Focus on the Family
Encyclopedia
Focus on the Family is an American
evangelical
Christian
tax-exempt non-profit organization
founded in 1977 by psychologist
James Dobson
, and is based in Colorado Springs
, Colorado
. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organization
s that rose to prominence in the 1980s. A component of the American Christian right
, it is active in promoting interdenominational work toward its views on social conservative
public policy
. Focus on the Family is also currently the primary sponsor for Phil Vischer
's JellyTelly
.
Focus on the Family's mission is "nurturing and defending the God-ordained institution of the family and promoting biblical truths worldwide." Some of the core promotional activities of the organization include a daily radio broadcast by Dobson and his colleagues, providing free resources and family
counseling according to Focus on the Family views, and publishing a variety of magazines, videos, and audio recordings. The organization also produces specialized programs for targeted audiences, such as Adventures in Odyssey
for children, dramas, and Family Minute with James Dobson. Both Focus on the Family and Adventures in Odyssey are broadcast on Trans World Radio
in the UK.
From 1977 to 2003, James Dobson
served as the sole leader of the organization. In 2003, Donald P. Hodel
became president
and chief executive officer
, tasked with the day-to-day operations. This left Dobson as chairman of the Board of Directors, with chiefly creative and speaking duties. On Feb 27th, 2009 it was announced that James Dobson was resigning as Chairman of Focus on the Family, and by early 2010 he was no longer the public face of Focus on the Family, and was no longer hosting the daily radio program.
In March 2005, Hodel retired and Jim Daly
, formerly the Vice President in charge of Focus on the Family's International Division, assumed the role of president and chief executive officer
.
In November 2008, the organization announced that it was eliminating 202 jobs, representing 18 percent of its workforce. The organization also cut its budget from $160 million in fiscal 2008 to $138 million for fiscal 2009.
On February 27, 2009, Dobson officially announced he was stepping down as chairman of the Board of Directors, but would continue to serve as host of the Focus on the Family broadcasts and write a monthly column.
on their children. The organization maintains a toll-free telephone counseling service available to anyone in a family crisis.
Focus on The Family Radio Theatre is a series of audio dramas adapting classic literature, mystery mini-series and biographical productions, extending its reach to the mainstream as well as the Christian audience. The endeavor began through the efforts of former Adventures in Odyssey
producers Dave Arnold and Paul McCusker, along with casting director Philip Glassborow based in England.
Radio Theater began in 1996 with a 90-minute radio drama based on Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
, which was produced and aired as a broadcast special.
The drama continued with historical biographies of Squanto
("The Legend of Squanto"), Jesus
("The Luke Reports") and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
("Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom").
In 2003, Focus on the Family Radio Theater released an audio dramatization of C. S. Lewis
' epic novel series The Chronicles of Narnia
, with David Suchet
providing the voice of Aslan
, and over 100 English
actors rounding out the cast. Lewis' stepson, Douglas Gresham
, serves as host—sharing his personal stories at the beginning of each audio drama.
Radio Theatre also released an original miniseries, the Father Gilbert Mysteries, which tells of the spiritual mysteries encountered by Louis Gilbert, a cop-turned-Anglican-priest, who lives in Stonebridge, Sussex
, and ministers to the people of the town from St. Mark's Church. Nine episodes have been produced in four volumes available on cassette
and CD.
FOTF also produces a children's radio drama entitled Adventures in Odyssey
. It began in 1987 as Family Portraits, starring an elderly Christian gentleman named John Avery Whittaker (aka "Whit"), who runs an ice cream shop/"discovery emporium" called Whit's End; and he imparts Christian wisdom to the children of the town of Odyssey. It was renamed "Odyssey USA" in November 1987 and took on its present name, Adventures in Odyssey, in April 1988.
FOTF also produced a radio miniseries based on their videos, The Last Chance Detectives
.
In 2009, FOTF's Radio Theatre produced an audio drama of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, starring Andy Serkis
(Gollum
from the Lord of the Rings movies) as the voice of Screwtape
. The audio drama was also accompanied by the release of www.screwtape.com, the only site authorized by the C.S. Lewis estate to represent The Screwtape Letters
.
is an American
evangelical
conservative Christian non-profit organization which organizes, coordinates, and presides over Evangelical Christian religious observances each year on the National Day of Prayer
. The main office of the NDP Task Force is located at the headquarters of Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The website of the NDP Task Force states that "its business affairs are separate" from those of Focus on the Family, but also that "between 1990 and 1993, Focus on the Family did provide grants in support of the NDP Task Force" and that "Focus on the Family is compensated for services rendered." Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson, has been chairwoman of the NDP Task Force since 1991.
is a student-led event which takes place April 16. Founders describe the goal of the event, created in opposition to the anti-bullying Day of Silence
, as "encouraging honest and respectful conversation among students about God's design for sexuality." It was previously known as the Day of Truth and was founded by the Alliance Defense Fund
in 2005.
