Family Research Institute
Founded1982 (1982)
FounderPaul Cameron
TypeNonprofit
EIN 470649778
FocusResearch
Location
Method[data missing]
Key people
Paul Cameron, Chairman
Kirk Cameron, Vice Chairman
Revenue
$70,629 (2010)[1]
Websitefamilyresearchinst.org
Formerly called
Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality

The Family Research Institute (FRI), originally known as the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality (ISIS), is an American socially conservative non-profit organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado which states that it has "...one overriding mission: to generate empirical research on issues that threaten the traditional family, particularly homosexuality, AIDS, sexual social policy, and drug abuse".[2] The FRI is part of a sociopolitical movement of socially conservative Christian organizations which seek to influence the political debate in the United States. They seek "...to restore a world where marriage is upheld and honored, where children are nurtured and protected, and where homosexuality is not taught and accepted, but instead is discouraged and rejected at every level."[2] The Boston Globe reported that the FRI's 2005 budget was less than $200,000.[3]

The FRI is led by Paul Cameron, who received a doctorate in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1966. Cameron founded the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality in 1982, and this institute later became the FRI.[3]

The Family Research Institute has been designated an anti-gay hate group[4] by the Southern Poverty Law Center since 2006[5][6] because of Cameron's discredited research and claims about LGBT people.[7][8][9][10][11]

History

Founding

FRI (known then as ISIS) was founded in 1982 in Lincoln, Nebraska by psychologist Paul Cameron.[12] In 1980, a local organization, the Lincoln Legion of Lesbians, had asked the Lincoln city government to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.[13] Cameron was vehemently opposed to legal protections for gay people, and presented his opposition as grounded in his psychological research.[14] The opposition organization he formed was successful not only in defeating the proposed law, but in quickly becoming a major part of the nationwide anti-LGBT movement.[15]

AIDS epidemic

Sociologist Sara Diamond of UC Berkeley states that the AIDS epidemic gave FRI a chance to oppose gay rights using "fear-mongering pseudoscience" before accurate scientific understanding of AIDS could be communicated to the public.[16] Among other proposals, FRI advocated limiting AIDS by imprisoning "sexually active homosexuals" in concentration camps.[12]

The organization's name was changed to the current one in 1987.[16] It moved to Colorado Springs in 1992.[12]

Reactions

In 1984, the Nebraska Psychological Association adopted a resolution stating that it "formally disassociates itself from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron in his writings and public statements on sexuality."[3]

In 1986 the American Sociological Association (ASA) passed a resolution condemning Cameron for "consistent misrepresentation of sociological research"[17] based on a report from the ASA's Committee on the Status of Homosexuals in Sociology, which summarized Cameron's inflammatory statements and commented, "It does not take great analytical abilities to suspect from even a cursory review of Cameron's writings that his claims have almost nothing to do with social science and that social science is used only to cover over another agenda. Very little of his work could find support from even a bad misreading of genuine social science investigation on the subject and some sociologists, such as Alan Bell, have been 'appalled' at the abuse of their work."[18] In 1996, the board of directors of the Canadian Psychological Association approved a position statement disassociating the organization from Cameron's work on sexuality, stating that he had "consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism".[19]

Herek and others have also said that the FRI's research has been published in Psychological Reports. The Boston Globe says that the small journal charges authors to publish their studies, and that it has a non-standard peer-reviewing policy. Herek says that it has a "low rejection rate" and that Cameron's research "would have been rejected by more prestigious scientific journals"[20]

Decline

The Christian right began to distance itself from FRI and Cameron in the mid-1990s. His acrimonious attacks on gays and lesbians were backfiring, according to journalist Wayne Besen; his attacks were responsible for a growing impression that Christianity was intolerant, and his claims appeared further removed from the truth as public understanding of AIDS grew. Focus on the Family denounced FRI, and moved on to associate itself with other pseudoscientific claims, such as conversion therapy, instead.[21] However, FRI's claims are still cited in politics as of 2020.[22]

