Early years
Robert Lenard Schenck and his identical twin brother, Paul, were born in 1958 in Montclair, New Jersey, to Chaim "Henry Paul" Schenck and Marjorie (née Apgar) Schenck. Schenck was named after his father's older brother who was a decorated B-17 bomber pilot in World War II and who lost his life in an air crash while serving in the Korean War. Schenck's father was born Jewish, raised in Manhattan and attended a Reform Temple on Long Island, and Schenck's mother was born Catholic in Brooklyn, raised non-religious (she converted to Judaism when marrying his father), and grew up in Northern New Jersey. Schenck grew up in Grand Island, New York.[7]
As a self-described "rebellious teen",[8] Schenck became involved in risky behavior. Then in 1974 at the age of 16, the boys became acquainted with the son of a United Methodist minister serving the Trinity United Methodist Church in Grand Island. After Paul was introduced to a circle of young, religious Christians, he decided to become a Christian. Schenck accompanied his brother to prayer meetings, and soon converted as well. Both brothers were baptized in the waters of the Niagara River, which forms the borders of Grand Island.[citation needed]
Family
While attending a youth prayer group in Grand Island, Schenck met Cheryl Smith, whom he married in 1977 after graduating from Grand Island High School. They have two children.[citation needed]
Ministry and activism
Faithwalk
In 1988, Schenck, an Assembly of God minister took a long-distance walk to help people in Mexico who live and work in garbage dumps. While he visited Mexico City in 1982, he became aware of the plight of the "dump people". Schenck took a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) walk from Buffalo, NY, through eight states and crossed the border at Laredo, Texas. He hoped to raise $1 million to build a clinic and recruit volunteers willing to help provide medical, dental, and construction services.[10]
Anti-abortion activism
In 1992, during Buffalo's large-scale abortion clinic demonstrations, Schenck grabbed national and worldwide attention when photos and video were shot of him cradling a preserved human fetus given the name "Tia" by a black anti-abortion group because the fetus was believed to be African-American. Much was written and aired about the event.[citation needed] In an opinion editorial in the June 15 Buffalo News, Schenck responded to the criticism. According to the op-ed, Schenck believed that pro-choice supporters ignored the truth in favor of ideology, and conversely he believed that the fetus demonstrated the truth of his own views. "Most have never seen an abortion, let alone the result of it. Baby Tia takes the argument out of the abstract and into reality."[11]
In 1995, Schenck organized the first National Memorial for the Preborn and their Mothers and Fathers, a religious service in opposition to abortion.[12] This event was held inside the US Capitol complex in Washington, D.C. The event was sponsored by the National Pro-Life Religious Council.[13]
Some time after 2010, Schenck changed his mind about abortion, stating that banning abortion would cause more harm than good, and opposed the effort to overturn Roe v. Wade. He concludes his May 31, 2019, Op-Ed for the New York Times "No doubt, many of my former allies will call me a turncoat. I don’t see it that way. I still believe that every abortion is a tragedy and that when a woman is pregnant, bringing the child into the world is always ideal. Reality, though, is different from fantasy. I wish every child could be fully nurtured and cared for, and could experience all the wonderful possibilities that life can offer."[14]
Schenck later stated that he was once part of a group that paid Norma McCorvey (1947–2017) — also known as Jane Roe in the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision — to lie and say that she had changed her mind and joined anti-abortion movements.[1][2][3] Having denounced the anti-abortion movement in 2019, Schenck stated in the 2020 documentary AKA Jane Roethat McCorvey was paid to pose as an anti-abortion rights activist and that "What we did with Norma was highly unethical".[15][1]
As of 2003, Schenck was a member of the National Pro-Life Religious Council.[16] He participated in the events surrounding Terri Schiavo's death. Schenck traveled to Florida to try to prevent Schiavo from being allowed to die and publicly called for police to prevent the same.[17] He was also a signatory of a letter to President George Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush by national anti-abortion leaders.[18][better source needed] In 2005, Faith and Action served as a clearinghouse for donations to the family of Susan Torres, a brain-dead pregnant woman being kept on life support so that she could give birth.[19]
In 1995, Rev. Schenck organized the first National Memorial for the Preborn and their Mothers and Fathers. This Memorial is a religious service against abortion.[20] This quickly became a prominent anti-abortion event held inside the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC. Originally a program of the National Clergy Council, the event has now been renamed the National Pro-Life Clergy Conference and is sponsored by the National Pro-Life Religious Council.[21][22][23]
Pastoring and preaching
In August 1994, in order to minister to national decision makers, Schenck and family moved to Washington, D.C. His first ministry there was to organize a new church. He attracted a core group of worshippers and created what became the National Community Church. He served as pastor for over a year until deciding to focus on government officials. In the beginning of 1996, when Mark Batterson took over as pastor the church had around 30 people in attendance.[24]
On Sunday, November 29, 2015, Schenck was a guest preacher at a Sunday worship service at the Washington National Cathedral.[25] Schenck was invited to speak because of his opposition to gun violence and the documentary, The Armor of Light, focusing on him, which was screened at the church following the service.[26]
Rev. Schenk used a ritual of blessing and prayer to seek divine guidance for the committee and the jurist during the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito.[27] and Sonja Sotomayor[28] A similar anointing and prayer ritual was used to seek God's guidance for President Obama when Schenck anointed the doorway to the inauguration through which the president elect would walk to the Inaugural stage. This was part of a 19-day effort of prayer and fasting for Obama and his presidency.[29] This was a continuation of official prayer for the new president that began with President George W. Bush's Second term.[30]