. Focus on the Family's magazine Citizen is exclusively devoted to politics. The FOTF also has an affiliated group, Focus on the Family Action (a.k.a. Focus Action), though the two groups are legally separate. As a 501(c)(4) social welfare group, Focus Action has fewer political lobbying restrictions. FoTF's revenue in 2005 was USD $142M, and that of FoTF Action was $14.7M.
The group supports the teaching of what it considers to be traditional family values. It advocates school sponsored prayer
and supports corporal punishment
. It strongly opposes LGBT rights, abortion
, pornography
, legalized gambling, and pre-marital and extramarital sexual activity
. Focus on the Family also embraces and reflects the wider political agenda of its audience, for instance promoting a religiously-centered conception of American identity and the support of Israel
.
Focus on the Family maintains a strong pro-life
stand against abortion, and provides grant funding and medical training to assist crisis pregnancy center
s (also known as pregnancy resource centers) in obtaining ultrasound machines
. The organization has been staunchly opposed to public funding for elective abortions. According to the organization, this funding, which has allowed CPCs to provide pregnant women with live sonogram images of the developing fetus, has led directly to the birth of over 1500 babies who would have otherwise been aborted.
Focus on the Family broadcasts a national talk radio program of the same name hosted by Dobson or his aides. The program has a range of themes, such as Christian-oriented assistance for victims of rape or child abuse; parenting difficulties; child adoption; husband/wife roles; family history and traditions; struggles with gambling, pornography, alcohol, and drugs; and many other themes. When programs deal with civic issues, listeners often respond to these programs by contacting political leaders.
Focus on the Family has been a prominent supporter of intelligent design
, publishing pro-intelligent design articles in its Citizen magazine and selling intelligent design videos on its website. Focus on the Family co-published the intelligent design videotape Unlocking the Mystery of Life
with the Discovery Institute
, hub of the intelligent design movement
. Focus on the Family employee Mark Hartwig is also a fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture
, a connection which has helped to publicize intelligent design extensively; James Dobson often featured intelligent design proponents on his Focus on the Family radio program. Focus on the Family's Family.org is a significant online resource for intelligent design articles.
, it shifted from support of Mike Huckabee
to not supporting any candidate, to finally accepting the Republican ticket once Sarah Palin
was added to the ticket. Prior to the election, a television and letter campaign was launched predicting terrorist attacks in four U.S. cities and equating the U.S. with Nazi Germany
. This publicity was condemned by the Anti Defamation League. Within a month before the general election, Focus on the Family began distributing a 16 page letter titled Letter from 2012 in Obama's America, which describes an imagined American future in which "many of our freedoms have been taken away by a liberal Supreme Court of the United States
and a majority of Democrats in both the House of Representatives
and the Senate
." According to USA Today
, the letter "is part of an escalation in rhetoric from Christian right activists" trying to paint Democratic Party presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama
in a negative light.
Focus on the Family Action supported Senator Saxby Chambliss
(R-Ga.) in his successful December 2, 2008, runoff election win. The organization, according to the Colorado Independent, donated $35,310 in radio ads to the Chambliss runoff campaign effort. As the Independent reports, the Focus-sponsored ads were aired in about a dozen Georgia markets. The commercials were produced in the weeks after Focus laid off 202 employees — some 20 percent of its workforce — because of the national economic crisis.
, which would have defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, preventing courts and state legislatures from challenging this definition.
In the same letter Dobson says that traditional marriage is the cornerstone of society, and he states that the goal of the gay and lesbian movement is not to redefine marriage but to destroy the institution itself. “Most gays and lesbians do not want to marry each other…the intention here is to destroy marriage altogether.” Dobson makes the argument that without the institution of marriage everyone would enjoy the benefits of marriage without limiting the number of partners or their gender. Focus on the Family sees allowing same-sex marriage as “…a stepping-stone on the road to eliminating all societal restrictions on marriage and sexuality.”
Focus on the Family asserts that the Bible lays out the correct plan for marriage and family. Dobson says that "God created Eve to complement Adam physically, spiritually, and emotionally". Dobson also uses the biblical figure Paul to affirm his views on marriage. He states that Paul maintained that men and women mutually complete each other, and to exchange a "natural relationship for an unnatural one is sinful".
In reference to same-sex marriage and same-sex couples with children, Dobson states, “Same-sex relationships undermine the future generation’s understanding of the fundamental principles of marriage, parenthood, and gender.” He also stated that the alleged destruction of what it considers to be the traditional family by permitting same-sex marriage will lead to "unstable homes for children".
Focus on the Family became more active in the same-sex marriage opposition movement after the Supreme Court of Canada
declared that restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples is a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
in 2003.
