James C. Dobson, a bestselling Christian author and psychologist whose views on the family influenced several presidents, died Thursday morning of unspecified causes. He was 89.
The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, a ministry originally founded as Family Talk in 2010, said in a statement that Mr. Dobson died Thursday.
“Dr. Dobson was a pioneer — a man of deep conviction whose voice shaped the way generations view faith, family and culture,” Gary Bauer, the institute’s senior vice president of public policy, said in a statement.
“His bold leadership, integrity, and compassion helped equip countless families to thrive in a world of shifting values. He was a mentor, a counselor, and a steady voice of truth in turbulent times,” Mr. Bauer added.
The organization did not state the cause of death.
Born in 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mr. Dobson founded the evangelical Protestant ministry Focus on the Family in 1977. He used it as a platform to promote conservative views on family and parenting in a daily radio broadcast that reached more than 4,000 radio stations nationwide and 160 different countries.
PHOTOS: Celebrity deaths in 2025: The famous faces we’ve lost
Those views also formed the basis for more than 70 bestselling books, including “The New Strong-Willed Child.”
He departed the ministry in 2010 to launch the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute and a nationally syndicated radio broadcast.
Mr. Dobson’s syndicated column on family issues ran each week in The Washington Times in the late 1990s.
The institute said Thursday that Mr. Dobson “dedicated his life to strengthening marriages, guiding parents, and defending biblical values by championing the central role of family in America.”
Mr. Dobson served in various advisory roles to Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
He advocated a tough-love approach to family policy, juvenile justice and child welfare, advocating for strict discipline.
“He was instrumental in shaping national conversations around pornography, gambling, teen pregnancy prevention, and the sanctity of human life, and he served on President Donald Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board,” the institute noted.
Several friends and admirers posted tributes to Mr. Dobson on social media.
“The great man has passed to be with the Lord,” Robert A.J. Gagnon, a visiting Bible scholar at Wesley Biblical Seminary, posted on X. “So grateful for his faithful stance on sexuality despite the horrendous criticism from the Left, as part of his larger program to help Christian families with his Focus on the Family broadcasts.”
Deacon Keith Fournier, a Catholic attorney and theologian who interviewed Mr. Dobson, described him as “passionately pro-life” in another post.
“He will be missed,” Mr. Fournier said. “But, he will also be remembered as one of the great champions of Jesus Christ and His Plan for marriage and family during this urgent time when marriage and the family and social order built on it have been under assault.”
In a statement, Focus on the Family President Jim Daly said Mr. Dobson’s legacy consists of the “people he touched and the families he helped” during his public career.
“Millions of marriages were saved and strengthened, millions of parents were able to raise happier, healthier children, and millions of men and women were equipped and encouraged to stand boldly for their faith in the public square because Dr. Dobson answered God’s call to create Focus on the Family,” Mr. Daly said.
Mr. Dobson is survived by his wife of 64 years, Shirley, and their children, Danae and Ryan. He is also survived by his daughter-in-law, Laura, and two grandchildren.
