# Family Research Council The Christian right's permanent Washington policy shop. Founded in 1983 by [[James Dobson]] and currently led by [[Tony Perkins]], the Family Research Council has spent four decades converting evangelical social concerns into legislative language, congressional votes, and judicial nominations. The SPLC designates it as an anti-LGBTQ hate group. Republicans treat it as an essential policy partner. ## Why It Matters FRC is the organizational center of gravity for Christian nationalist policy advocacy in Washington. It operates at the intersection of think tank, lobbying operation, and media organization — producing research papers, maintaining congressional scorecards, distributing voter guides through church networks, hosting the annual Values Voter Summit, and running daily media operations that keep evangelical audiences politically activated. The organization's budget is approximately $20-25M annually. It maintains a staff of policy analysts, lobbyists, and communications professionals in Washington, D.C. and operates state-level affiliate organizations (Family Policy Councils) in most states, giving it both federal and state-level influence. ## The Dobson Origins [[James Dobson]] founded FRC as a Washington extension of his [[Focus on the Family]] empire. The original purpose was to give the Christian right a permanent research and lobbying presence in the capital — Focus on the Family was based in Colorado Springs and focused on media/ministry, but Dobson recognized the need for a dedicated policy operation near Congress. Gary Bauer led FRC through the 1990s before Perkins took over in 2003. ## Core Operations **Values Voter Summit**: Annual conference in Washington that functions as a mandatory audition for Republican presidential candidates. [[Marco Rubio]], [[Ted Cruz]], [[Mike Pence]], and [[Donald Trump]] have all appeared. It's the Christian right's equivalent of CPAC, but more focused on social issues and more directly connected to church networks. **Congressional scorecards**: FRC rates every member of Congress on votes related to "family values" — abortion, LGBTQ rights, religious liberty, education. These scores are distributed through church networks and function as accountability mechanisms. A low FRC score can trigger a primary challenge. **Voter guides**: Distributed through evangelical churches before elections. FRC claims to distribute millions of voter guides each cycle. The guides are technically "nonpartisan" (they list positions without endorsements) but are designed to steer voters toward Republican candidates. **Policy research**: FRC produces reports and analysis on religious liberty, life issues, family policy, and national security from a conservative Christian perspective. This output feeds into Heritage Foundation publications, congressional testimony, and media appearances. ## The Hate Group Designation The SPLC classified FRC as a hate group in 2010 based on its use of discredited research to demonize LGBTQ people — including claims linking homosexuality to pedophilia (the same equation that later powers the [[Groomer Narrative]] and modern political [[Transphobia]]). FRC has vigorously contested this designation and uses it as fundraising material, framing the SPLC as an anti-Christian organization. In 2012, a gunman who cited the SPLC designation shot a security guard at FRC's headquarters. ## The Analytical Framework FRC's function in the Christian nationalist ecosystem is **institutional persistence**. Movements rise and fall. Media attention shifts. But FRC has maintained a policy operation in Washington for over 40 years — longer than most of the organizations in this KB have existed. It's the base layer that ensures Christian nationalist priorities remain on the legislative agenda regardless of which administration is in power. FRC also serves as a credentialing institution. Figures who pass through FRC — as staff, fellows, or speakers — gain legitimacy in both evangelical and Republican circles. The organization is a node in the network connecting [[Leonard Leo]]'s judicial project, the [[Heritage Foundation]]'s policy infrastructure, and the [[Congressional Prayer Caucus]]'s legislative operation.