Podcast Summary: Does LOVE Make a Family? Dismantling the #1 Lie of Modern Parenting with Katy Faust

Podcast: I Don't Have Enough FAITH to Be an ATHEIST
Host: Dr. Frank Turek
Guest: Katy Faust (Founder, Them Before Us)
Date: February 10, 2026

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Frank Turek sits down with Katy Faust to examine the cultural narrative that “love makes a family" and to question the prevailing notion that all family structures are equally beneficial to children. Drawing from social science research, legal history, and personal experience, Faust and Turek argue that the traditional, biological, two-parent family is superior for child wellbeing. They discuss the impact of Obergefell v. Hodges (the 2015 Supreme Court case legalizing same-sex marriage in the U.S.), address the consequences for children’s rights, and introduce the “Greater Than” campaign—a new initiative aimed at restoring the child-centric definition of marriage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Foundation: Government, Church, and Family

• Dr. Turek recounts a conversation (00:03) with Charlie Kirk:
  • The three most vital institutions God created: government, church, and especially, the family.
  • “If we don't get the family right, nothing else is going to matter... without the biological two-parent family, you don't really have a stable civilization.” (01:50, Turek)

2. Retaking Marriage for Children: Greater Than Campaign

• Katy Faust introduces her initiative (03:35):

  • The “Greater Than” campaign, under her nonprofit Them Before Us, seeks to reclaim marriage policy for the sake of children, not adult preferences.
  • “Ten years of child victimization on our hands, and we've got the receipts to prove it.” (05:13, Faust)

• Why this matters:

  • Redefining marriage as an adult-fulfillment institution, she argues, sidelines child rights to their mother and father, and inflicts social and emotional harm on children.

3. The Legal Shift: From Child-Centric to Adult-Centric Marriage

• The consequences of Obergefell:
  • Turek and Faust contend it legally removed the necessity of a mother and father from marriage (05:45–08:44).
  • “They argued for and passed gay marriage on the grounds that marriage has nothing to do with children... and then turned around and said, ‘Now that we have marriage, give us kids.’” (10:03, Faust)

4. The Data: Family Structure and Child Outcomes

• Faust lays out the research (12:29):
  • Biological parents are statistically the most protective, invested, and connected to children.
  • Introduction to the "Cinderella Effect":
    • “Unrelated men in the home left to care for the child himself is statistically the most dangerous person in a child's life.” (14:19, Faust)
  • Men and women parent differently, offering “distinct and complementary benefits” (17:46), and both are essential for a child’s development.

5. Emotional Realities for Children

• Impact of losing a mom or dad:
  • Children with missing parents—regardless of the cause—tend to feel an innate hunger for both maternal and paternal love.
  • “Children hunger to be loved by a man, and they hunger for the love of a woman.” (17:46, Faust)

6. Outcomes for Children in Different Family Structures

• The “receipts”:
  • Studies (Regnerus, Sullins, etc.) show worse outcomes for children raised without their biological parents, including emotional and psychological struggles (23:14–25:12).
  • “Any study that would come to the conclusion that children fare no different is literally a sociological miracle. It simply does not exist.” (25:12, Faust)

7. Lived Experience: Katy’s Family Story

• Personal background (25:12–27:57):
  • Katy was raised part-time in her father’s home and part-time in her mother’s same-sex home.
  • She maintains strong relationships with both but affirms: “You can love LGBT people and believe that the natural family is the best thing for kids, and there's no contradiction between those two things.” (26:56, Faust)
  • Her mother is aware and supportive of her advocacy.

8. The Campaign’s Strategy

• Greater Than’s goals (29:06–33:25):
  • Develop a “credible judicial strategy” to force the law to recognize natural family distinctions.
  • Change public opinion.
  • “If you believe children need a mother and father, you can't support gay marriage. You have to choose.” (38:00, Faust)

9. Legal and Societal Implications Beyond Family

• Wider effects (40:29–44:13):
  • Legalizing same-sex marriage impacts healthcare laws (e.g., mandating insurance coverage for fertility treatments), increases costs, and complicates education regarding family structure.
  • “Now we need to promote [same-sex marriage] to school children.” (40:29, Turek)
  • Children without a mom or dad may feel gaslighted when told “love makes a family,” suppressing their legitimate longing for a missing parent.

10. The Stakes: Faithfulness and Obedience

• Taking action (49:35):
  • Faust: “You make decisions, you obey, period. Whether or not you think it's going to work out. This is a question of obedience, not calculation.” (49:35)
  • Turek: “You're not guaranteed success... You're guaranteeing that you'll be faithful and leave the results to God.” (49:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If we don't get the family right, nothing else is going to matter... without the biological two-parent family, you don't really have a stable civilization.”
  — Dr. Frank Turek, 01:50

• “Is gay marriage some kind of national therapy for you? Is that what you think it is? Because it has very real victims. Those victims are children.”
  — Katy Faust, 07:01

• “Unrelated men in the home left to care for the child himself is statistically the most dangerous person in a child's life... The Cinderella Effect.”
  — Katy Faust, 14:19

• “Children hunger to be loved by a man, and they hunger for the love of a woman.”
  — Katy Faust, 17:46

• “You can love LGBT people and believe that the natural family is the best thing for kids, and there's no contradiction between those two things.”
  — Katy Faust, 26:56

• “If you believe children need a mother and father, you can't support gay marriage. You have to choose... You cannot have both.”
  — Katy Faust, 38:00

• “Gay marriage and the family redefinition machine is one of the cruelest forms of gaslighting you could ever inflict on kids with same sex parents.”
  — Katy Faust, 45:46

• “Now the law will award children to any adult with the money and means to acquire them. That is what Obergefell has done. It has reduced children to the status of accessory because we've treated two different things equally.”
  — Katy Faust, 47:13

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | Details | |------------|------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:03 | Setting the Stage | Kirk & Turek discuss institutions; introduction of key issues | | 03:35 | Faust Introduces Initiative | Greater Than campaign origins and mission | | 08:44 | Why Government is Involved in Marriage | Government’s interest in marriage is child-focused, not adult fulfillment | | 12:29 | The “Receipts”: Data on Family Structure | Biological parents vs. non-biological; The Cinderella Effect | | 16:55 | The Necessity of Both Mothers and Fathers | Unique roles of men and women in child development | | 23:14 | What Does the Research Actually Say | Mark Regnerus and others’ child outcomes studies | | 25:12 | Katy Faust Shares Her Personal Story | Dual upbringing; lessons learned | | 29:06 | Greater Than’s Three-Pronged Strategy | Legal, public opinion, and coalition-building | | 38:00 | The Cascade Effect of Redefining Marriage | No country with SSM has protected children's parental rights | | 40:29 | Societal and Legal Fallout of SSM | Healthcare, insurance, and education impacts | | 44:13 | The Emotional Reality for Kids | Gaslighting children who miss a parent | | 49:35 | Faithfulness Over Results | Call to obedience and action | | 51:48 | Final Rallying Call | The importance of advocacy for children |

How to Get Involved

• Visit: greaterthancampaign.com
• Sign up for updates and resources
• Resources upcoming: Materials for churches; strategy to educate and mobilize lawmakers

Closing Reflection

This episode is a direct and passionate appeal to reconsider the redefinition of family and its real consequences for children and society. Katy Faust and Frank Turek root their arguments in both personal experience and social science data, aiming to inspire listeners to join their movement to “retake marriage for children”—not a sprint but a generational marathon they see as essential to cultural survival.

“If you believe children deserve protection, then you have to get in this with us. This is the fight of our time.”
— Katy Faust, 29:11

[End of Summary]