, 1981 The Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation in
Gryon, Switzerland is led by one of his daughters and sons-in-law as a small-scale alternative to the original L'Abri Fellowship International, which is still operating in nearby
Huemoz-sur-Ollon and other places in the world.
Covenant Theological Seminary has established the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute directed by a former English L'Abri member, Jerram Barrs. The purpose of the school is to train Christians to demonstrate
compassionately and defend
reasonably what they see as the claims of
Christ on all of life. According to Michael Hamilton of
Christianity Today, "Perhaps no intellectual save
C. S. Lewis affected the thinking of evangelicals more profoundly [than Francis Schaeffer]; perhaps no leader of the period save
Billy Graham left a deeper stamp on the movement as a whole."
Institute of Church Leadership In 1978, Schaeffer asked a group of Reformed Episcopal Clergy to research his thoughts and current trends, forming a church guild called "The Society of Reformed Philosophical Thinkers". This was merged in 1988 with "Into Thy Word Ministries", which was then transformed into "The Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development" in 1998. Its purpose is to strategize how to reach and train pastors and church leaders to focus on Christ centered principles. Its aim is to point the church back to "true-Truth" and "true spirituality". The foundation develops comprehensive curriculum for pastors, church planters and church leaders.
Seven Mountain Mandate In 1975, along with fellow evangelists
Bill Bright (founder of
Campus Crusade for Christ) and
Loren Cunningham (founder of
Youth With a Mission), Schaeffer was one of the founders of what would later be termed the
Seven Mountain Mandate. The idea would later go on to be popularized by
Bethel Church pastor
Bill Johnson and
Lance Wallnau, among others. The concept centers around Christians taking dominion of seven societal
spheres of influence: "family, religion, education, media, art, economics, and government."
Political activism Francis Schaeffer is credited with helping spark a return to political activism among Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially in relation to the issue of
abortion. In his memoir
Crazy for God, Schaeffer's son Frank takes credit for pressing his father to take on the abortion issue, which Schaeffer initially considered "too political". Schaeffer called for a challenge to what he saw as the increasing influence of secular humanism. Schaeffer's views were expressed in two works, his book entitled
A Christian Manifesto, as well as the book and film series,
Whatever Happened to the Human Race?.
A Christian Manifesto Schaeffer's book
A Christian Manifesto was published in 1981 and later delivered as a sermon in 1982. It was intended as a Christian answer to
The Communist Manifesto of 1848 and the
Humanist Manifesto documents of 1933 and 1973. Schaeffer's diagnosis is that the decline of Western Civilization is due to society having become increasingly
pluralistic, resulting in a shift "away from a world view that was at least vaguely Christian in people's memory… toward something completely different." Schaeffer argues that there is a philosophical struggle between the people of God and the secular humanists. In the sermon version of the book, Schaeffer defines
secular humanism as the worldview where "man is the measure of all things". He claims that critics of the
Christian right miss the mark by confusing the "humanist religion" with humanitarianism, the humanities, or love of humans. He describes the conflict with secular humanism as a battle in which "these two religions, Christianity and humanism, stand over against each other as totalities." He writes that the decline of commitment to objective truth that he perceives in the various institutions of society is "not because of a conspiracy, but because the church has forsaken its duty to be the salt of the culture." He then suggests that similar tactics be used to stop abortion. But Schaeffer argues he is not talking about a theocracy:
Christian Reconstructionists Gary North and
David Chilton were highly critical of
A Christian Manifesto and Schaeffer. Their critical comments were prompted, they wrote, by the popularity of Schaeffer's book. They suggested that Schaeffer supports pluralism because he sees the First Amendment as freedom of religion for all; and they themselves reject pluralism. Pointing out negative statements Schaeffer made about theocracy, North and Chilton then explain why they promote it. They extend their criticism of Schaeffer:
Influence on Christian conservatives Christian conservative leaders such as
Tim LaHaye have credited Schaeffer for influencing their theological arguments urging
political participation by evangelicals. Beginning in the 1990s, critics began exploring the intellectual and ideological connection between Schaeffer's political activism and writings of the early 1980s to contemporary religious-political trends in the Christian Right, sometimes grouped under the name
Dominionism, with mixed conclusions.
Sara Diamond and Frederick Clarkson have written articles tracing the activism of numerous key figures in the Christian Right to the influence of Francis Schaeffer. According to Diamond: "The idea of taking dominion over secular society gained widespread currency with the 1981 publication of...Schaeffer's book
A Christian Manifesto. The book sold 290,000 copies in its first year, and it remains one of the movement's most frequently cited texts." Diamond summarizes the book and its importance to the Christian Right: : In
A Christian Manifesto, Schaeffer's argument is simple. The United States began as a nation rooted in Biblical principles. But as society became more pluralistic, with each new wave of immigrants, proponents of a new philosophy of secular humanism gradually came to dominate debate on policy issues. Since humanists place human progress, not God, at the center of their considerations, they pushed American culture in all manner of ungodly directions, the most visible results of which included legalized abortion and the secularization of the public schools. At the end of -- A Christian Manifesto, Schaeffer calls for Christians to use civil disobedience to restore Biblical morality, which explains Schaeffer's popularity with groups like
Operation Rescue.
Randall Terry has credited Schaeffer as a major influence in his life. Analyses of Schaeffer as the major intellectual influence on
Dominionism can be found in the works of authors such as Diamond and
Chip Berlet. Other authors argue against a close connection with dominionism, for example
Irving Hexham of the
University of Calgary, who maintains that Schaeffer's political position has been misconstrued as advocating the Dominionist views of
R. J. Rushdoony, who is a Christian Reconstructionist. Hexham indicates that Schaeffer's essential philosophy was derived from
Herman Dooyeweerd, not Rushdoony, and that
Hans Rookmaaker introduced Schaeffer to his writings. Dooyeweerd was a Dutch legal scholar and philosopher, following in the footsteps of
Neo-Calvinist Abraham Kuyper. Congresswoman and
2012 United States presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has cited Schaeffer's documentary series
How Should We Then Live? as having a "profound influence" on her life and that of her husband Marcus. == Writings ==