Hate group designation

The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed FRI as an anti-gay hate group[4] because of Cameron's discredited research[8][9] and claims about LGBT people. According to the SPLC, Cameron's "continued demonization of LGBT people and the shoddy and suspect research methods he uses to advance his claims have earned his Family Research Institute (FRI) a place on the SPLC's anti-LGBT hate group list."[10]

According to political scientist Barry J. Balleck, FRI continues to publish "pseudoscientific studies" as of 2019 that, Balleck says, "remain central to anti-LGBT groups on the extreme right of the political spectrum."[12] Organizations that cite FRI's pseudoscientific research include the American Family Association, Coral Ridge Ministries, Concerned Women for America, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, the Family Research Council. The Illinois Family Institute has also cited FRI's research, but no longer does.[11][23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Nonprofit Report for Family Research Institute". GuideStar. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Official website Archived 2009-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 20-June–2008
  3. 1 2 3 Michael Kranish (July 31, 2005). "Beliefs drive research agenda of new think tanks". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
  4. 1 2 Simmons, Deborah (December 17, 2010). "It's season for left's intolerance". Washington Times. Washington, D.C. It has glued "anti-gay" and "hate" labels on several Judeo-Christian organizations that uphold traditional marriage and pro-life moral views - and make sure we keep "Christ" in Christmas. The groups range from the Traditional Values Coalition in California and the Family Research Institute in Colorado to Coral Ridge Ministries in Florida and Concerned Women for America in the nation's capital.
  5. ↑ Southern Poverty Law Center (2007). "Active U.S. Hate Groups in 2006: Colorado". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  6. ↑ Waddington, Lynda (November 23, 2010). "Groups that helped oust Iowa judges earn 'hate group' designation". Iowa Independent. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Paul Cameron". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Boston, Rob (July–August 2005). "Religious right roundup: Texas governor holds bill signing at Fort Worth church school in bid to corral evangelical voters". Church & State. Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The figures are based on research by anti-gay activist Paul Cameron that was discredited years ago.
  9. 1 2 Rostow, Ann (January 31, 2006). "Our enemies list: Richard Nixon may have given enemies lists a bad name, but it's good to know about who is trying to fight equality at all costs. Here are some who plan to derail LGBT America in 2006". The Advocate. Cameron, 66, is a discredited psychologist who has made it his purpose in life to disseminate wildly inaccurate "facts and figures" about gay men and lesbians under the auspices of the Family Research Institute, a nonprofit corporation he founded in 1982.
  10. 1 2 "Anti-LGBT Propagandist Published Again in Academic Journal". Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  11. 1 2 Schlatter, Evelyn (2010). "18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Balleck, Barry J. (July 8, 2019). Hate Groups and Extremist Organizations in America: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 113–114. ISBN 9781440857508.
  13. ↑ "Rights law sex clause sought". Lincoln Journal Star. August 6, 1980.
  14. ↑ Cameron, Paul (January 2, 1982). "Majority rights will suffer". The Lincoln Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  15. ↑ Williams, David (1994). "About Paul Cameron". Queer Resources Directory. Williams-Nichols Institute. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  16. 1 2 Diamond, Sara (February 15, 2000). Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right. United Kingdom: Guilford Publications. pp. 165–167. ISBN 9781572304949.
  17. ↑ American Sociological Association (February 1987). "Official Reports and Proceedings" (PDF). Footnotes. 15 (2): 13–16, p. 14. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  18. ↑ Committee on the Status of Homosexuals in Sociology (January 1987). "The Cameron Case" (PDF). Footnotes. 15 (1): 4, 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  19. ↑ Canadian Psychological Association. "Policy Statements". Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  20. ↑ Gregory M. Herek: Publication Outlets Used By The Cameron Group
  21. ↑ Besen, Wayne (July 26, 2012). Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. Taylor & Francis. pp. 228–233. ISBN 9781136326394.
  22. ↑ Connelly, Joel (February 28, 2020). "Bill requiring sex education in all public schools clears key House panel". KOMO News. Olympia, Washington. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Family Research Council". Groups. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved October 2, 2012. During his years at the FRC, Knight penned anti-gay tracts that used the research of thoroughly discredited psychologist Paul Cameron, head of the Colorado-based hate group the Family Research Institute
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