Online Dating Service (eHarmony) Branches Out from Evangelical Roots

[Robbien]

Neil Clark Warren, founder of the online dating site eHarmony.com Inc., does matchmaking by the numbers.

Subscribers fill in 436 answers on a questionnaire. The company's computers then use a secret formula to match people using what Warren calls the 29 "dimensions" of a successful relationship, a system based on his decades of experience as a psychologist.

. . .

But as eHarmony becomes better known, Warren has had to tread a careful line: He has strong ties to evangelicals, who were overwhelmingly responsible for the early success of eHarmony. While maintaining that base, Warren now must ensure the service appeals to people of all religious persuasions.

. . .

Warren received a divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1959 and his doctorate in psychology at the University of Chicago in 1967, while working for a short period as a pastor. He began his private therapy practice in Pasadena, Calif., and taught at Fuller Theological Seminary -- which serves the evangelical community -- where he was dean of the graduate school of psychology from 1975 to 1982.

. . .

He also made several appearances on evangelical broadcaster James Dobson's radio program, "Focus on the Family," in the 1980s. Warren eventually made a deal for his books to be distributed under the "Focus on the Family" banner.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/NEWS/505280315/1021

[MADem]

1. That guy always seemed a little creepy to me n/t

[lateo]

23. Me too...

And now I know why...

[ToeBot]

2. I'd never trust anyone that smiles so incessantly

It rings false and it's like some twisted Cheshire cat thingy.

[onager]

4. You're right! In those TV commercials...

...he come across as a combination of Uriah Heep and a used-car salesman.

Or an undertaker pretending to sympathize, while he's really thinking about how he can con the grieving into buying the Super DeLuxe Coffin With Last Supper Painting On The Lid.

[dingaling]

16. In those TV commercials

he sounds like a pimp.

[dancingme]

3. Sounds like Sean Hannity's dating service

Why can't Sean fix up Ann Coulter or Condi Rice with nice Christian Conservative men?

[getmeouttahere]

5. Yeah, I knew there was something I didn't like about this guy...

and did you ever notice that when he talks he is almost always lightly shaking his head "no"?

I also didn't like the fact that they picked your matches for you (I filled out the survey, but didn't pay to join. At least with match.com or the others, you could pick someone with which you had things in common, like political persuasion, for example

[Gloria]

6. No wonder this guy creeps me out....

And the people who've all found happiness...I wonder if they are all
"Christians."

[lfairban]

7. Do the math:

If they require an exact match on all 29 dimensions of compatibility, and each dimension only has two states, how many people, on average will any given person be compatible with?

[karlrschneider]

10. Hm...looks to be about 537 million

:evilgrin:

edit: Argh, I meant that many combinations, not that many people!
:eyes:

[lfairban]

12. Right so far.

2 to the 29th power is 536,870,912.

According to http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/popclockw

the current world population is 6,444,309,084.

The answer is 12. That is 12 people in the entire world! I heard that there are about 2 million subscribers to e-harmony. That means that the average chance of an exact match is no greater than 268 to 1.

[megatherium]

8. This makes me appreciate the Jay Leno spoof "eWhoremony" that much more.

The voice-over: You can find the right match for a woman who will pretend to love you for an hour, who you can leave without any further emotional involvement!

[yorkiemommie1]

9. yep, creepy

funny, but i'd sent this item on to my friends using the word 'creepy'

and then i come back here to see that other DU'ers felt the same way.

[Robbien]

11. A far right site has a different take on this article

theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5917
(a copy/paste link)

Dobson and eHarmony Split Ways

"With reluctance and regret." That's how Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family is characterizing his acceptance of a decision by Christian author Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder of the online dating service eHarmony. That decision by Warren was detailed in a recent USA Today article that reports the eHarmony founder is "trying to distance himself" from Dobson and the Focus on the Family ministry -- which published several of Warren's books.

Why? Warren explains. "We're trying to reach the whole world -- people of all spiritual orientations, all political philosophies, all racial backgrounds," Warren told USA Today. "And if indeed, we have Focus on the Family on the top of our books, it is a killer. Because people do recognize them as occupying a very precise political position in this society and a very precise spiritual position."

According to the report, Warren says he will no longer appear on Dobson's radio show. In addition, he has purchased back the rights to three books Focus on the Family published -- Finding the Love of Your Life, Make Anger Your Ally, and Learning to Live with the Love of Your Life -- so he can drop Focus' name from their covers.

Speaking on his daily radio broadcast on Thursday (May 26), Dobson recalled Focus on the Family's involvement with Warren. "When eHarmony was in its infancy, we aired several radio programs that introduced the concepts to our listeners -- and according to Dr. Warren, that allowed the organization to get off the ground," he said.

Now, Dobson said, there are some "theological positions" that differ between the two ministries. He said he regrets how Warren feels, but accepts the decision to separate. "I introduced Dr. Warren and his books -- and eHarmony, more recently -- to our listeners specifically because he was and it was decidedly Christian in nature," he stated. "Dr. Warren is anxious to change that direction. So we will accept that, we will go our separate ways -- and we'll do that with reluctance and regret."

[alarimer]

13. Sounds like Focus on the Family is poison

from a marketing perspective. Warren is probably being very smart to distance himslef and his products. Personally I find eharmony a little creepy too but Focus on the Family is infinitely worse.

[MaineDem]

14. I agree, this explains a lot

I, too, thought there was something creepy about this guy.

[6000eliot]

15. Needless to say, they don't do gay matches.

[EST]

17. Dunno

Maybe gay is one of those fabled twenty nine, and ol' Dobbin couldn't handle it.

[delete_bush]

18. I understand enrollment was on the decline after

successfully matching all the fundies with their long lost cousins.

[Ian David]

19. Wanna bet these "personality profiles" are part of your airport screening?

[Horse with no Name]

20. I read on DU awhile back

That Warren and Bush go way back...

[LiberalFighter]

22. Did Warren match gw* with his mother?

[warrens]

21. Sounds like a recruitment strategy

Private emails to the fundie chicks, be NICE to this guy and reel him in. Probably the other way too.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

24. Another vote for "this guy has always creeped me out"

All that crap about "finding your soulmate" - as if there's only one person in the world who you can find happiness with - and the way he emphasizes soul always gives me the icks whenever I hear those ads.

I'm not surprised to learn of his fundy ties. Ick!