Dobson spoke at the 2004 rally against gay marriage called Mayday for Marriage. It was here for the first time that he endorsed a presidential candidate, George W. Bush. Here he denounced the Supreme Court rulings in favor of gay rights, and he urged rally participants to get out and vote so that the battle against gay rights could be won in the Senate.
In an interview with Christianity Today magazine, Dobson also explained that he was not in favor of civil unions. He stated that civil unions are just same-sex marriage under a different name. The main priority of the opposing same-sex marriage movement is to define marriage on the federal level as between a man and a woman and combat the passage of civil unions later.
The group's message has been controversial. In particular, groups who support gay rights, including some educational, medical, and mental health organizations, have criticized the organization for its stance on homosexuality and related legislation and for its Love Won Out
ministry, an ex-gay
movement in cooperation with Exodus International
and NARTH. Gay rights advocacy groups identify Focus on the Family as a major opponent of gay rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center
, a pro-gay American civil rights organization described Focus on the Family as one of a "dozen major groups [which] help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade".
The American Psychological Association
and the Royal College of Psychiatrists
expressed concerns that the positions espoused by Focus on the Family are not supported by the science and create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.
Focus on the Family is a member of ProtectMarriage.com
, a coalition formed to sponsor California Proposition 8
, a ballot initiative to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples, which passed in 2008, but was subsequently struck down as being unconstitutional by a federal court in Perry v. Schwarzenegger
, with the ruling currently stayed by the 9th Circuit Court.
, one researcher whose work FotF used to claim that gays and lesbians did not make good parents, said that the claim was "a direct misrepresentation of the research." She elaborated, "Whenever you hear Focus on the Family, legislators or lawyers say, 'Studies prove that children do better in families with a mother and a father,' they are referring to studies which compare two-parent heterosexual households to single-parent households. The studies they are talking about do not cite research on families headed by gay and lesbian couples." James Dobson cited the research of Kyle Pruett
and Carol Gilligan
in a Time Magazine guest article in the service of a claim that two women cannot raise a child; upon finding out that her work had been used in this way, Gilligan wrote a letter to Dobson asking him to apologize and to cease and desist from citing her work, describing herself as "mortified to learn that you had distorted my work...Not only did you take my research out of context, you did so without my knowledge to support discriminatory goals that I do not agree with...there is nothing in my research that would lead you to draw the stated conclusions you did in the Time article." Pruett wrote a similar letter, in which he said that Dobson "cherry-picked a phrase to shore up highly (in my view) discriminatory purposes. This practice is condemned in real science, common though it may be in pseudo-science circles. There is nothing in my longitudinal research or any of my writings to support such conclusions," and asked that FotF not cite him again without permission. After her research on teen suicide was used by Focus on the Family to promote "conversion therapy," Elizabeth Saewyc said that "the research has been hijacked for somebody's political purposes or ideological purposes and that's worrisome," and that research in fact linked the suicide rate among LGBT teens to harassment, discrimination, and closeting. Other scientists who have criticized Focus on the Family's misrepresentation of their findings include Robert Spitzer
, Gary Remafedi and Angela Phillips.
FOTF said Stacey's allegation was without merit and that their position is that the best interests of children are served when there is a father and a mother. "We haven't said anything about sexual orientation" said Glenn Stanton.
's telecast of Super Bowl XLIV
, featuring 2007 Heisman Trophy
winner Tim Tebow
and his mother, Pam. Pam was advised by doctors to have an abortion
as she was exposed to amoebiasis
, but she carried the pregnancy to term. The then unseen ad had drawn criticism from some abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood who asked CBS to cancel the ad because they argued that it was divisive. CBS's decision to run the ad was also criticized because in the past CBS and other networks had declined to run advocacy type ads during the Super Bowl. For example, ads by left leaning or perceived left leaning groups such as PETA
, MoveOn.org and the United Church of Christ
(which wanted to run an ad that was pro-same sex marriage) were denied. The ad, which made no reference to abortion or Christianity and referred to Tim merely as a "miracle baby" who "almost didn't make it into this world", aired as scheduled on CBS.
, a gay rights group, protested the ceremony with over 300 protesters.
Focus on the Family New Zealand is an organisation promoting a conservative Christian ideology. It has a similar agenda to the Focus on the Family organisation in the United States. Focus on the Family supported a Citizens Initiated Referendum on the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act 1961
.
The Focus on the Family headquarters is in a four building complex on a 47 acres (19 ha) plot of land, located off of Interstate 25
in northern Colorado Springs, Colorado
.
As of 1998 the entire Focus on the Family headquarters property had over 77 acres (31.2 ha) of land. 1,300 employees work in the complex, which has its own ZIP code
(80995). Christopher Ott of Salon said in 1998 that the Focus campus has "handsome new brick buildings, professional landscaping and even its own traffic signs." Ott added that "The buildings and grounds are well-maintained and comfortable. If there is any ostentatious or corrupt influence here, it is nowhere in sight."
