Mark Tooley Advisory Board Mark Tooley is currently the president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a conservative religious and public policy think tank. Prior to joining the IRD in 1994, Mr. Tooley worked eight years for the Central Intelligence Agency. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and is a native of Arlington, Virginia. He is the author of Taking Back the United Methodist Church and Methodism and Politics in the 20th Century. His articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator, First Things, Patheos, World, Christianity Today, The Weekly Standard, National Review Online, Washington Examiner, Human Events, Washington Times, Review of Faith and International Affairs, Touchstone, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, and elsewhere. He is a frequent commentator on radio and television.