James Dobson

James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Ph.D. (born April 21, 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is the chairman of the board of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization he founded in 1977. In this function, he produces the daily radio program Focus on the Family, which is broadcast in more than a dozen languages and on over 7,000 stations worldwide, and heard daily by more than 220 million people in 164 countries. Focus on the Family is also carried by about 60 U.S. television stations daily.

He is an evangelical Christian, with conservative views on theology and Christian-right views on politics.

Dobson is a licensed psychologist in California.

Biography

Background

Dobson is the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Nazarene evangelists and remains a member of this evangelical denomination which is the largest denomination to have come out of the 19th Century Holiness Movement.

Dobson first became well-known with the publication of Dare to Discipline, a book that became a cultural phenomenon among conservative Christian families. Dare to Discipline asserts the value of spanking children who defy their parents. This caused some controversy among those who oppose all physical discipline of children. Dobson's social and political opinions are widely read among many evangelical church congregations in the United States. Dobson publishes monthly bulletins also called Focus on the Family which are dispensed as inserts in some Sunday church service bulletins.

Dobson and his wife Shirley have two children, Danae and Ryan. Ryan Dobson is a public speaker in his own right, often speaking on issues relating to youth, the philosophical belief in ontological truth, and the pro-life movement. Ryan Dobson was adopted by the Dobsons and is an ardent supporter of adoption, especially adoption of troubled children.

Degrees, positions and awards

Dobson attended Pasadena College (now Point Loma Nazarene University) where he was team captain of the tennis team and later returned to coach in 1968-1969. Dobson earned a doctorate in child development from the University of Southern California in 1967. He was an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine for fourteen years. He spent seventeen years on the staff of the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles in the Division of Child Development and Medical Genetics.

Dobson is a licensed psychologist in California.

At the invitation of presidents and attorneys general, Dobson has also served on government advisory panels and testified at several government hearings. Among many other awards, he has been given the "Layman of the Year" award by the National Association of Evangelicals in 1982, "The Children's Friend" honor by Childhelp USA (an advocate agency against child abuse) in 1987, and the Humanitarian Award by the California Psychological Association in 1988.

Social views

Views on marriage

James Dobson is a strong proponent of patriarchal marriage. He believes that women are not inferior to men because both are created in God's image. However, roles in marriage require the wife to submit to her husband's authority, deferring to his decision in matters of conflict. He has supported Christian men's organization such as Promise Keepers who advocate for similar views. He recommends that married women with children under the age of 18 focus on parenting, rather than work for income outside the home. Gil Alexander-Moegerle writes in 1997, "It is true that Jim has promoted women to lower and middle management positions[,] but it is also true that only recently Focus on the Family got its first female senior executive[,] Diane Passuo, executive vice president for mail processing. Dobson consciously resisted the elevation of women to the inner circle of senior leadership during the entire decade I worked with him. ... He overtly advocates male leadership with regard to the Christian family and he functions in exactly the same way with regard to [Focus on the Family's] office, as if he believes there is a divine order in which men are ordained to lead corporations."

In the 2004 book Marriage Under Fire: Why We Must Win This Battle, Dobson outlines the Bible's view of traditional marriage. Dobson suggests that falling heterosexual marriage rates in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are due to the recognition of same-sex relationships by political leaders in those countries during the 1990s (pp. 8-9). He remarks that traditional marriage "is rapidly dying" in these countries as a result, with "most couples cohabiting or choosing to remain single" and illegitimacy rates rising in some areas of Norway up to 80%. Dobson writes that "every civilization in the world has been built upon [heterosexual marriage]," (p. 7) and describes the institution of marriage as "the bedrock of culture in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and even Antarctica" (p. 8). He also believes that homosexuality is "curable." Criticising "the realities of judicial tyranny," Dobson has written that "[t]here is no issue today that is more significant to our culture than the defense of the family. Not even the war on terror eclipses it" (pp. 84-85).

Views on schooling

Dobson and Focus on the Family support private school vouchers and tax credits for religious schools, and they reject education efforts that address multiculturalism or homosexuality. According to Focus on the Family website, Dr. Dobson believes that parents are ultimately responsible for their children's education. He encourages parents to visit their children's schools to ask questions and to join the PTA so that they may voice their opinions. Dobson opposes sex education curricula that are not abstinence-only. According to critics, local schoolbook censors use Focus on the Family's material when challenging a book or curriculum in the public schools. Focus on the Family encourages Christian teachers to establish prayer groups in public schools. Dobson supports student-led prayer in public school but doesn’t support teacher-led prayer for fear that a teacher would encourage Christian students “to pray to Allah, Buddha, or the goddess Sophia against the wishes of the parents and/or students.”