The headquarters includes the Focus on the Family Welcome Center. While visiting the Focus on the Family complex, a couple had asked the staff if handling the sightseers in the main building was a distraction. The staff told the couple that it was a distraction; afterwards the couple donated $4 million to have a welcome center built. A visiting family donated 7 miles (11.3 km) of wood trim from the family's Pennsylvania
lumber business so Focus on the Family could build its administration building. As of 1998, James Dobson
, in his welcome center film, compares his decision to build the headquarters in Colorado Springs to the founding of the temple in Jerusalem.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
tax-exempt non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
founded in 1977 by psychologist
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
, and is based in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organization
Parachurch organization
Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside of and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism, usually independent of church oversight. These bodies can be businesses, non-profit corporations, or private associations. Most parachurch...
s that rose to prominence in the 1980s. A component of the American Christian right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
, it is active in promoting interdenominational work toward its views on social conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
public policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
. Focus on the Family is also currently the primary sponsor for Phil Vischer
Phil Vischer
Phillip "Phil" Vischer is an American voice actor, animator, director, writer and puppeteer known for creating the computer-animated video series VeggieTales with partner and friend Mike Nawrocki...
's JellyTelly
JellyTelly
JellyTelly is an online television network created by Phil Vischer . The goal of the site, is to be a Nickelodeon of sorts for Christian audiences...
.
Focus on the Family's mission is "nurturing and defending the God-ordained institution of the family and promoting biblical truths worldwide." Some of the core promotional activities of the organization include a daily radio broadcast by Dobson and his colleagues, providing free resources and family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
counseling according to Focus on the Family views, and publishing a variety of magazines, videos, and audio recordings. The organization also produces specialized programs for targeted audiences, such as Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey , or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Focus on the Family in 1987. The show's daily audience averages around 1.2 million within North America. The Odyssey series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video...
for children, dramas, and Family Minute with James Dobson. Both Focus on the Family and Adventures in Odyssey are broadcast on Trans World Radio
Trans World Radio
Trans World Radio is a multinational Christian evangelistic broadcaster. TWR broadcasts from 14 countries using mediumwave or high-powered AM transmitters, shortwave as well as through local radio stations, cable, satellite, and the Internet to reach millions of people in 160 nations in their own...
in the UK.
History and organization
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
served as the sole leader of the organization. In 2003, Donald P. Hodel
Donald P. Hodel
Donald Paul Hodel is a former United States Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Interior, and Chairman of the company FreeEats.com/ccAdvertising, which has had a controversial role disseminating push polls for the Economic Freedom Fund...
became president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, tasked with the day-to-day operations. This left Dobson as chairman of the Board of Directors, with chiefly creative and speaking duties. On Feb 27th, 2009 it was announced that James Dobson was resigning as Chairman of Focus on the Family, and by early 2010 he was no longer the public face of Focus on the Family, and was no longer hosting the daily radio program.
In March 2005, Hodel retired and Jim Daly
Jim Daly
Jim Daly is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Cork South West constituency at the 2011 general election. He was a member of Cork County Council for the Skibbereen electoral area from 2004–11....
, formerly the Vice President in charge of Focus on the Family's International Division, assumed the role of president and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
.
In November 2008, the organization announced that it was eliminating 202 jobs, representing 18 percent of its workforce. The organization also cut its budget from $160 million in fiscal 2008 to $138 million for fiscal 2009.
On February 27, 2009, Dobson officially announced he was stepping down as chairman of the Board of Directors, but would continue to serve as host of the Focus on the Family broadcasts and write a monthly column.
Marriage and family
The primary ministry of Focus on the Family is to strengthen what it considers to be traditional marriages and families. Much of the underlying theory comes from the published works of Dr. James Dobson, who has written a number of books on subjects ranging from raising children to taking steps to prevent divorce by helping couples with conflict management. One key theme of this ministry is helping couples understand the negative consequences of divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
on their children. The organization maintains a toll-free telephone counseling service available to anyone in a family crisis.
Radio theater
Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey , or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Focus on the Family in 1987. The show's daily audience averages around 1.2 million within North America. The Odyssey series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video...
producers Dave Arnold and Paul McCusker, along with casting director Philip Glassborow based in England.
Radio Theater began in 1996 with a 90-minute radio drama based on Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, which was produced and aired as a broadcast special.
The drama continued with historical biographies of Squanto
Squanto
Tisquantum was a Patuxet. He was the Native American who assisted the Pilgrims after their first winter in the New World and was integral to their survival. The Patuxet tribe was a tributary of the Wampanoag Confederacy.-Biography:Squanto's exact date of birth is unknown but many historians...
("The Legend of Squanto"), Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
("The Luke Reports") and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
("Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom").
