Institute on Religion and Democracy

38°54′12″N 77°02′03″W / 38.9033°N 77.0342°W / 38.9033; -77.0342

Institute on Religion and Democracy
AbbreviationIRD
Formation1981; 43 years ago (1981)
Founder
  • David Jessup
  • Edmund Robb
HeadquartersWashington, DC, US
President
Mark Tooley
Websitetheird.org Edit this at Wikidata

The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) is an American Christian conservative think tank that promotes its views among mainline Protestant churches, as well as advocating for its values in the public square. Its critics claim that it has been instrumental in criticizing mainline Protestant denominations in the United States including the progressive United Methodist Church.[1]

Founded in 1981, the institute's primary focus through the 1980s was communism and their opposition to elements within mainline Protestantism that they perceived as supportive of communism.[2] In more recent years, the IRD has turned their main purposes to the promotion of theological and political conservatism in mainline churches, particularly on issues of "traditional" sexual morality and support of Israel.[3]

  1. ^ "Renewal or Ruin?: The Institute on Religion and Democracy's Attack on The United Methodist Church". youtube.com.
  2. ^ Coulter 2016, p. 373.
  3. ^ Coulter 2016, pp. 373–374.