Views on corporal punishment and authority

In his book Dare to Discipline, Dobson advocated the spanking of children of up to eight years old when they misbehave, but warns that "corporal punishment should not be a frequent occurrence" and that "discipline must not be harsh and destructive to the child's spirit." He does not advocate what he considers harsh spanking because he thinks "It is not necessary to beat the child into submission; a little bit of pain goes a long way for a young child. However, the spanking should be of sufficient magnitude to cause the child to cry genuinely."

Dobson recognizes the dangers of child abuse, and therefore considers disciplining children to be a necessary but unpleasant part of raising children that should only be carried out by qualified parents: "Anyone who has ever abused a child—or has ever felt himself losing control during a spanking—should not expose the child to that tragedy. Anyone who has a violent temper that at times becomes unmanageable should not use that approach. Anyone who secretly 'enjoys' the administration of corporal punishment should not be the one to implement it."

In his book The Strong-Willed Child, Dobson suggests that if authority is portrayed correctly to a child, the child will understand how to interact with other authority figures: "By learning to yield to the loving authority... of his parents, a child learns to submit to other forms of authority which will confront him later in his life—his teachers, school principal, police, neighbors and employers."

Dobson stresses that parents must uphold their authority and do so consistently, comparing the relationship between parents and disobedient children to a battle: "When you are defiantly challenged, win decisively." In The Strong-Willed Child, Dobson draws an analogy between the defiance of a family pet and that of a small child, and concludes that "just as surely as a dog will occasionally challenge the authority of his leaders, so will a little child — only more so. (emphasis in original)

When asked "How long do you think a child should be allowed to cry after being punished? Is there a limit?" Dobson responded:

"Yes, I believe there should be a limit. As long as the tears represent a genuine release of emotion, they should be permitted to fall. But crying quickly changes from inner sobbing to an expression of protest... Real crying usually lasts two minutes or less but may continue for five. After that point, the child is merely complaining, and the change can be recognized in the tone and intensity of his voice. I would require him to stop the protest crying, usually by offering him a little more of whatever caused the original tears. In younger children, crying can easily be stopped by getting them interested in something else."

Views on tolerance and diversity

Dobson has contended that "tolerance and diversity" are "buzzwords" that the We Are Family Foundation misused as part of a hidden agenda to promote homosexuality. He stated in the February 2005 edition of the Focus on the Family newsletter that "childhood symbols are apparently being hijacked to promote an agenda that involves teaching homosexual propaganda to children." He offered as evidence the association of many leading LGBT rights organizations, including GLAAD, GLSEN, HRC, and PFLAG, with the We Are Family Foundation and the foundation's distribution of elementary school lesson plans which included discussions of compulsory heterosexuality, gender, heterosexism, and homophobia.

The We Are Family Foundation countered that Dobson had mistaken their organization with "an unrelated Web site belonging to another group called 'We Are Family,' which supports gay youth." A spokesman for the foundation suggested that anyone who thought the video promoted homosexuality "needs to visit their doctor and get their medication increased." Dobson contended that the controversial material had been removed by the We Are Family Foundation following their remarks to the press, stating that Focus on the Family obtained "clear documentation that these materials were being promoted on the Web site."

Views on homosexuality

Dobson believes that homosexuality is not genetic but a chosen preference that deviates from God-ordained male-female marriage, which he defends as the central stabilizing institution of society. He maintains that homosexual behavior can be corrected. His Focus on the Family ministry sponsors the monthly conference Love Won Out, where self-professed ex-gays are among the speakers. Dobson strongly opposes the gay rights movement's efforts to legitimize same-sex relationships. In his book Bringing Up Boys, Dobson states that "Homosexuals deeply resent being told that they selected this same-sex inclination in pursuit of sexual excitement or some other motive."

Views on Global Warming

Dobson is one leader in a group of leading Evangelicals that does not believe the Christian right should be promoting the global warming issues. On March 14, 2007, Dobson was one of several signers in a letter which represents 45,000 churches and more than 60 evangelical denominations, relating that the organization restrain its Washington policy director, the Rev. Richard Cizik, from putting forward his views on global warming.

"We have observed that Cizik and others are using the global warming controversy to shift the emphasis away from the great moral issues of our time, notably the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage and the teaching of sexual abstinence and morality to our children," said the letter,

But Dobson and the other signatories of the letter to the National Association of Evangelicals board said evidence supporting global warming was not conclusive and that the organization "lacks the expertise to settle the controversy."

"The issue should be addressed scientifically and not theologically," they said, calling on the group's board to either rein in Cizik or encourage him to resign. Cizik responded to these statements by claiming that "A continued emphasis on the important theological issues of today should not preclude the Christian Right from also addressing the pressing environmental issues of the future."

Dominionism

Template:Dominionism Dobson's Family Research Council is identified as an dominionist organization by TheocracyWatch, which says that the Congressional scorecard of the Family Research Council illustrates its success and the strength of dominionists in Congress.

