pages and pages of questions before getting to ask Jana personally if she’s interested. So, what questions exactly are on the Duggar’s courtship questionnaire?
A lot of the questions are about religion and sinning
The Duggar family courtship questionnaire is no small document. It includes 423 questions, and now the world gets to know exactly what those questions are thanks to the detectives on Free Jinger. As you might expect, the majority of the questions revolve around the family’s faith.
One question implores the potential life partner to describe their besetting sin. For those in the know, a besetting sin is a consistent problem in the potential suitor’s life. A besetting sin could be as innocuous as enjoying a cupcake a little too frequently, to more severe issues like gambling, drinking or womanizing.
Other questions encourage the suitor to describe his relationship with Christ, his religious expectations for his family, and his stance on children and how faith will play a role in his future family’s life. If Jana Duggar and Lawson Bates are courting, he probably passed this section with flying colors.
Jim Bob is strangely curious about cultural preferences
Jim Bob doesn’t miss a chance to ask a trick question or two. The father of 19 explicitly asks his daughter’s suitors about their reading preferences and how they feel about the use of music in religious settings. There are likely a few questions about dancing, too.
As everyone probably knows by now, the Duggar family has a pretty limited content library, and that extends to books, too. Approved content is almost always religiously based, and there is absolutely no dancing in the Duggar household. In fact, Derick Dillard found himself in a touch of hot water when a video of him rocking out surfaced on Instagram.
Questions about the suitor’s beliefs on guns also pop up, according to The Hollywood Gossip. The questionnaire also delves into corporal punishment, the protection of a wife and children, and a lot of other questions designed to see if a potential partner agrees with Jim Bob Duggar.
Medical questions and questions about sexuality crop up, too
One particular inquiry caught fans of the supersized family by surprise. The question specifically asks if the potential suitor’s father has any medical or mental health issues that could be passed on to future children. No question about the mother’s medical history seems to be included. Even the Duggar family must know that the mother’s genes and predispositions are passed on too. Strangely enough, that doesn’t seem to be a focus for the Arkansas-based reality TV stars.
The Duggar family doesn’t stop there with their prying questions, though. One item, in particular, brings up homosexuality. According to In Touch, the questionnaire asks explicitly if the potential suitor has even been “exposed to homosexuality.”It goes on to ask the suitor to explain the circumstances.
The Duggars have been clear on their stance on homosexuality and equal rights. In short, they do not believe gay couples should be allowed to marry, even though Michelle Duggar has a sibling who is a member of the LGBTQ community.
