Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of the Christian Nationalist group Focus on the Family (FOF), died last week at age 89.
Dobson was one of the grandfathers of the Religious Right movement that started in the late 1970s and he was a prominent figure in the 1980s and ’90s. A child psychologist, radio show host and prolific author, he was known for his controversial views on child-rearing, including his endorsement of corporal punishment.
But there was a lot more to Dobson and the empire he built. He was stridently anti-LGBTQ+, opposed legal abortion in just about all cases and worked constantly to promote political candidates with Christian Nationalist views. His advice on family matters actually divided a lot of families, and there are lots of people walking around today trying to process the pain caused by their parents who were drawn into Dobson’s orbit.
Blogger Hemant Mehta did a great job rounding up the damage Dobson did over the years. I won’t reinvent that wheel, but I did want to comment on one aspect of Dobson’s career: the politicization of his organization.
Dobson insisted FOF was not political. That is simply not true. I toured FOF’s campus in 1999 while doing research for a book. My tour guide insisted that FOF was not a political organization. Yet on that same tour, I saw stacks of FOF magazines filled with anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion content and material attacking anyone who took progressive views on social issues. FOF even created an explicitly political arm in Washington, D.C., called the Family Research Council (FRC). Dobson used to insist that these organizations were legally separate but “spiritually one” – a clumsy semantic dodge at best.
Nor could Dobson claim that his activities were issue-based. He often used his clout to endorse candidates and frequently traveled to Washington to chastise Republicans whom he claimed were not doing enough to endorse “family values” – once going so far as to threaten to create a third party if the GOP didn’t knuckle under to him. When Donald Trump encountered skepticism from some evangelicals who questioned the depth of his religious beliefs, Dobson provided cover by insisting that Trump was a devout Christian. Dobson later joined Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board during his first term.
Dobson loved to portray himself as an avuncular grandfather type, dispensing homespun wisdom to families in need of advice. In fact, he was just another Christian Nationalist extremist. FOF and FRC publications routinely assailed church-state separation and promoted “Christian nation” mythology. They told lies about America and its history.
Like TV preacher Pat Robertson, Dobson had an international platform through his daily radio program and other venues. He used them to sow hate and division. He had a powerful voice – and he used it to drive families apart. To Dobson, “tolerance” was a dirty word. (He once called tolerance a “desensitization to evil of all varieties.”) If you didn’t think like him, you were the enemy.
Death is not the time to cover up someone’s misdeeds – it’s the time to face them square on as we assess the impact that individual had on society. Dobson’s was largely negative. Despite what some Christian Nationalists may be saying, no one in 50 years is going to remember Dobson as a towering figure of Christian charity. He’ll be remembered for what he was: a petty and mean-spirited theocrat.
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