Duggar was born Joshua James Duggar in [[Tontitown, Arkansas|Tonitown]] in [[Washington County, Arkansas|Washington County]] in northwestern Arkansas, to James Robert and Michelle Annette Ruark Duggar.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.duggarfamilyblog.com/p/birthdays.html | title=Duggar Family Blog - Birthdays | publisher=Duggar Family | accessdate=August 26, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831070449/http://www.duggarfamilyblog.com/p/birthdays.html |archive-date=August 31, 2015 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref> The first of nineteen children, he was reared in a [[Christian fundamentalism|conservative Christian]] home.<ref name="patheos">{{cite news| author =Lilit Marcus| title =Josh Duggar Says He's Moving to DC to Work in Politics (Updated!)| newspaper =[[Patheos]] blog| date =March 14, 2013| url =http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithgoespop/2013/03/josh-duggar-says-hes-moving-to-dc-to-work-in-politics/| accessdate =May 31, 2015| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150222034118/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithgoespop/2013/03/josh-duggar-says-hes-moving-to-dc-to-work-in-politics/| archive-date =February 22, 2015| url-status =live| df =mdy-all}}</ref> Duggar was [[homeschooled]] and passed Arkansas' state test for a [[GED|general equivalency diploma]] at the age of sixteen. He did not attend college.<ref name="patheos"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Hamilton |first1=Arnold |title=For Arkansas family, 18's not a crowd |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/121805dntexbigfamily.2bb5559.html |accessdate=May 31, 2015 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=December 19, 2005 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5iQIl6cSO?url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/121805dntexbigfamily.2bb5559.html |archivedate=July 21, 2009 }}</ref>
