Ryan T. Anderson

Ryan Thomas Anderson^[1] (born 1981)^[2] is an American religious conservative political commentator who is primarily known for his opposition to the legal availability of abortion in the United States as well as LGBT rights in the United States, including the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States, legislative bills and judicial rulings that ban discrimination against LGBT people in the United States, and laws that ban the practice of conversion therapy on children in the United States.^[3][4][5]

Ryan T. Anderson
Anderson in 2023
Born	Ryan Thomas Anderson 1981 (age 43–44) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Education	Princeton University (BA) University of Notre Dame (PhD)
Known for	Opposition to the legal availability of abortion in the United States as well as LGBT rights in the United States, including the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States, legislative bills and judicial rulings that ban discrimination against LGBT people in the United States, and laws that ban the practice of conversion therapy on children in the United States
Notable work	What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing
Title	President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center
Movement	Religious conservatism

Anderson is currently president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a teaching fellow at the University of Dallas.^[6] In May 2025, Anderson was appointed to the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission.^[7]

Early life and education

Anderson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1981.^[2] He is the second youngest of five sons.^[3] His older brother, Christian, is a professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.^[3]

After attending the Friends School of Baltimore,^[8] Anderson graduated from Princeton University with magna cum laude honors and membership in Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in music in 2004.^[3] He later attended the University of Notre Dame, where he earned his Ph.D. in political philosophy and economic policy in 2014.^[3][9] His dissertation was titled Neither Liberal Nor Libertarian: A Natural Law Approach to Social Justice and Economic Rights and was advised by Professor Michael Zuckert.^[9][2]

Career

Anderson is currently president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a teaching fellow at the University of Dallas.^[6] On May 1, 2025, Anderson was appointed to the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission.^[10]

Previously, Anderson was a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation,^[11] the founder and editor-in-chief of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute,^[12] an adjunct professor of philosophy and political science at Christendom College,^[9] a research fellow at the Veritas Center at Franciscan University,^[9] and an assistant editor for First Things.^[9]

Views

Homosexuality

In 2003, Anderson wrote an article for The Daily Princetonian comparing what he called homosexual "characteristics" and homosexual "acts" to "alcoholism" and "the crimes of a pedophiliac priest" in arguing for his religious belief about homosexuality.^[13][4][5] In 2020, Anderson co-wrote an article with his mentor Robert P. George that criticized Pope Francis for his support for civil unions for same-sex couples. In the article, Anderson and George labelled what they called homosexual "inclinations" as "disordered" in arguing for their religious belief about homosexuality.^[14][4][5] The religious belief of Anderson and George is contrary to the scientific consensus that homosexuality is a positive and normal variation of human sexual orientation.^[15]

Conversion therapy

In 2007, Anderson wrote an article for First Things about his friend in which he speculated about his "problem" of same-sex attraction, said that his friend "suffers" same-sex attraction, mused about a "cure" for homosexuality, and labelled homosexuality as a "disorder".^[16][4][5] In 2012, Anderson wrote an article in which he promoted an article about advocates for a "cure" for homosexuality who fought against laws that ban the practice of conversion therapy on children.^[17][4][5] In 2019, Anderson voiced his opposition to a state law in Massachusetts that bans the practice of conversion therapy on children.^{[18][19][4][5]} The advocacy by Anderson is contrary to the scientific consensus that homosexuality is a positive and normal variation of human sexual orientation and that conversion therapy is a discredited, harmful, and pseudoscientific practice.^[15][20]

Same-sex marriage

In 2010, Anderson co-authored and published the article "What is Marriage?" in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy with Sherif Girgis and his mentor Robert P. George.^[21] The article was later published in 2012 under the name What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense by Encounter Books.^[22] In the article and book, Anderson, George, and Girgis argued their opinion that the defining feature of marriage is reproduction and therefore same-sex marriage should be considered a contradiction of their definition, and, accordingly, to preserve the benefits of what they called "true" marriage, same-sex marriage should not be recognized by law. Samuel Alito referenced the book in his dissenting opinion in the landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Windsor, which led to the federal legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States.^[3][23] In 2015, Anderson wrote an article in opposition to the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Obergefell v. Hodges, which led to the nationwide legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States.^[24] In 2017, Anderson co-wrote the book Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination with John Corvino and Sherif Girgis. The book received positive reviews for what was viewed by critics as its constructive back-and-forth discussion on freedom of religion and anti-discrimination law.^[25][26]

LGBT rights

In 2020, Anderson wrote an article in opposition to the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Bostock v. Clayton County, which led to the legal recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.^[27] In 2021, Anderson wrote an article in opposition to the Equality Act, which is a bill in the United States Congress that would ban discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in federal law.^[28]

Transgender rights

In 2018, Anderson wrote the book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment.^[29][30][31] The book, critical of what Anderson labelled as "gender ideology" or "transgender ideology" and heavily influenced by the works of Paul R. McHugh, came under scrutiny after it topped the Amazon bestsellers list in the Gay & Lesbian Civil Rights History category.^[32] In 2021, Anderson's book was removed by Amazon from its website.^[33] Amazon wrote a letter on March 11, 2021, addressed to Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, Mike Braun, and Josh Hawley explaining its decision, saying it would not sell books that framed LGBTQ+ identity as a "mental illness".^[34] Anderson denied that his book described transgender people as "mentally ill".^[35] Amazon reverted to selling Anderson's book on February 5, 2025.^[36]

Abortion

In 2022, in anticipation of the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Anderson co-authored the book Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing with Alexandra DeSanctis.^[37][38] The book aims to disarm arguments in favor of abortion and chart a path forward for the United States anti-abortion movement.

Personal life

Anderson is a practicing Catholic.^[39]

Books

Author

• Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom (2015) ISBN 978-1-62157-451-4
• When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment (2019) ISBN 978-1-64177-048-4

Co-Author

• With Robert P. George and Sherif Girgis - What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense (2012) ISBN 978-1-59403-622-4
• With Sherif Girgis and John Corvino - Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination (2017) ISBN 978-0-19-060307-6
• With Alexandra DeSanctis - Tearing Us Apart: Why Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (2022) ISBN 978-1-68451-423-6

Co-Editor

• With Daniel Philpott - A Liberalism Safe for Catholicism? Perspectives from the Review of Politics (2017) ISBN 978-0-268-10171-8
• With Andrew T. Walker - Natural Law: Five Views (2025) ISBN 978-0-310-12865-6

Articles

• "Disagreement Is Not Always Discrimination: On Masterpiece Cakeshop and the Analogy to Interracial Marriage." Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 16, No. 1 (2018): 123–45.