James Dobson, Focus on the Family founder and key leader on the Christian right, dies at 89 Updated 5 mins ago James Dobson, who founded the conservative ministry Focus on the Family and was long a campaigner against abortion and gay rights, has died. He was 89. His death was confirmed Thursday by the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. Dobson was a child psychologist who started Focus on the Family in 1977. The organization gave Dobson a platform to weigh in on legislation, advise White House panels and advocate against laws to ban conversion therapy to “cure” gay people. He became a force in the 1980s for pushing conservative Christian ideals in American politics alongside fundamentalist giants like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.

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