Rick Scarborough is a Christian political advocate and former Southern Baptist pastor from Pearland, Texas, who leads Recover America and Recover America Action.

Rick Scarborough received a B.A. from Houston Baptist University,[1] in 1978 he received a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,[2] and a D.Min. from the unaccredited Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996.[2] From 1990 to June 2002, he served as the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Pearland in Houston, Texas. In 1998, he founded Vision America. He has been involved with Focus on the Family.

In 2016 Scarborough gave the reins of Vision America to a subordinate and took a position in Washington DC as the Skyline DC Executive Director, with the assignment to lead Bible studies with governmental officials. He conducted studies with members of Congress, the State Department, and the Pentagon, as well as personally discipling members of the World Bank.

After Beto O’Rourke came within 1.6 percentage points of defeating Senator Cruz, Scarborough moved back to Texas to mobilize pastors. That event was the catalyst for Scarborough to return to Houston and start Recover America Now!


He has traveled extensively and was viewed by some conservative leaders as the Christian right leader in 2006 and in 2008.[3][4]

Views

Scarborough advocates for Christian right political values.[5] He was quoted on Christiane Amanpour's documentary series "God's Warriors" on CNN as saying, "I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat. I'm a Christocrat. My allegiance is to Jesus Christ".[6][7] He has said, "America is at war with the devil", and he supports "voting Biblically."[8] In 2006, he criticized former Ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. Senator John Danforth for supporting embryonic stem cell research.[9] He has publicly supported Justice Antonin Scalia.[10]

Scarborough opposes same-sex marriage, describing it as a sign America is moving "closer to hell"[11] and told E. W. Jackson he is willing to be burned to death opposing gay rights.[12] After the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized Same-sex marriage in the United States with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, the media reported that Scarborough had not set himself on fire.[13] He describes AIDS as "God's judgement"[14] and supports filing class-action lawsuits against homosexuals for "subjecting people to becoming AIDS sufferers".[15][16][17][18]

Concerning the decision of Texas Governor Rick Perry to vaccinate all 6th grade girls against those HPV strains that are most likely to produce cancer after infection, Scarborough said, "Nor we can not overlook the moral dimension. The governor's action seems to signify that God's moral law regarding sex outside of marriage can be transgressed without consequence."[19][20]

He has been accused of not being a real Baptist.[21][by whom?]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Vision America biography
  2. ^ a b Murray, Shailagh. "Filibuster Fray Lifts Profile of Minister: Scarborough Has Network and Allies", The Washington Post, May 8, 2005. Accessed December 19, 2007
  3. ^ "Pastors Guiding Voters to GOP" Stephanie Simon The LA Times from the October 2, 2006 print edition. URL accessed 10/16/2006
  4. ^ "Christian conservatives mobilize to rev up values voters" Matt Stearns Lexington Herald-Leader, September 25, 2006
  5. ^ "Religion and Politics in America" Morning Edition, NPR October 22, 1996 John Burnett URL accessed 05/09/2006
  6. ^ "New Report Says Iraq's Leaders Are Unable to Govern; Interview With Barack Obama". CNN.
  7. ^ Michael Wolraich (2010). Blowing Smoke: Why the Right Keeps Serving Up Whack-job Fantasies about the Plot to Euthanize Grandma, Outlaw Christmas, and Turn Junior Into a Raging Homosexual. Da Capo Press. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-306-81937-7.
  8. ^ Barbara G. Walker (April 2010). Man Made God: A Collection of Essays. Stellar House Publishing. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-9799631-4-8.
  9. ^ Brian Kaylor (1 January 2007). For God's Sake Shut Up!: Lessons for Christians on how to Speak Effectively and when to Remain Silent. Smyth & Helwys Pub. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-57312-485-0.
  10. ^ Glenn H. Utter; James L. True (1 January 2004). Conservative Christians and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-85109-513-1.
  11. ^ R.G. Ratcliffe (23 Mar 2015). "Hell, Satan and a Ghost from the Past". Texas Monthly.
  12. ^ "Rick Scarborough Is Ready To Burn To Death To Fight Gay Marriage". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way. 18 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Pastor Vows to Burn over Same Sex Marriage". NBC 12. 27 June 2015. A former Baptist minister, who reportedly vowed to set himself on fire if the high court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, is still alive.
  14. ^ "Right-Wing Tea Party leader Rick Scarborough wants to sue gays in class action". News.com.au. 20 Oct 2013.
  15. ^ "Scarborough: We Need A Class Action Lawsuit Against Homosexuality". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way. 17 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Tea Party Leader Wants to File Class Action Suit Against Homosexuality". Gawker. 18 Oct 2013.
  17. ^ Richard Dawkins (16 January 2008). The God Delusion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-0-547-34866-7.
  18. ^ 'Far Right: Saving America from Gays', in The Advocate, May 9, 2006, p. 16 (Here Publishing (9 May 2006). The Advocate. Here Publishing. p. 16. ISSN 0001-8996.)
  19. ^ "God, sex, drugs, and politics: A new vaccine sparks controversy". The Economist. February 8, 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  20. ^ "Mandatory HPV Vaccination for Texas 6th Graders Bypasses Democracy, Violates Parental Rights and Assaults Morality". PR Newswire (Press release). February 6, 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved August 13, 2021.((cite press release)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  21. ^ Randall Balmer (1 March 2007). Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts Faith and Threatens America. Basic Books. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-465-00371-6.
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