What Religion Are the Plaths? Inside the ‘Welcome to Plathville’ Stars’ Beliefs

Fans were first introduced to the Plath family when they made their reality TV debut on Welcome to Plathville in 2019. While the family was initially known for their conservative values and were compared to the Duggars, their views have seemingly changed over the years. Fans are wondering what religion the Plath family follows and if they still identify with the religion today.

What Religion Are the Plaths?

Kim Plath and Barry Plath raised their children – Ethan, Hosanna, Micah, Moriah, Lydia, Amber, Isaac,, Mercy and Cassia – to follow conservative values.

While the family has not confirmed their exact religion, it’s been speculated that they are Christian Fundamentalists. Fundamentalist Christians are generally Protestants or Baptists, while they tend to take the teachings of the Bible literally, according to Christianity.com.

During the reality show, the Plath kids discussed attending smaller home churches during their childhoods because Kim and Barry had issues with how bigger houses of worship functioned.

The kids were homeschooled and were taught to keep certain temptations out of their lives. Additionally, the parents encouraged their children to share their faith by performing as part of a family Southern Gospel band.

Are the Plath Family Members Still Religious?

Despite being raised religious, the family is now seemingly more open-minded. Kim and Barry’s split in June 2022 led them to live in individual households, and they appear to be living more secular lifestyles these days.

It’s not currently clear how attached to their religion they are in 2023.

Were the Plaths Part of the IBLP?

Ethan’s estranged wife, Olivia Plath, grew up following the controversial non-denominational Christian organization the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), which has famously been connected to the Duggar family.

Olivia’s sister Lydia Meggs confirmed her family’s involvement with the organization and admitted she “struggled over the years to identify how we grew up” during an Instagram Live in June 2023. “I think my parents were hesitant to use the label, but we grew up in that world,” she added.

Meanwhile, Lydia Plath weighed in on her family’s connection to the IBLP after the organization was discussed in the June 2023 Prime Video docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.

Lydia took to her Instagram Stories to share a post from blogger M Is for Mama, which stated she was “not a fan” of founder Bill Gothard and only has knowledge about the organization from other families that follow his teachings.

“I see a push lately for lumping all Bible-believing Christian homeschoolers in with the IBLP way of thought, and that’s simply not the reality I grew up with (or see around me now) at all,” the blogger wrote.

Alongside the post, Lydia added, “You can’t just lump everyone together and assume they’re the same.”

“And for all of those who have messaged or commented and asked me if I was a part of that, no I’m not,” the TLC star said. “I haven’t been and won’t be.”