Neil Clark Warren
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neil Clark Warren is chairman and co-founder of the online dating service eHarmony. He is a former dean and psychologist at Fuller Theological Seminary. Warren holds a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University, a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D in clinical psychology from the University of Chicago in 1967. In 2007, Neil and his wife Marilyn moved to Kennebunkport, Maine. They still keep a residence in Pasadena, California.
Building upon his research and writing on the subject of building strong marriages (including his most successful book, Finding the Love of Your Life), Warren started eHarmony in 2000 as a web-based method of matching singles with compatible mates for marriage.[1] His "29 dimensions of compatibility" can be divided into four categories:[2]
- Character and constitution
- Personality
- Emotional makeup and skills
- Family and values
An Internet search requesting information on "complaints for eharmony.com" found complaints on different consumer sites. However, the Better Business Bureau website[1] reports the BBB gives eHarmony an A rating ("An excellent rating. A company with this rating may not rate higher because of a greater number of rate-lowering factors, but we do not consider them to be factors that would likely adversely affect consumer transactions.").
An evangelical Christian, Warren attributes much of eHarmony's initial success to its promotion on the daily radio broadcast of Focus on the Family. eHarmony has recently parted ways with Focus on the Family in an effort to widen its market share and appeal.[3]
He has written numerous self-help books, including:
- God Said It, Don’t Sweat It ISBN 0-785-28064-4
- Finding Contentment ISBN 0-785-27234-2
- Finding the Love of Your Life ISBN 0-671-89201-2
- Catching the Rhythm of Love ISBN 0-785-27344-8
- Make Anger Your Ally ISBN 1-561-79707-3
- Date or Soul Mate: How to Know If Someone Is Worth Pursuing in Two Dates or Less ISBN 0-785-28303-4
In promoting his books he has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, Geraldo, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He has also been criticized for establishing and maintaining eHarmony's practice of excluding gay people from its services. The reason Warren has given for why gays and lesbians are excluded on eHarmony is because his research is based on heterosexual couples. In addition, eHarmony advertises heavily on The Rush Limbaugh Show and other conservative radio talk shows but its advertising agency is instructed not to place ads on liberal radio talk shows.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- About Dr. Warren, eHarmony.com.
- NeilClarkWarren.com Warren's website.
- Interview with Warren on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, addressing the issue of providing services to those seeking same-sex matches. Audio file.
- Q&A with Warren on National Review, with comments on eHarmony demographics.
