James Dobson: The Religious Right's 800-POUND GORILLA

Church & State, Feb 2005 by Leaming, Jeremy

Dobson's FOF, now based in Colorado Springs, has grown exponentially since its founding. FOF resides on an 81-acre campus and receives so much mail it has its own zip code. It employs more than 1,000 people and produces books, magazines, newsletters and Internet websites. Dobson's radio broadcasts are syndicated internationally and reach more than 116 countries. According to Slate.com, his weekly column is published by more than 500 newspapers.

Dobson's family counseling - and his great success at communicating that advice - have helped make him one the Religious Right's most influential voices. TV preachers such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, though still reaching millions of followers, have seen their reputations wane, in part because of off-the-wall or terribly offensive comments. John C. Green, a political science professor at Akron University in Ohio and director of the school's Ray Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, told Church & State that, "Dobson is widely admired among evangelical Protestants, and even beyond, because of his family ministry and radio programs."

Green added that Dobson's "political statements have become more common over time, reaching a high point in 2004." One reason for this increase was that same-sex marriage came on to the political agenda.

Political polling by Green, which was noted in the Jan. 17 edition of U.S. News & World Report, showed that 78 percent of evangelicals supported Bush, which represented a 7-point increase from 2000. Green said much of the increase could be attributed to Dobson's political activities.

But even before the 2004 elections, Dobson had started to delve more directly into political activities. In 1988, he helped create the Family Research Council (FRC), which was then headed by former Reagan White House official Gary Bauer. Dobson would later cut his formal ties with the group, but to this day remains closely associated with it.

Dobson also drew notice and stirred controversy in 1998 for complaining that the Republican Party was not doing enough to advance the Religious Right's agenda. (See "Family Feud," May 1998 Church & State.)

But as the 2004 campaigns got underway, Dobson leaped full-fledged into the nation's political fray.

Dobson lowered his profile at FOF and hit the campaign trail for Bush's reelection, as well as the election of other socially conservative Republican candidates. He also launched a "sister ministry" alongside FOF, called Focus on the Family Action, a 501(c)4 nonprofit with greater ability to operate politically. The New York Times reported that the budgets of both FOF and its political arm were projected to be $146 million in 2004. (In 1993, FOF's annual budget was then nearing $80 million.)

In his January interview with the Times, Dobson said he could never regain an image as an apolitical promoter of evangelical Christian values.

"I can't go back, nor do I want to," he told the Times. "I will probably endorse more candidates. This is a new day. I just feel the need to make use of this visibility."