In 2003, Focus on the Family Radio Theater released an audio dramatization of C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' epic novel series The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
, with David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
providing the voice of Aslan
Aslan
Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
, and over 100 English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actors rounding out the cast. Lewis' stepson, Douglas Gresham
Douglas Gresham
Douglas Gresham is an American-born British biographer and film producer, resident in Malta, and one of the two stepsons of C. S. Lewis.- Personal life :...
, serves as host—sharing his personal stories at the beginning of each audio drama.
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and ministers to the people of the town from St. Mark's Church. Nine episodes have been produced in four volumes available on cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
and CD.
FOTF also produces a children's radio drama entitled Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey , or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Focus on the Family in 1987. The show's daily audience averages around 1.2 million within North America. The Odyssey series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video...
. It began in 1987 as Family Portraits, starring an elderly Christian gentleman named John Avery Whittaker (aka "Whit"), who runs an ice cream shop/"discovery emporium" called Whit's End; and he imparts Christian wisdom to the children of the town of Odyssey. It was renamed "Odyssey USA" in November 1987 and took on its present name, Adventures in Odyssey, in April 1988.
FOTF also produced a radio miniseries based on their videos, The Last Chance Detectives
The Last Chance Detectives
The Last Chance Detectives is a series of Christian television movies, and later a radio drama series created by Robert Vernon and produced by Focus on the Family in the mid-1990s.The production of each video episode cost approximately one million USD....
.
In 2009, FOTF's Radio Theatre produced an audio drama of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, starring Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...
(Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
from the Lord of the Rings movies) as the voice of Screwtape
Screwtape
Screwtape is a character in the book The Screwtape Letters and the sequel essay Screwtape Proposes a Toast , both of which written by Christian author C. S. Lewis. A devil, Screwtape holds the position of Senior Tempter and Undersecretary of his department...
. The audio drama was also accompanied by the release of www.screwtape.com, the only site authorized by the C.S. Lewis estate to represent The Screwtape Letters
The Screwtape Letters
The Screwtape Letters is a satirical Christian apologetics novel written in epistolary style by C. S. Lewis, first published in book form in February 1942...
.
National Day of Prayer
The National Day of Prayer Task ForceNational Day of Prayer Task Force
The National Day of Prayer Task Force is an American evangelical conservative Christian non-profit organization which organizes, coordinates, and presides over Evangelical Christian religious observances each year on the National Day of Prayer....
is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
conservative Christian non-profit organization which organizes, coordinates, and presides over Evangelical Christian religious observances each year on the National Day of Prayer
National Day of Prayer
The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day...
. The main office of the NDP Task Force is located at the headquarters of Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The website of the NDP Task Force states that "its business affairs are separate" from those of Focus on the Family, but also that "between 1990 and 1993, Focus on the Family did provide grants in support of the NDP Task Force" and that "Focus on the Family is compensated for services rendered." Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson, has been chairwoman of the NDP Task Force since 1991.
Day of Dialogue
The Day of DialogueDay of Dialogue
The Day of Dialogue is a student-led event which is organized by Focus on the Family which takes place April 16. The goal of the event is "encouraging honest and respectful conversation among students about God's design for sexuality." It was previously known as the Day of Truth and was founded by...
is a student-led event which takes place April 16. Founders describe the goal of the event, created in opposition to the anti-bullying Day of Silence
Day of Silence
The Day of Silence is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their supporters...
, as "encouraging honest and respectful conversation among students about God's design for sexuality." It was previously known as the Day of Truth and was founded by the Alliance Defense Fund
Alliance Defense Fund
The Alliance Defense Fund is a conservative Christian nonprofit organization with the stated goal of "defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation." ADF was founded in 1994 by the late Bill Bright , the late Larry Burkett , James Dobson The...
in 2005.
Other ministries
Focus on the Family has a number of additional ministries. Many are aimed at specific demographics including teenage boys and girls, children, college students, families, young adults, parents, while others are aimed at specific concerns, such as sexual problems, entertainment, and politics. Many have their own regular publications. The ministry for college students and young adults is known as Boundless Webzine.Political positions and activities
As a 501(c)(3) corporation, Focus on the Family is not permitted to advocate any individual political candidate. In its radio broadcast, it often discusses political issues and current events, usually through a Christian conservative point of view. Dobson is among the Christian conservative leaders who met with and advised former President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Focus on the Family's magazine Citizen is exclusively devoted to politics. The FOTF also has an affiliated group, Focus on the Family Action (a.k.a. Focus Action), though the two groups are legally separate. As a 501(c)(4) social welfare group, Focus Action has fewer political lobbying restrictions. FoTF's revenue in 2005 was USD $142M, and that of FoTF Action was $14.7M.
