Witherspoon Institute

Logo of the Witherspoon Institute

The Witherspoon Institute is a conservative think tank in Princeton, New Jersey. The group is opposed to same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and abortion.^[1][2][3]

Overview

The Witherspoon Institute was founded in 2003 by, among others, noted Conservative Robert P. George,^[3][4][2] Luis Tellez, and others involved with the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.^[2][5] Named after John Witherspoon,^[1] one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, the institute's fellows include Chen Guangcheng, Harold James, John Joseph Haldane, and James R. Stoner, Jr.^[6]

The Witherspoon Institute opposes same-sex marriage^[7] and deals with embryonic stem cell research, constitutional law, and globalization.^[2] In 2003, it organized a conference on religion in modern societies.^[8] In 2006, Republican Senator Sam Brownback cited a Witherspoon document called Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles in a debate over a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage.^[2] It held a conference about pornography named The Social Costs of Pornography^[9] at Princeton University in December 2008.^[10]

Financially independent from Princeton University, its donors have included the Bradley Foundation, the John M. Olin Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation.^[2]

The institute publishes an online journal called Public Discourse: Ethics, Law, and the Common Good.^[11]

Chen Guangcheng

On October 2, 2013, the Witherspoon Institute announced^[12] the appointment of blind Chinese lawyer and human rights activist Chen Guangcheng as Distinguished Senior Fellow in Human Rights at the Witherspoon Institute,^[13] as well as Visiting Fellow of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America,^[14] and Senior Distinguished Advisor to the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice.^[15] In an interview, Luis Tellez, President of the Witherspoon Institute, told Reuters: "We're not asking him to do anything specific... The main point is he's a truth teller, he tries to tell the truth as he sees it."^[16] Tellez said that he expects Chen to continue his advocacy for human rights in China in his new appointment, which is set to last for the next three years.^[17]

On October 16, 2013, Chen made his first public appearance as a fellow of Witherspoon. He delivered a public lecture at Princeton University entitled "China and the World in the 21st Century: The Next Human Rights Revolution,"^[18] co-sponsored by the Witherspoon Institute and the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.^[19] The text of Chen's speech, translated into English, was then published online.^[20] In the speech, Chen called on the American people to support the Chinese people by fighting against the oppressive Communist government of China. He reminded the audience that even small actions undertaken in defense of human rights can have a large impact, because “Every person has infinite strength. Every action has an important impact. We must believe in the value of our own actions.”^[20]

Regnerus study

In 2012, the Witherspoon Institute drew public attention for having funded a controversial study—called the "New Family Structures Study" (NFSS)—concerning LGBT parenting, conducted by Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. The study was criticized by major professional scientific institutions and associations, as well as other sociologists at the University of Texas.^[21] In a brief to the United States Supreme Court, the American Sociological Association formally condemned the NFSS for being invalid.^[22][23] The University of Texas conducted an inquiry into the publication and declined to conduct a personal investigation in keeping with its policy that "ordinary errors, good faith differences in interpretations or judgments of data, scholarly or political disagreements, good faith personal or professional opinions, or private moral or ethical behavior or views are not misconduct."^[24]

In 2012, Darren Sherkat, professor of sociology at Southern Illinois University and a member of the editorial board of Social Science Research was asked by the journal's editor to audit the peer-review process that led to publication of the Regnerus study. In the November 2012 issue^[25] of Social Science Research Sherkat published the conclusion of his audit that, despite his personal judgment that the study should not have been published, the journal and the study’s reviewers had followed all established procedures correctly. In an interview with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Sherkat described the study as being "deeply methodologically flawed and a peer-review process that failed to identify significant problems."^[26] Sherkat also believed that the study was riddled with technical flaws.^[26] Sherkat said he thought that Regnerus, a conservative Christian, had "disgraced" himself by drawing misleading conclusions from poor research.^[26]

In Regnerus' defense his former doctoral advisor, sociologist Christian Smith, has argued that, while "his article is not perfect," nevertheless "it is no scientifically worse than what is routinely published in sociology journals."^[27] Smith, who says he is not a conservative, nevertheless described the response to the Regnerus study as a "witch hunt," adding that "Regnerus published ideologically unpopular research results on the contentious matter of same-sex relationships. And now he is being made to pay."^[27]

Subsequently, eighteen other social scientists have also spoken out in defense of the Regnerus study,^[28][29] opining that:^[30]

We do not think that [the Regnerus study and others] settle the nation’s ongoing debate about gay parenting, same-sex marriage, and the welfare of children. In fact, research on same-sex parenting based on nationally representative samples is still in its infancy. But we think that the Regnerus study, which is one of the first to rely on a large, random, and representative sample of children from parents who have experienced same-sex relationships, has helped to inform the ongoing scholarly and public conversation about same-sex families in America.

Publications

• Religious Freedom: Why Now? Defending an Embattled Human Right (2012)
• Embryo: A Defense of Human Life
• The Social Costs of Pornography: A Collection of Papers (2010)
• The Social Costs of Pornography: A Statement of Findings and Recommendations (2010)
• Rethinking Business Management: Examining the Foundations of Business Education (2008)
• Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles (First edition, 2006; Second edition, 2008)
• The Meaning of Marriage: Family, State, Market, And Morals

References

External links

• Official website