Ten Commandments Project
Created in 1995, his Ten Commandments Project has given over 400 plaques of the Ten Commandments to members of Congress and other highly placed officials, including former presidents Clinton and Bush. Special delegations made up of clergy and lay people make the presentations during ceremonies held in the recipients' offices. The agenda included a short speech which describes religion as the foundational basis of morality and law, a reading of the Commandments in their entirety, and prayers. The official was given an inscribed wooden plaque on which is mounted two stone polymer tablets containing a summary of the Ten Commandments. Recipients were urged to "display and obey" the Ten Commandments.[31]
Monument relocation from Ohio
In May 2009, Schenck joined Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt and other Ohio leaders help relocate a Ten Commandments sculpture. The 3-foot by 3-foot granite sculpture, which weighs 850 pounds, is one of four monuments removed by federal court order from the fronts of public schools in rural Adams County, Ohio. The monument was placed in a prominent position on private property. The monument is identical to the one situated in the front of the Faith and Action ministry center on Capitol Hill.[32]
Judge Moore's Monument
In 2003, Schenck helped organize a supportive demonstration outside of the Alabama Judicial building, seat of the state's Supreme Court when Roy Moore was chief justice.[33] By that time, Schenck had a long cooperative association with Moore[34] who refused to relocate a granite monument to the historic basis of the law that included the Ten Commandments. The monument was eventually ordered moved by US District Judge Myron Thompson. When US marshals were dispatched to supervise the removal, Schenck and several others surrounded the monument, knelt and started to pray. He was arrested and held for 5½ hours while the monument was moved.[35] Schenck was interviewed on numerous television shows regarding the events.[36]
Opposition to Burn-a-Koran Day
During September 2010, Schenck opposed the proposed burning of the Koran by pastor Terry Jones. In an interview with CBN on September 8, Schenck said this particular demonstration, while possibly warranted by common values and certainly permissible under the Constitution, violated Christian morality.[37][38] He also stated objections to fallout in religious relations; "He's not just burning Korans, he's also burning bridges that we were trying to build for years with the Islamic community".[39]
Schenck represented the National Clergy Council in speaking personally with Jones, and asked Jones if, in a show of good faith, he would surrender custody of the Korans at the center of the controversy to Schenck's colleague, the Reverend Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition. Jones agreed to do so. As a condition of his cancellation, Jones requested the relocation of Park51. Schenck attempted to broker a meeting between Jones and Imam Faisal Rauf.[40] However, a meeting never occurred and Jones did not burn Korans on September 11.[41]
Opposition to Houston sermons subpoena
On May 28, 2014, Houston, Texas Mayor Annise Parker approved the controversial Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which included a broad range of extenuating rights for the LGBT community without an exemption for religious organizations.[42] Opponents of the ordinance collected signatures to put the Bill to a public vote. On July 3, 2014, over 50,000 signatures were delivered to the city, which invalidated around 35,000 of the signatures and canceled the vote. On August 7, 2014, Houston citizens' groups filed suit to block implementation of HERO, which was put on hold.
In mid-2014, Mayor Parker's legal team subpoenaed sermons and sermon notes of local clergy members who had opposed the HERO ordinance. The subpoena required the clergy that "all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession" be turned over to the mayor's lawyers for review.[43] This caused a backlash around the country from religious freedom advocates as well as concerned citizens. As President of the National Clergy Council, Schenck (accompanied by other pastors) met with Mayor Parker to request that her legal order be withdrawn.[44] Shortly thereafter, the mayor instructed her attorneys to withdraw the subpoenas.[45]
The Armor of Light
In 2015, Schenck was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary, The Armor of Light.[46][47] In this film, directed by Abigail Disney[48] Schenck discusses the topic of guns and the anti-abortion Christian community's response to America's gun culture and gun violence. The movie was called a "vital colloquy on whether we shape our lives through fear or with love" by the Los Angeles Times.[49] In November 2015, Schenck preached at morning worship at the Washington National Cathedral where the documentary was screened following the service.[26]
The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
As of 2021, Schenck served as president of a non-profit organization known as The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute.[50] In 2019, the organization paid Schenck $147,000 from a budget of $422,612.[51]
Faith and Action Supreme Court influence campaign
Schenck founded a nonprofit organization named Faith and Action.[52] He headed the group from 1995 to 2018.[53]
On December 8, 2022, the House Committee on the Judiciary convened a hearing, "Undue Influence: Operation Higher Court and Politicking at SCOTUS", to determine covert activity and influence on members of the U.S. Supreme Court by Faith and Action (now Faith and Liberty) under Schenck's leadership.[54][55] Schenck was called to testify.[6] Schenck had previously alleged that Justice Samuel Alito had leaked news about an upcoming Supreme Court decision in 2014. (Alito has denied the allegation.) Schenck had also claimed to have undertaken a secret campaign to influence conservative Supreme Court justices for over a decade. At the hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan aggressively questioned Schenck's credibility, while Rep. Tom McClintock called him "'a pathetic grifter'".[56]