The group supports the teaching of what it considers to be traditional family values. It advocates school sponsored prayer
School prayer
School prayer in its common usage refers to state-approved prayer by students in state schools. Depending on the country and the type of school, organized prayer may be required, permitted, or prohibited...
and supports corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
. It strongly opposes LGBT rights, abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, legalized gambling, and pre-marital and extramarital sexual activity
Human sexual behavior
Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...
. Focus on the Family also embraces and reflects the wider political agenda of its audience, for instance promoting a religiously-centered conception of American identity and the support of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Focus on the Family maintains a strong pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
stand against abortion, and provides grant funding and medical training to assist crisis pregnancy center
Crisis pregnancy center
A crisis pregnancy center , sometimes called a pregnancy resource center , is a non-profit organization established to counsel pregnant women against having an abortion....
s (also known as pregnancy resource centers) in obtaining ultrasound machines
Medical ultrasonography
Diagnostic sonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging technique used for visualizing subcutaneous body structures including tendons, muscles, joints, vessels and internal organs for possible pathology or lesions...
. The organization has been staunchly opposed to public funding for elective abortions. According to the organization, this funding, which has allowed CPCs to provide pregnant women with live sonogram images of the developing fetus, has led directly to the birth of over 1500 babies who would have otherwise been aborted.
Focus on the Family has been a prominent supporter of intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
, publishing pro-intelligent design articles in its Citizen magazine and selling intelligent design videos on its website. Focus on the Family co-published the intelligent design videotape Unlocking the Mystery of Life
Unlocking the Mystery of Life
Unlocking the Mystery of Life is a 2002 intelligent design documentary film promoted and produced by the Illustra Media, a branch of the Discovery Institute, and Focus on the Family. The film's script was written by Stephen C...
with the Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
, hub of the intelligent design movement
Intelligent design movement
The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the idea of "intelligent design," which asserts that "certain features of the universe and of living things are...
. Focus on the Family employee Mark Hartwig is also a fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture
Center for Science and Culture
The Center for Science and Culture , formerly known as the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture , is part of the Discovery Institute, a conservative Christian think tank in the United States...
, a connection which has helped to publicize intelligent design extensively; James Dobson often featured intelligent design proponents on his Focus on the Family radio program. Focus on the Family's Family.org is a significant online resource for intelligent design articles.
2008 Presidential campaign
In the 2008 U.S. presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, it shifted from support of Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
to not supporting any candidate, to finally accepting the Republican ticket once Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
was added to the ticket. Prior to the election, a television and letter campaign was launched predicting terrorist attacks in four U.S. cities and equating the U.S. with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. This publicity was condemned by the Anti Defamation League. Within a month before the general election, Focus on the Family began distributing a 16 page letter titled Letter from 2012 in Obama's America, which describes an imagined American future in which "many of our freedoms have been taken away by a liberal Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
and a majority of Democrats in both the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
." According to USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, the letter "is part of an escalation in rhetoric from Christian right activists" trying to paint Democratic Party presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in a negative light.
Focus on the Family Action supported Senator Saxby Chambliss
Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative ....
(R-Ga.) in his successful December 2, 2008, runoff election win. The organization, according to the Colorado Independent, donated $35,310 in radio ads to the Chambliss runoff campaign effort. As the Independent reports, the Focus-sponsored ads were aired in about a dozen Georgia markets. The commercials were produced in the weeks after Focus laid off 202 employees — some 20 percent of its workforce — because of the national economic crisis.
Position on same-sex marriage
Focus on the Family works to preserve its interpretation of the biblical ideals of marriage and parenthood, and therefore the organization takes a strong stance against LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. Founder James Dobson expressed great concern for the institution of marriage in a 2003 letter to the Christian community. In reference to the same-sex marriage movement, Dobson says that the institution of marriage “…is about to descend into a state of turmoil unlike any other in human history.” Focus on the Family believes that marriage should be defined as only being between a man and a woman. Dobson supported the failed Federal Marriage AmendmentFederal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
, which would have defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, preventing courts and state legislatures from challenging this definition.
In the same letter Dobson says that traditional marriage is the cornerstone of society, and he states that the goal of the gay and lesbian movement is not to redefine marriage but to destroy the institution itself. “Most gays and lesbians do not want to marry each other…the intention here is to destroy marriage altogether.” Dobson makes the argument that without the institution of marriage everyone would enjoy the benefits of marriage without limiting the number of partners or their gender. Focus on the Family sees allowing same-sex marriage as “…a stepping-stone on the road to eliminating all societal restrictions on marriage and sexuality.”
Focus on the Family asserts that the Bible lays out the correct plan for marriage and family. Dobson says that "God created Eve to complement Adam physically, spiritually, and emotionally". Dobson also uses the biblical figure Paul to affirm his views on marriage. He states that Paul maintained that men and women mutually complete each other, and to exchange a "natural relationship for an unnatural one is sinful".
