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James Dobson, Focus on the Family Founder and Evangelical Power Broker, Dies at 89

The child psychologist built a media ministry that helped define modern evangelical conservatism.

PHILADELPHIA - JANUARY 8: Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, gestures while speaking at the Justice Sunday III rally on January 8, 2006 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by the Family Research Council, the rally was held one day before the start of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. (Photo by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)
James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, speaks at a prayer event in San Diego in 2008.
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Overview

  • The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute announced his death on Aug. 21 in Colorado Springs, with statements citing a brief illness.
  • Dobson launched Focus on the Family in 1977, growing it into a major multimedia operation that at its peak employed more than 1,000 people.
  • He advised multiple presidents and served on Donald Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board after endorsing Trump in 2016.
  • A leading opponent of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, he promoted rhetoric supportive of conversion efforts and opposed bans on such practices.
  • He left Focus on the Family in 2010 to start the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, continued the nationally syndicated Family Talk radio program, authored bestselling parenting books, and is survived by his wife, Shirley, and their children, Danae and Ryan.