Witherspoon Institute
The Witherspoon Institute is a conservative think tank in Princeton, New Jersey.[1][2][3]
Overview
Founded in 2003 by Robert P. George and others,[3][4][2] the institute is named after John Witherspoon.[1] It shares many scholars with the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.[2] Fellows include Jean Bethke Elshtain, Harold James, John Joseph Haldane, W. Bradford Wilcox, and James R. Stoner, Jr.[5]
The Witherspoon Institute opposes same-sex marriage[6] and deals with stem cell research, constitutional law, and globalization.[2] In 2003, it organized a conference on religion in modern societies.[7] 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 at Princeton University in December 2008.[citation needed] In 2012, the Witherspoon Institute drew public attention for having funded a controversial study concerning LGBT parenting, conducted by Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. In response to concerns expressed by some, the publisher of the study, Social Science Research, conducted an internal audit of the process by which the study was published. The audit did not find any misconduct and the study was not retracted.[8] The University of Texas officials conducted an inquiry and concluded that there was no evidence of any scientific misconduct and deemed the matter closed.[9] Documents from the University of Texas at Austin show that Mark Regnerus requested payment authorizations, for assistance in data analysis, to William Bradford Wilcox, associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, a member of the James Madison Society at Princeton University, the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, and fellow (at that time) of the Witherspoon Institute.[10] William Bradford Wilcox no longer appears on the official website for the Witherspoon Institute. Although the Witherspoon funding was part of the controversy, these documents show direct involvement in the study by the Witherspoon Institute. The methodology of the study has received criticism[11][8] and defense.[12][13] The institute publishes an online journal called Public Discourse: Ethics, Law, and the Common Good.[14]
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]
Publications
- Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles (2004)
- The social costs of pornography: a statement of findings and recommendations (2010)
References
- ^ a b Official website: Mission
- ^ a b c d e f Deborah Yaffe, 'A conservative think tank with many Princeton ties', in Princeton Alumni Weekly, July 16, 2008
- ^ a b David D. Kirkpatrick, The Conservative-Christian Big Thinker, The New York Times, December 16, 2009
- ^ Robert P. George & Jean Bethke Elshtain, The Meaning of Marriage, Scepter Publishers, p. vii
- ^ Official website: Fellows
- ^ http://winst.org/family_marriage_and_democracy/WI_Marriage.pdf
- ^ Roger Scruton, A political philosophy, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006, p. 210
- ^ a b Controversial Gay-Parenting Study Is Severely Flawed, Journal’s Audit Finds
- ^ "University of Texas at Austin Completes Inquiry into Allegations of Scientific Misconduct". UTAustin. University of Texas at Austin. Aug. 29, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ NFSS FIOA Amato Wilcox
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Kolowichwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ A Social Scientific Response to the Regnerus Controvery
- ^ An Academic Auto-da-Fe
- ^ Public Discourse website
External links
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