In reference to same-sex marriage and same-sex couples with children, Dobson states, “Same-sex relationships undermine the future generation’s understanding of the fundamental principles of marriage, parenthood, and gender.” He also stated that the alleged destruction of what it considers to be the traditional family by permitting same-sex marriage will lead to "unstable homes for children".
Focus on the Family became more active in the same-sex marriage opposition movement after the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
declared that restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples is a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
in 2003.
Dobson spoke at the 2004 rally against gay marriage called Mayday for Marriage. It was here for the first time that he endorsed a presidential candidate, George W. Bush. Here he denounced the Supreme Court rulings in favor of gay rights, and he urged rally participants to get out and vote so that the battle against gay rights could be won in the Senate.
In an interview with Christianity Today magazine, Dobson also explained that he was not in favor of civil unions. He stated that civil unions are just same-sex marriage under a different name. The main priority of the opposing same-sex marriage movement is to define marriage on the federal level as between a man and a woman and combat the passage of civil unions later.
The group's message has been controversial. In particular, groups who support gay rights, including some educational, medical, and mental health organizations, have criticized the organization for its stance on homosexuality and related legislation and for its Love Won Out
Love Won Out
Love Won Out is an ex-gay ministry launched by Focus on the Family in 1998. It was founded by John Paulk. Its stated purpose is "to exhort and equip Christian churches to respond in a Christ-like way to the issue of homosexuality." Love Won Out was sold to a former affiliate Exodus International as...
ministry, an ex-gay
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
movement in cooperation with Exodus International
Exodus International
Exodus International is a non-profit, interdenominational ex-gay Christian organization founded by Michael Bussee, Gary Cooper, Frank Worthen, Ron Dennis, and Greg Reid...
and NARTH. Gay rights advocacy groups identify Focus on the Family as a major opponent of gay rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
, a pro-gay American civil rights organization described Focus on the Family as one of a "dozen major groups [which] help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade".
The American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
and the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...
expressed concerns that the positions espoused by Focus on the Family are not supported by the science and create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.
Focus on the Family is a member of ProtectMarriage.com
ProtectMarriage.com
ProtectMarriage.com is a coalition of conservative and religious American political activist groups aligned against same-sex marriage. The coalition's stated goal is to "defend and restore the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman." Beginning in 2001 as Proposition 22 Legal Defense...
, a coalition formed to sponsor California Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
, a ballot initiative to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples, which passed in 2008, but was subsequently struck down as being unconstitutional by a federal court in Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California challenging the federal constitutionality of Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative that amended the California Constitution to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples,...
, with the ruling currently stayed by the 9th Circuit Court.
Misrepresentation of research
Focus on the Family has been accused, on several occasions, of misrepresenting research. Judith StaceyJudith Stacey
Judith Stacey is an author, and Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and Sociology at NYU. Her primary focus areas include family studies, gender studies, queer studies, and sexuality...
, one researcher whose work FotF used to claim that gays and lesbians did not make good parents, said that the claim was "a direct misrepresentation of the research." She elaborated, "Whenever you hear Focus on the Family, legislators or lawyers say, 'Studies prove that children do better in families with a mother and a father,' they are referring to studies which compare two-parent heterosexual households to single-parent households. The studies they are talking about do not cite research on families headed by gay and lesbian couples." James Dobson cited the research of Kyle Pruett
Kyle Pruett
Dr. Kyle D. Pruett M.D. is an author of books and columns on parenting, and is a professor of Child Psychiatry at Yale University. This researcher and practicing psychiatrist was the host of the TV series Your Child Six to Twelve with Dr. Kyle Pruett. He has contributed to Good Housekeeping, Child,...
and Carol Gilligan
Carol Gilligan
Carol Gilligan is an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist best known for her work with and against Lawrence Kohlberg on ethical community and ethical relationships, and certain subject-object problems in ethics. She is currently a Professor at New York University and a Visiting Professor...
in a Time Magazine guest article in the service of a claim that two women cannot raise a child; upon finding out that her work had been used in this way, Gilligan wrote a letter to Dobson asking him to apologize and to cease and desist from citing her work, describing herself as "mortified to learn that you had distorted my work...Not only did you take my research out of context, you did so without my knowledge to support discriminatory goals that I do not agree with...there is nothing in my research that would lead you to draw the stated conclusions you did in the Time article." Pruett wrote a similar letter, in which he said that Dobson "cherry-picked a phrase to shore up highly (in my view) discriminatory purposes. This practice is condemned in real science, common though it may be in pseudo-science circles. There is nothing in my longitudinal research or any of my writings to support such conclusions," and asked that FotF not cite him again without permission. After her research on teen suicide was used by Focus on the Family to promote "conversion therapy," Elizabeth Saewyc said that "the research has been hijacked for somebody's political purposes or ideological purposes and that's worrisome," and that research in fact linked the suicide rate among LGBT teens to harassment, discrimination, and closeting. Other scientists who have criticized Focus on the Family's misrepresentation of their findings include Robert Spitzer
Robert Spitzer (psychiatrist)
Robert L. Spitzer was a major architect of the modern classification of mental disorders. He is a retired professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City, United States and was on the research faculty of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. He...
