But cracks began to show across the community, rumors released and the whole sordid mess played out on the aforementioned HULU series that just started, as well as before. The skinny? Early on, one of the ladies revealed that not only was her husband having an affair but that she, as well as many others in the group, were involved in what they called soft swinging.
Surely, when it comes to reality TV and a group like the Mormons, extramarital shenanigans are a delicious spice for viewers.
The consistent history of religious hypocrisy and sex
The morass of the U.S. Catholic church clergy sex abuse scandal runs so deep it could never even be scratched in one article. That sickening hypocrisy and abuse is best left to factual reports and magazine exposes. But beyond this, the many instances of a seeming stalwart religious leader being caught in a sex scandal, or some money grabbing are numerous.
There was the PTL/Jim Bakker scandal, where the preacher was as much accused of sexual misconduct with his church’s secretary Jessica Han, (Han would enjoy further public attention), as came under investigation by the FCC for supposedly misusing funds he raised for his church on the air.
And there is the now classic on-air “I have sinned,” confession Swaggart gave to his congregation when the news of his penchant for prostitutes was outed.
Swaggart would continue his paid sex interests, as well as working for his church.
As Dorothy Woodend makes plain in this TheTyee.ca piece, “The list of evangelists and Christian leaders who have been caught with their pants down is, how shall I put this indelicately, as long as porn star John Holme’s famous wiener.”
