“I’m Dr. Dobson!” and other weird trauma responses
My op-ed for TIME Magazine
Good morning!
I’ve got a busy day ahead, prepping for appearances on the NPR Politics Podcast and All Things Considered, so this is just a quick post.
I quickly wanted to highlight my piece on James Dobson’s role in the rise of the religious right, which was published yesterday by TIME’s “Made by History” column.
Drawing from my book, The Exvangelicals, and additional research I’ve done since the book was published in March, the piece explores how Dobson’s role as a prominent Christian psychologist offering parenting advice morphed into one of the leading evangelical political figures of our time.
I also explore how some members of a generation of children raised under his teachings are responding now, as many of us raise our own. I’m hearing from several readers who fall into that category - including one who said how happy they were that they had taken a different path with their own parenting.
I hope you’ll check it out. Have a great day!
Sarah
While thankfully my parents were not influenced by Dobson, I was at least a nearby observer as he migrated from parenting advice to grasping political power. That migration mystified me at the time.
The pieces for understanding it first fell into place when I read Jesus and John Wayne, and your fine essay also gives insight about how there was more continuity there than I had realized.
I grew up in an evangelical-adjacent black non-denominational church where Dobson’s ideals bled into our community and definitely into our home. My older sister is probably most affected by this twisted theology than I was, but we’re both scarred nonetheless. Seems like we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out how to be “ok” and move on sometimes. Thanks for sharing the article and for your work.