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David French | |
---|---|
Born | David Austin French January 24, 1969 |
Education | Lipscomb University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Political party | Republican (before 2018) Independent (2018–present) |
Spouse | Nancy Anderson |
Military career | |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 2007–2014 |
Rank | Major |
Unit | Judge Advocate General's Corps |
Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Awards | Bronze Star Medal [1] |
David Austin French (born January 24, 1969) is an American political commentator and former attorney who has argued high-profile religious liberty cases. He is a columnist for The New York Times . Formerly a fellow at the National Review Institute and a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019, French is senior editor of The Dispatch , [2] and occasionally a contributing writer for The Atlantic . French is currently a distinguished visiting professor of public policy at Lipscomb University, his alma mater. [3]
French was born in Opelika, Alabama. His parents were students at nearby Auburn University. [4]
French graduated summa cum laude from Lipscomb University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. [5] [6] He then went on to Harvard Law School where he graduated cum laude in 1994 with a Juris Doctor degree. [7] [8] [9]
French has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom, [10] has lectured at Cornell Law School, and spent much of his career working on religious rights issues. [11] He served as president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). [8] French retired from FIRE in 2005, citing plans to serve in the United States Army Reserve as a judge-advocate general officer. [12] [13] He left the legal practice in 2015, and became a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019, [14] [15] and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. [16]
French has authored several books, [8] including the non-fiction Divided We Fall (2020). [17] [18]
French became a New York Times columnist in January 2023. [19]
In August 2017, French was one of several co-authors of the Nashville Statement, which affirmed "that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness." [20] The statement was criticized by pro-LGBT Christians and LGBT rights activists, [21] [22] as well as by several conservative religious figures. [23] [24]
In November 2022, French announced that he had "changed his mind" on the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, although stating he was still morally opposed to the matter. He wrote that his "reasoning tracked my lifelong civil libertarian beliefs" and that: [25]
Millions of Americans have formed families and live their lives in deep reliance on Obergefell being good law. It would be profoundly disruptive and unjust to rip out the legal superstructure around which they've ordered their lives. [25]
French is a former major in the United States Army Reserve [26] and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. [8] French was deployed to Iraq in 2007 during the Iraq War, serving in Diyala Governorate as squadron judge-advocate. [27] He was awarded a Bronze Star. [26]
French briefly considered entering the 2016 U.S. presidential race, citing his strong moral objections to U.S. Republican Party presumptive nominee Donald Trump. He ultimately decided that he had neither the name recognition nor the financial support to mount a viable campaign. [28]
In 2016, French and his wife and family were the subject of online attacks when he criticized then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and the alt-right. French was bombarded with hateful tweets, including an image of his daughter in a gas chamber. [29]
A dispute between French and conservative New York Post editor Sohrab Ahmari broke out in the summer of 2019 as a result of the publication of Ahmari's polemical First Things article entitled "Against David French-ism." [30] The dispute centered on their differing opinions on how conservatives should approach cultural and political debate and issues, with Ahmari arguing for a more ideologically firm approach against French's libertarian views. [31] [32]
French is an evangelical Christian. [11] He is married to author Nancy French. [33] French and his family live in Franklin, Tennessee. [34] They have three children, including a daughter adopted from Ethiopia. [35]
Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. The view that various Bible passages speak of homosexuality as immoral or sinful emerged in the first millennium AD, and has since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible.
James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s, he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesmen for conservative social positions in American public life. Although never an ordained minister, he was called "the nation's most influential evangelical leader" by The New York Times while Slate portrayed him as a successor to evangelical leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.
The Christian right, otherwise referred to as the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity. In the United States, that means opposing any interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution that implies a "separation of church and state".
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
Lipscomb University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville; it also maintains one satellite location called "Spark" in Downtown Nashville to serve the business community. Total student enrollment for the fall 2022 semester was 4,704, which included 2,955 undergraduate students and 1,749 graduate students.
The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and one Midwestern state, the state of Missouri, in all of which socially conservative Protestant Baptist Christianity plays a strong role in society. Church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average. The region contrasts with the religiously diverse Midwest and Great Lakes and the Mormon corridor in Utah, southern Idaho and northern Arizona.
