Dobson Edges Toward Retirement

As of the end of next February, James Dobson will no longer be hosting his flagship radio program:

James Dobson, the voice of conservative Christian group Focus on the Family since its inception, is leaving the organization’s flagship daily radio broadcast.

Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger says Dobson will go off the air at the end of February. He said Friday it was a mutual decision of Dobson and the board, and that more details are forthcoming.

Dobson, 73, a strong voice in conservative Christian politics, has taken on a reduced role at Focus on the Family as part of a succession plan. He resigned as president in 2003, and as board chairman in February.

The evangelical group recently laid off staff because of a decline in donations.

Earlier this year, when Dobson stepped down as Chairman of Focus on the Family, it was announced that he would continue to speak out on important political and cultural matters and that there were no plans for him to step away from the microphone as the voice of the daily radio program.

But this announcement suggests that Dobson’s reign as the face and voice of Focus on the Family and, by extension, the Religious Right as a movement, is coming to an end.