Decades before James Dobson, who died Thursday at age 89, became a stalwart of the religious right—zealously promoting conservative Christian values through his organization Focus on the Family and public policy think tank the Family Research Council—he was a child psychologist with a book idea.
His 1970 book, Dare to Discipline, dropped a hammer on so-called permissive parenting. Published by Tyndale House, it went on to sell millions of copies. So did several subsequent subsequent Tyndale titles by Dobson including What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew about Women (1975), The Strong-Willed Child (1978, and updated in 2004), When God Doesn’t Make Sense (1993), Bringing Up Boys (2001), Parenting Isn't For Cowards: The 'You Can Do It' Guide for Hassled Parents from America's Best-Loved Family Advocate (2007), and Bringing Up Girls (2010).
"We at Tyndale are deeply grateful for Dr. Dobson’s unwavering commitment to strengthening families and equipping believers,” Ron Beers, chief publishing officer at Tyndale, said in a statement Friday. In 2022, Focus on the Family established a marketing and publicity partnership with Tyndale.
Dobson's early publishing success led him to launch a radio show in 1977 that rocketed him into the Radio Hall of Fame and to establish Focus on the Family, an organization purporting to offer resources to guide and support families according to Christian values. According to the New York Times, Focus "became a $140 million multimedia empire that produced radio programs hosted by Dr. Dobson, published 11 magazines, made films and videotapes, and promoted his more than 70 independently published books."
In the 1980s, Dobson turned to the political sphere, starting the Family Research Council in 1981. On Friday, FRC president Tony Perkins praised Dobson's "positive, Christ-honoring" legacy. Over decades, Dobson advocated fiercely against abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and LGBTQ+ rights, and supported the idea of amending the US Constitution to lock in a definition of marriage as only for a man and a woman.
"Conservative Christians can and must let their voices be heard in the public square," Dobson proclaimed in a 1999 essay he wrote for Christianity Today. He concluded, "What’s at stake at this stage in our history is profoundly more significant than the whims of politics. Hanging in the balance is the essence of the Christian faith—purity, reverence for life, family stability, love for God, and receptivity to the gospel itself. We are the custodians—the stewards—of this precious heritage. We can’t afford to tremble now!"
