‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Hopes Series Helps Viewers Focus On Their Family And Faith

As Duck Dynasty finished up its final season this week, at least one star of the hit reality TV show hopes that the lasting impact from the family-oriented series is to see American families return to their core values.

That’s the latest from John Godwin, a member of the Duck Dynasty cast from the onset of the series. John Godwin shared his thoughts with a London, Kentucky, church over the weekend to discuss what the 11-season run of Duck Dynasty meant to him, according to a local CBS affiliate.

“We just hope people can learn to maybe sit down at the end of the day and have a meal together, with the way life’s so fast paced that they’ll get back and do that and just get back to family, cause family is a big part of America.”

Family and faith values have been hallmarks of the Duck Dynasty series. Those focuses did not come without their controversies, however, as Phil Robertson — the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family — was often behind the contentious statements.

While it was not the goal of the Duck Dynasty cast, John Godwin explained that he and the other cast members of the reality TV series did not mask their faith from their viewers. According to the article, John Godwin saw that as an opportunity for the Duck Dynasty series to spark conversations not often a part of national discourse.

“It wasn’t meant to be,” John Godwin explained about religion being a central theme of the show. “[I]t’s just if you get us, that’s what you get.”

The finale of the popular show isn’t the end of seeing John Godwin. The popular figure is already set to attend multiple functions, including an international outdoor expo in Minnesota next weekend. Later in the month, John Godwin plans to attend a festival in the Cleveland area to sign autographs for the attendees.

Thanks to his Duck Dynasty fame, John Godwin is able to attend a multitude of festivals and events as the guest speaker. In those speeches, John Godwin often focuses on what it’s like to work for and hunt with the Robertson family as well as his religious and family-oriented beliefs.

John Godwin has known the Robertson family well before his time starring on Duck Dynasty. The Louisiana native met Phil Robertson as a teenager at a duck calling contest. John Godwin joined Duck Commander — the Robertson family company that makes duck calls — as an employee in 2002.

John Godwin remains one of the few full-time employees of the Robertson family business. The 54-year-old expressed his gratitude for being accepted into the fold by the fowl call makers.

“Working for Duck Commander has been a blessing… I will definitely say that the Robertsons are very giving and passionate people, and I have become family through Christ.”

The end of Duck Dynasty isn’t the end of the Robertson family appearing on TV, either. Currently, Jep & Jessica: Growing the Dynasty is airing on the network that carried the Duck Commander crew for 11 seasons. According to the Inquisitr, the show was only recently renewed for its second season — which is currently being aired — earlier this year.

The first season of the spinoff show was focused on Jep and Jessica Robertson adding a new member to their family — an African American child named Gus — through adoption. The child became the center of controversy from the get-go as a decision to circumcise Baby Gus was criticized by advocates against the practice, according to the Inquisitr.

With the show over, what do you think will be the lasting impact of the reality TV series? Follow the Inquisitr on Twitter (@IQShowbiz) to discuss whether John Godwin was correct in his assessment on the impact of Duck Dynasty.

[Featured Image by Jerry Markland/Getty Images]