First Things (FT) is a journal aimed at "advanc[ing] a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society", focusing on theology, liturgy, history of religion, church history, culture, education, society, politics, literature, book reviews and poetry. First Things is inter-religious, inter-denominational and ecumenical, especially Christian and Jewish. It articulates Christian ecumenism, Christian–Jewish dialogue, erudite social and political conservatism and a critique of contemporary society.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious liberties and practices within public schools and in government, outlaw abortion, and oppose LGBTQ rights. ADF is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with branch offices in several locations including Washington, D.C., and New York. Its international subsidiary, Alliance Defending Freedom International, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, operates in over 100 countries.
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is an evangelical Christian organization promoting a complementarian view of gender issues. According to its website, the "mission of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is to set forth the teachings of the Bible about the complementary differences between men and women, created equally in the image of God, because these teachings are essential for obedience to Scripture and for the health of the family and the church." CBMW's current president is Dr. Denny Burk, a professor of biblical studies at Boyce College and director for The Center for Gospel and Culture at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Its 2017 "Nashville Statement" was criticized by egalitarian Christians and LGBT campaigners, as well as by several conservative religious figures.
Russell D. Moore is an American theologian, ethicist, and preacher. In June 2021, he became the director of the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today, and on August 4, 2022, was announced as the magazine's incoming Editor-in-Chief.
Christian nationalism is a type of religious nationalism that is affiliated with Christianity. It primarily focuses on the internal politics of society, such as legislating civil and criminal laws that reflect their view of Christianity and the role of religion/s in political and social life.
Many views are held or have been expressed by religious organisation in relation to same-sex marriage. Arguments both in favor of and in opposition to same-sex marriage are often made on religious grounds and/or formulated in terms of religious doctrine. Although many of the world's religions are opposed to same-sex marriage, the number of religious denominations that are conducting same-sex marriages have been increasing since 2010. Religious views on same-sex marriage are closely related to religious views on homosexuality.
Jordan Sekulow is an American lawyer, radio talk show host, former Washington Post blogger, political consultant, and author. A veteran of three presidential campaigns, Sekulow is the executive director at the American Center for Law & Justice, a conservative international public interest law firm and watchdog group founded by his father, Jay Sekulow.
Sohrab Ahmari is an Iranian-American columnist, editor, and author of nonfiction books. He is a founding editor of the online magazine Compact. He is a contributing editor of The Catholic Herald, and a columnist for First Things. Previously, he served as the op-ed editor of the New York Post, an editor with The Wall Street Journal opinion pages in New York and London, and as a senior writer at Commentary.
Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on the issues of gender identity and transgender people. Christian denominations vary in their official position: some explicitly support gender transition, some oppose it, and others are divided or have not taken an official stance. Within any given denomination, individual members may or may not endorse the official views of their church on the topic.
Nancy Jane Anderson French is an American writer. She is known for co-writing or ghostwriting books with public figures, including Ben Sasse, Sean Lowe, Bob Fu, Alice Marie Johnson, Shawn Johnson, Richard Lui, and Sarah Palin.
Brandan Robertson is a gay writer, activist, minister, and TikTok religious influencer. He has written on the subjects of millennials, social justice, and Progressive Christianity, and he is an LGBTQ activist. Robertson serves as the Pastor of Sunnyside Reformed Church in Queens, New York.
The Nashville Statement is an evangelical Christian statement of faith relating to human sexuality and gender roles authored by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) in Nashville, Tennessee in 2017. The Statement expresses support for marriage between one man and one woman, for faithfulness within marriage, for chastity outside marriage, and for a link between biological sex and "self-conception as male and female". The Statement sets forth the signatories' opposition to LGBT sexuality, same-sex marriage, polygamy, polyamory, adultery, and fornication. It was criticized by egalitarian Christians and LGBT activists, and several conservative religious figures.
Compact is an American online magazine that began operating in March 2022. The magazine was co-founded by Edwin Aponte, a populist and founder of The Bellows, Matthew Schmitz, a former editor of the conservative ecumenical journal First Things, and conservative opinion journalist Sohrab Ahmari. When it was founded, The New York Times described the magazine's listed contributors and contributing editors as ideologically diverse, including religiously conservative Catholics, populists, and dissident Marxist feminists. The magazine's editorial line is critical of liberalism from both the left and the right.
Having failed to undermine Gorsuch's nomination on substantive grounds, liberals are now using a straw-man argument instead