Chris Hedges described Dobson as "perhaps the most powerful figure in the Dominionist movement" and "a crucial player in getting out the Christian vote for George W. Bush." One ministry described Dobson as "One of its [the Dominionism movement] most powerful leaders," but also said that Dobson is not part of the Christian Reconstructionism movement. Stanley Kurtz refers to these criticisms as "conspiratorial nonsense," "political paranoia," and "guilt by association." Others call it a leftish "Dominionist" fantasy.

Political and social influence

Although Dobson initially remained somewhat distant from Washington politics, in 1981 he founded the Family Research Council as a political arm through which Biblical values could achieve greater political influence.

In late 2004, Dobson led a campaign with social conservatives to block the appointment of Arlen Specter to head of the judiciary committee because of Specter's stance on abortion. Responding to a question by Alan Colmes on whether he wanted the Republican Party to be known as a "big-tent party," he replied, "I don't want to be in the big tent... I think the party ought to stand for something."[3] In 2006, Family Research Council spent more than a half million dollars to promote a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in its home state of Colorado.[4]

On January 1, 2005, The Washington Times reported that Dobson promised six Democratic senators "a battle of enormous proportions" if they filibustered conservative appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court. "He singled out six Democrats up for re-election [in 2006]: Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Bill Nelson of Florida." According to a 2005 Washington Times article, in 2004 Dobson played an important role in the defeat of then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.[5] Five of the six senators went on to win reelection and the sixth, Dayton, was succeeded in office by another Democrat.

In November 2004, Dobson was described by the online magazine Slate.com as "America's most influential evangelical leader." The article explained "Forget Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who in their dotage have marginalized themselves with gaffes... Dobson is now America's most influential evangelical leader, with a following reportedly greater than that of either Falwell or Robertson at his peak... Dobson may have delivered Bush his victories in Ohio and Florida. Further, "He's already leveraging his new power. When a thank-you call came from the White House, Dobson issued the staffer a blunt warning that Bush 'needs to be more aggressive' about pressing the religious right's pro-life, anti-gay rights agenda, or it would 'pay a price in four years.'... Dobson has sometimes complained that the Republican party may take the votes of social conservatives for granted, and has suggested that evangelicals may withhold support from the GOP if the party does not more strongly support conservative family issues: "Does the Republican Party want our votes, no string attached--to court us every two years, and then to say, 'Don't call me, I'll call you'--and not to care about the moral law of the universe? ... Is that what they want? Is that the way the system works? Is this the way it's going to be? If it is, I'm gone, and if I go, I will do everything I can to take as many people with me as possible."

However, in 2006, Dobson said that, while "there is disillusionment out there with Republicans" and "that worries me greatly," he nonetheless suggested voters turn out and vote Republican in 2006. "My first inclination was to sit this one out," but according to The New York Times, Dobson then added that "he had changed his mind when he looked at who would become the leaders of Congressional committees if the Democrats took over."

The Council for National Policy, of which Dobson is a member, emerged from a February 2007 meeting dissatisfied with the current crop of candidates for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.

On May 17, 2007 Dobson announced that if Rudy Guiliani were to recieve the Republican party nomination, he would not vote for him. "I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision."

Books

Dobson has authored or co-authored over 31 books, including:

• Bringing Up Boys: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Men, Focus on the Family 2003, ISBN 0-8423-5266-X
• Dare to Discipline. Bantam, 1982. ISBN 0-553-20346-0
• Emotions: Can You Trust Them?
• The Focus on the Family Complete Book of Baby and Child Care (with Paul C. Reisser)
• Judicial Tyranny: The New Kings of America? - contributing author (Amerisearch, 2005) ISBN 0-9753455-6-7
• Life on the Edge
• Love Must Be Tough: New Hope for Families in Crisis
• Marriage Under Fire: Why We Must Win This Battle, Multnomah Publishers, Inc. (Sisters, Oregon), July 2004
• The New Dare to Discipline
• Night Light: A Devotional for Couples (with his wife Shirley Dobson)
• Night Light for Parents (with Shirley Dobson)
• Parenting Isn't for Cowards
• Preparing for Adolescence ISBN 0-8307-3826-6
• Stories of Heart and Home
• Straight Talk to Men
• Straight Talk: What Men Should Know, What Women Need to Understand
• The Complete Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide
• The Strong-Willed Child. Living Books, 1992. ISBN 0-8423-5924-9
• What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women
• When God Doesn't Make Sense

Dobson also served on the committee that wrote the Meese Report on pornography.

External links

• Focus on the Family - Official website [6]
• Focus on the Family, Canada
• James Dobson Headlines
• Dobson's political campaign contributions
• Focus on James Dobson – an Evaluation and Examination of Dr. James Dobson, His Writings, and his Ministry by Thomas Hilliard
• Template:SourceWatch
• James Dobson's ProCon.org Biography
• "And on the Eighth Day, Dr. Dobson Created Himself" - Article by Eileen Welsome in 5280 Magazine