Bill Gothard

In 2016, Gothard and IBLP were sued by a group of alleged victims who accused him of sexual harassment and assault. The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit in 2018, citing "unique complexities" with the statute of limitations, but emphasized: "We are not recanting our experiences or dismissing the incalculable damage that we believe Gothard has done."

In 2014, he stepped down from the IBLP after 34 women accused him of sexual harassment and molestation, with some incidents allegedly occurring when the victims were minors. In 2016, Gothard and IBLP were sued by a group of alleged victims. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2018, as the statute of limitations had been exceeded.

On February 27, 2014, the Board of Directors of the Institute in Basic Life Principles placed Gothard on indefinite administrative leave while it investigated claims that he sexually harassed several female employees and volunteers. No criminal activity was uncovered, but an investigation found that Gothard had acted in an "inappropriate manner". The claims had been publicized on Recovering Grace, which is a website, Christian ministry, and support group for former followers of Gothard's teachings. As many as 34 women who worked for Gothard have claimed that he harassed them. Gothard denied the allegations and admitted no wrongdoing but announced his resignation from the Institute in order "to listen to those who have ought [something] against him".

On June 17, 2014, IBLP issued a statement, summarizing the investigation conducted by "outside legal counsel". They asserted that although no criminal activity was uncovered, Gothard had acted in an "inappropriate manner" and so "is not permitted to serve in any counseling, leadership, or Board role within the IBLP ministry". In July 2015, Gothard re-launched his website, including testimonials from several women.

In 1984, Gothard founded the Advanced Training Institute (ATI), a homeschooling program with a curriculum based on the Sermon on the Mount.

At the height of Gothard's popularity during the 1970s, his Basic Youth Conflicts seminar was regularly filling auditoriums throughout the United States and beyond with attendance figures as large as ten thousand and more for a one-week seminar. In this way, he reached many in the evangelical community from the Baby Boomer generation during their teen years and young adulthood. Other seminars during this time included an advanced youth conflicts seminar and as well as seminars for pastors, physicians, and legislators.

In 1961, Gothard started Campus Teams, an organization which changed its name in to Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts in 1974. The organization's name changed again in 1989 to the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), of which Gothard was the president and a board member until his resignation in 2014.

Bill Gothard began his post-secondary education at Wheaton College, receiving his B.A. in biblical studies in 1957 and then his M.A. in Christian education in 1961. He completed his Ph.D. in biblical studies at Louisiana Baptist University in 2004.

William W. Gothard Jr. (born November 2, 1934) is an American Christian minister, speaker, and writer, and the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), an ultra-conservative Christian organization. His conservative teachings encourage Bible memorization, large families, homeschooling, aversion to debt, male superiority and female obedience, and conservative dress.