Dobson group gives pink slips to workers

For the first time in its 26-year history, radio counselor James C. Dobson's Focus on the Family (FOF) has had to lay off employees.

The large evangelical Christian ministry, located in Colorado Springs, announced last month that 34 employees were being terminated. Another 66 positions were eliminated. The ministry said it planned to cut $5 million from its $130-million budget to offset a drop in donations, reported Religion News Service.

Located in a sprawling, multi-building campus at the foot of Pike's Peak, Focus has about 1,300 employees. The group relies on donations to meet its budget, and Dobson has reportedly said in the past, "If the money doesn't come in, we simply do less."

In other cost-cutting measures, Dobson announced that the organization will drop merit-pay increases for employees, cut its flagship magazine from 10 to eight issues per year, close a cafeteria and cancel an employee picnic. In a memo to staff, Dobson wrote, "Some programs will be eliminated or drastically reduced in scope." He did not offer more details.

Dobson's FOF is one of the nation's leading Religious Right groups. It is known for it antipathy for church-state separation, public education, reproductive rights and legal protections for gays.

Dobson, however, seems to have mixed feelings about President George W. Bush's "faith-based" initiative.

In a Feb. 7 interview with CNN's Larry King, Dobson said he thinks the initiative is a good idea but also expressed reservations.

"I have some apprehension about it," he told King. "It all depends on how the legislation is written. If it begins to, you know, intrude on the practice of faith, then I would be opposed to it. Certainly, Focus on the Family will not take any government money."

Asked why, Dobson replied, "Because there is likely to be strings attached, and if not now, then at some time in the future. And you start leaning on it, and then if it's pulled away, then that creates problems."

Copyright Americans United for Separation of Church and State Mar 2003
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