, Gary Remafedi and Angela Phillips.
FOTF said Stacey's allegation was without merit and that their position is that the best interests of children are served when there is a father and a mother. "We haven't said anything about sexual orientation" said Glenn Stanton.
Super Bowl XLIV advertisement
In February 2010, Focus on the Family purchased a 30-second commercial spot during CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's telecast of Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
, featuring 2007 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow
Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...
and his mother, Pam. Pam was advised by doctors to have an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
as she was exposed to amoebiasis
Amoebiasis
Entamebiasis is a term for the infection more commonly known as amoebiasis.It became the preferred term in MeSH in 1991, but the term amoebiasis is used by the World Health Organization and by those working in the field of amoebiasis research....
, but she carried the pregnancy to term. The then unseen ad had drawn criticism from some abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood who asked CBS to cancel the ad because they argued that it was divisive. CBS's decision to run the ad was also criticized because in the past CBS and other networks had declined to run advocacy type ads during the Super Bowl. For example, ads by left leaning or perceived left leaning groups such as PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
, MoveOn.org and the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
(which wanted to run an ad that was pro-same sex marriage) were denied. The ad, which made no reference to abortion or Christianity and referred to Tim merely as a "miracle baby" who "almost didn't make it into this world", aired as scheduled on CBS.
Recognitions and awards
In 2008, Dobson's "Focus on the Family" program was nominated for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Nominations were made by the 157 members of the Hall of Fame and voting on inductees was handed over to the public using online voting. The nomination drew the ire of gay rights activists, who launched efforts to have the program removed from the nominee list and to vote for other nominees to prevent "Focus on the Family" from winning. However, on July 18, 2008, it was announced that the program had won and would be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in a ceremony on November 8, 2008. Truth Wins OutTruth Wins Out
Truth Wins Out is an organization formed by Wayne Besen to fight what it considers "anti-gay religious extremism," especially the ex-gay movement...
, a gay rights group, protested the ceremony with over 300 protesters.
New Zealand
Crimes Act 1961
The Crimes Act 1961 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand administered by the Ministry of Justice.-Amendments:The Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 amended the Crimes Act, allowing for consensual homosexual relationships between men....
.
Other countries
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
: Focus on the Family Australia, Clayton, VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... - Canada - Focus on the Family CanadaFocus on the Family CanadaFocus on the Family Canada is a Canadian affiliate of the American evangelical Christian organization Focus on the Family. It was founded in 1983, and is based in Langley, British Columbia...
- Latin America Region: Enfoque a la Familia, San José, Costa RicaSan José, Costa RicaSan José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
- Middle East Region: Focus on the Family Middle East, Cairo, Egypt
- IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
: Fokus Pada Keluarga, JakartaJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre... - IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
: Focus on the Family Ireland, Dublin - KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
: Open Family Korea, SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world... - Malaysia: Focus on the Family Malaysia, SelangorSelangorSelangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
- SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
: Focus on the Family Singapore - Africa Region: Focus on the Family Africa, HillcrestHillcrest, KwaZulu-NatalHillcrest is a settlement within eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and forms a part of the Upper Highway Area.-History:Hillcrest was formerly a sleepy village, governed by its own Town Board on the outskirts of Durban that has now become a booming suburb incorporated into the eThekwini...
, KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... - TaiwanRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
: Focus on the Family Taiwan, TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
Headquarters
Interstate 25
Interstate 25 is an Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway. I-25 stretches from Interstate 10 at Las Cruces, New Mexico, , to Interstate 90 in Buffalo, Wyoming, .Interstate 25 is the main north–south expressway through...
in northern Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
.
As of 1998 the entire Focus on the Family headquarters property had over 77 acres (31.2 ha) of land. 1,300 employees work in the complex, which has its own ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
(80995). Christopher Ott of Salon said in 1998 that the Focus campus has "handsome new brick buildings, professional landscaping and even its own traffic signs." Ott added that "The buildings and grounds are well-maintained and comfortable. If there is any ostentatious or corrupt influence here, it is nowhere in sight."
The headquarters includes the Focus on the Family Welcome Center. While visiting the Focus on the Family complex, a couple had asked the staff if handling the sightseers in the main building was a distraction. The staff told the couple that it was a distraction; afterwards the couple donated $4 million to have a welcome center built. A visiting family donated 7 miles (11.3 km) of wood trim from the family's Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
lumber business so Focus on the Family could build its administration building. As of 1998, James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
, in his welcome center film, compares his decision to build the headquarters in Colorado Springs to the founding of the temple in Jerusalem.