James Dobson, the founder of the influential Focus on the Family and a towering figure of the Religious Right, has died at 89. A psychologist, radio host, and Christian author, Dobson led the Colorado Springs-based organization from 1977 to 2010, becoming one of the most powerful evangelical leaders in American politics. His endorsements could sway elections. He was a ferociously unyielding and vocal opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage. During the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Dobson used his platform to spread disinformation so extreme that in 1989, U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop publicly called out Dobson’s activity as “reprehensive” and “homophobic.”
During his heyday, he had an audience of millions through his Focus on the Family radio show and books.
Reuters reported that “At the height of his influence in the 1980s, Dobson was viewed as one of the most powerful figures in the so-called ‘religious right’ or ‘Christian right.’ Critics viewed him as an agent of intolerance but he had broad support in the U.S. heartland, where his folksy style and love for hunting went down well “ (https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/james-dobson-american-evangelical-activist-dies-89-2025-08-21/?utm_source=chatgpt.com).
One of Dobson’s crowning achievements was his participation “in an anti-gay campaign supporting Amendment 2 in Colorado. Sponsored by Colorado for Family Values (CFV), Amendment 2 prohibited the state or local governments from passing anti-discrimination protections for gay and lesbian people, arguing that gay and lesbian civil rights were ‘special rights.’ FotF played a major financial and political role in the success of this amendment, as Dobson used his daily broadcasts to propel his listeners to vote in favor of it, which was followed by an increase of volunteers and money for the campaign ((https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/focus-family/?utm_source=chatgpt.com).
“Dr. Dobson was a pioneer — a man of deep conviction whose voice shaped the way generations view faith, family, and culture,” said Gary Bauer, vice president of public policy at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute (JDFI) (https://nypost.com/2025/08/21/media/christian-leader-dr-james-dobson-former-advisor-to-five-presidents-dead-at-89/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). In 2010, after leaving Focus, Dobson created JDFI as a smaller institute, continuing his work, with a greater emphasis on his own broadcast and teaching.
As the Southern Poverty Law Center pointed out, one of Dobson’s earliest best-selling books, Dare to Discipline, was a parenting guide that recommended strict discipline and corporal punishment. The book helped establish a Christian-right political framework that situated conservative evangelicals as defenders of true religion, culture and family. The book warned that a family led by a cis-heterosexual male was the only cultural institution that could stand against the sexual revolution (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/focus-family/?utm_source=chatgpt.com).
Dobson was a key figure in establishing powerful right-wing organizations. The SPLC reported that he cofounded, raised money for and helped platform “what has become the infrastructure of the modern anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion movements. In 1981 the Council for National Policy, a powerful secret club of far-right religious figures, began meeting. Key membership included Dobson, R.J. Rushdoony, Jerry Falwell, Tony Perkins, Beverly and Tim LaHaye, and Phyllis Schlafly.”
Since the 1970s, some analysts have predicted the Religious Right’s collapse with every scandal or loss. Others have warned of its relentless rise—from Falwell’s Moral Majority and Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition to James Dobson’s pulpit to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Though Dobson and much of the original leadership are now gone, their culture war legacy endures. In their place stands a new generation of right-wing influencers, media networks, and political operatives, all ready to carry the movement forward—with different tactics, but many of the same goals. And their loyalty to Donald Trump is immutable.
