Frederick Clarkson

Frederick Clarkson is an American journalist and public speaker in the fields of politics and religion. He is the author of Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy (1997, ISBN 1-56751-088-4); editor of Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America (2008, ISBN 978-0-9788431-8-2); and co-author of Challenging the Christian Right: The Activist’s Handbook (1992) for which he and his co-author were named among the "Media Heroes of 1992" by the Institute for Alternative Journalism. They were described as "especially brave at taking on powerful institutions and persistent about getting stories out...journalists and activists who persevere in fighting censorship and protecting the First Amendment," and "understanding the Christian Right's recent strategy of stealth politics early on, and or doggedly tracking its activities across the U.S." He has also published articles with Salon.com, Ms. magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and other publications. As of 2008, he served on the advisory board of the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, an organization dedicated to opposing the religious right; and on the editorial boards of The Public Eye and In These Times magazines.

His notable interviews as a journalist have been with former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in In These Times; and, comedy writer Jane Bussmann, Sudanese Anglican Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail and John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, in Religion Dispatches.

His articles have been anthologized in such scholarly works as Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements, (Routledge, 2000); Harcourt Source Readings for American Government (Harcourt College Publishers, 2000); and Eyes Right: Challenging the Right-wing Backlash (South End Press, 1995). He is he editor of A Moment to Decide: The Crisis in Mainstream Presbyterianism (Institute for Democracy Studies, 2000). His work is widely cited in books by others. The progressive journalist and Southern raconteur Joe Bageant, wrote in his book Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War, “Fred Clarkson, a New England Yankee with a streak of liberty a mile wide, has been thinking and writing about this longer than anybody I know.”

He has often been cited by major media, including such major newspapers as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and The Los Angeles Times. His radio appearances include NPR's Fresh Air, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation, as well as Democracy Now. His television interviews include CNN, Fox News, ABC's 20/20, and the CBS Evening News; as well as the BBC and the CBC. He was interviewed in Lake of Fire, the 2007 documentary film about abortion by Hollywood film director Tony Kaye.

He has been Senior Fellow for Religious Liberty at Political Research Associates in Somerville, MA since 2012. He was a columnist on religious liberty for LGBTQ Nation in 2014 - 2015. He is the author of a major report When Exemption is the Rule: The Religious Freedom Strategy of the Christian Right, from Political Research Associates, 2016.

He is the co-founder of Talk to Action, a group blog which features critical reports about the Religious Right.

External links

• Terry Gross interview of Clarkson for NPR's "Fresh Air"
• Bill Berkowitz, "Whither the Religious Left?" Essay in Religion Dispatches, September 15, 2008
• Religion Dispatches author profile
• In These Times author profile
• The Public Eye author profile
• Bio/About page at Clarkson's personal Web site
• Talk to Action