Family Research Institute

Family Research Institute
Family Research Institute Logo
Founded 1982 (1982)
Founder Paul Cameron
Type [Data unknown/missing.]
EIN 47-0649778
Focus [Data unknown/missing.]
Location
Method [Data unknown/missing.]
Key people
 Paul Cameron, Chairman
Kirk Cameron, Vice Chairman
Revenue
$70,629 (2010)[1]
Website familyresearchinst.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 earned a doctorate in psychology at 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]

History

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"[11] 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."[12] 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".[13]

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"[14]

Hate group designation

The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed FRI as an anti-gay hate group[4] because of Cameron's discredited research[7][8] 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."[9]

Other organizations cite FRI's research including 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.[10][15]

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 2006-08-31.
  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 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  6. ↑ Waddington, Lynda (23 November 2010). "Groups that helped oust Iowa judges earn 'hate group' designation". Iowa Independent. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 1 2 "Anti-LGBT Propagandist Published Again in Academic Journal". Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Schlatter, Evelyn (2010). "18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  11. ↑ American Sociological Association (February 1987). "Official Reports and Proceedings" (PDF). Footnotes. 15 (2): 13&ndash, 16, p. 14. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
  12. ↑ Committee on the Status of Homosexuals in Sociology (January 1987). "The Cameron Case" (PDF). Footnotes. 15 (1): 4, 6. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
  13. ↑ Canadian Psychological Association. "Policy Statements". Retrieved 2007-02-20.
  14. ↑ Gregory M. Herek: Publication Outlets Used By The Cameron Group
  15. ↑ "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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