The Ruth Institute is a global interfaith coalition equipping Christians to defend the family and build a civilization of love.
The Ruth Institute was founded in 2008 by author, speaker and former Ivy League economics professor Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D.
Ruth Institute Mission Statement:
The Ruth Institute equips people to understand, appreciate and defend traditional Christian sexual ethics by providing scientifically sound evidence, carefully reasoned arguments, and compelling personal testimonies.
The Ruth Institute believes that:
- All people have the right to know their cultural heritage and genetic identity.
- Every child has a right to a relationship with his or her natural mother and father except for an unavoidable tragedy.
- The Ruth Institute rejects the idea that a child is a problem to solve if you don’t want one and an object to purchase if you do want one.
The Ruth Institute upholds the ancient Christian teachings about marriage, family, and human sexuality. These teachings are today sometimes regarded as exclusively Catholic, but in fact, Judaism, and most Christian groups, historically taught many of the same things. The Ruth Institute works with individuals and groups, religious or otherwise, who share our views, in whole or in part, regardless of their positions on other issues.
Key messages of the Ruth Institute:
- Kids need their mom & dad.
- Children are a blessing.
- The Sexual Revolution destroys lives.
- No one is born gay.
- No one is born in the wrong body.
- The human person is meant for love.
The core values of the Ruth Institute include:
- Meaningful part-time work for people with significant family responsibilities.
- Collaboration with allied organizations.
- Careful analysis and fact-checking.
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A Brief History of the Ruth Institute
Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse founded the Ruth Institute in 2008 because she has a passion for helping young people avoid the poisonous personal consequences of the Sexual Revolution. She saw the connection between the crazy behaviors encouraged on campuses, young people’s unwillingness to get married, and ultimately, our cultural inability to stay married.
Dr. Morse was invited to join campaigns to strengthen the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. That political and educational activity has been associated with the public’s image of the Ruth Institute. Dr. Morse is widely respected by religious and family movement leaders, including State Family Policy Councils.
For the first five years, the Ruth Institute operated under the National Organization for Marriage Education Fund (NOMEF). The Institute’s primary mission was to promote lifelong married love to college students by creating an intellectual and social climate favorable to marriage. The Ruth Institute pursued this mission through conferences, lectures, and publications aimed at college students and those who work with them. The students who participated in these programs continue to have an impact on their campuses and beyond.
The 2013 Supreme Court decision in the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 signaled a new level of governmental commitment to the Sexual Revolution. Dr. Morse and the team at the Ruth Institute concluded that the opponents of natural marriage hold a commanding position on the legal and political fronts. At that time, the Ruth Institute made a strategic decision to enter into the cultural and social fray in a new way.
With the Ruth Institute’s renewed focus on the social and cultural arenas (as opposed to the political and legal arenas), Ruth and NOMEF concluded that their continued association was no longer mutually beneficial. As of 2013, the Ruth Institute has operated as an independent California corporation and is now tax exempt with its own 501( c )( 3 ) status.
Cultural conservatives have allowed themselves to be out-maneuvered by the Sexual Revolutionaries, who have defined the terms of the debate. They have largely dictated the cultural narrative about sex, marriage and family. Yet the full story of the harms of the Sexual Revolution has never been honestly and completely told.
The Ruth Institute is working to create a new story, a new narrative. The Victims of the Sexual Revolution are largely invisible in society and voiceless in the cultural conversation. The Ruth Institute is dedicated to inspiring the Victims of the Sexual Revolution to become Survivors and ultimately Advocates for Positive Change. We believe giving voice to the Victims of the Sexual Revolution is due to them as a matter of justice. We also believe that their voices have unique potential to change the cultural narrative around family, marriage, and human sexuality.