The Life and Times of Richard Yao, M.Div., J.D.

New York, N.Y. –– Richard Yao is a former attorney and religious scholar, widely recognized for his pioneering work in co-founding Fundamentalist Anonymous in New York City.

Born into an affluent Chinese family in Quezon City, Philippines, Yao was shaped by a rich cultural heritage and a legacy of prominence in China, which allowed him to hold passports from both mainland China and Taiwan as a young adult.

Yao’s academic journey took him to the University of the Philippines, where he completed his undergraduate studies before moving to the United States to attend first Yale Divinity School and then New York University School of Law. It was during this time that Yao fully embraced his identity as a gay man, a journey that would deeply influence his life’s work.

Yao had been raised as a born-again Baptist in the Philippines at a church associated with Jerry Falwell’s missionaries. To further deepen his understanding of the spiritual dimensions of his work, Yao attended Yale Divinity School.

He became friendly with Leander Keck and Leander Keck. His studies there enriched the mission of Fundamentalist Anonymous, which became a beacon of support for individuals dealing with the psychological and emotional challenges of leaving fundamentalist backgrounds.

In the 1980s, Yao emerged as a significant voice against religious extremism following an appearance with Jim Luce on the Donahue Show.

He gained national attention through high-profile appearances, including a debate with Jerry Falwell, founder of the so-called Moral Majority and Liberty Baptist University, on NBC‘s Today Show. His advocacy reached a peak when he testified against televangelists in Congress, playing a key role in the downfall of Jim and Tammy Faye Baller‘s PTL Empire.

Yao’s personal life was closely intertwined with his professional and activist endeavors.

From 1984 until 1990, he was the life partner of Luce, with whom he first lived in Brooklyn. Yao was committed to his work at Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander & Ferdon—the Wall Street law firm associated with Richard Nixon—while Luce worked as an assistant Eurobond portfolio manager at Daiwa Bank.

Their partnership was a blend of shared professional pursuits and a mutual dedication to social justice.

Following their powerful appearance on the Donahue Show, Yao and Luce were invited by the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Manhattan to establish their office for Fundamentalist Anonymous.

This opportunity provided them with a base from which they could expand their outreach and support services, offering crucial help to those struggling to leave fundamentalist religious communities. The New York Times cover the organization repeatedly, including here.

However, their activism came with risks.

The couple faced death threats and were mugged on the streets of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn where they lived. They were also followed by white men wearing trench coats and had a break-in at their office in which files were ransacked but noting was stolen. In response to these dangers, a patron offered them refuge in her Greenwich Village brownstone, where they continued their work in a safer environment.

There is a residual Facebook page for Fundamentalists Anonymous here. [www.facebook.com/FundamentalistsAnonymous/]

Journalist Frank Chesley of The Everett (Wa.) Herald writes, “I wrote a story about FA… in 1988 and spent considerable time with Richard Yao and James (Jim) Luce.” He writes about the demise of Fundamentalists Anonymous about 1990: “…Nobody ever found out who sicked the IRS on him and his organization. The IRS confiscated all of his Fundamentalist Anonymous files, and forced FA into permanent exile.”

In his later years, Yao became an American citizen and eventually married a Swedish entrepreneur, acquiring European Union citizenship and now holds five passports. This global identity reflects his broad perspective and multifaceted life.

“Church of Princess Diana”

In the 1990’s Yao may have gone through a nervous breakdown. At this point in his career, he launched an either serious and thus disturbed website – or a satirical website promoting his book DIANA SPEAKS in the order of Gulliver’s Travels.

Edward Babinski wrote in his blog Former Fundamentalists in 2012: “(I)n 1999, on the eve of the new millennium, Richard Yao struck back (in a manner of speaking) with the publication of DIANA SPEAKS, a book about alleged afterlife communications he was having with the deceased Princess Diana.

“The Religious Right condemned DIANA SPEAKS because of its alleged “occult connections” (just as they condemned the Harry Potter series). But the publication of DIANA SPEAKS led to a media blitz for Richard Yao that was reminiscent of his days in the media spotlight during the 1980s when he founded Fundamentalists Anonymous.

“I suspect that Yao’s book, DIANA SPEAKS, was a well intentioned pseudoepigraphical fraud, written in the “spirit” and “name” of Princess Diana in order to gain attention for Yao’s basic ideas about peace, love, humanity, and the benefits of living well in THIS life.

“What makes me think that Yao’s book isn’t true (but written to promote the IDEAS it contains, which he puts in Diana’s mouth), is that I can’t believe Yao (who calls himself “Chairman Yao” in the book and whose website, dianaspeaks.org, is named, “The Church of Diana“) could ever SERIOUSLY imagine himself in the role of “cult leader,” since he spent so much time in the 1980s warning people of the effects of following such leaders.

“In other words I think he wrote DIANA SPEAKS to parody the fundamentalist mindset, parody millennial fever, infuriate the Religious Right, and also to obtain media exposure for some “this worldly” ideas. Yao let his “Church of Diana” website expire in early 2001 [For those who are interested in the now defunct “Church of Diana,” its remains can still be viewed here.

“Here are some key quotes from “Chairman Yao’s” book that make me suspect it reflected Yao’s views and was merely a social science experiment:

• “There are no Christians in the United States today. Not the kind that Jesus demanded.” — p. 214, DianaSpeaks
• “After you’ve bought this book, use it as your point of contact to access my healing touch.” — p. 236, DianaSpeaks

Was Yao conducting an experiment on the eve of the millennium to demonstrate how gullible most people are, and perhaps to see how many stories he could collect of people being “healed” by Diana, to contrast such “miracles” with fundamentalist Christian claims? Yet he also kept the book rooted in the here and now, in humane ideals, and had Diana mention the benefits of peace, love, and longevity research.

“I suspect that Yao’s book was written to remind the Religious Right of the gullibility of people who believe in gods and goddesses, but unfortunately, I cannot back up my suspicion with a statement from Yao himself since he has once again vanished into thin air after having ended his latest social experiment and deleted his Diana website in 2001.

“I also found the following review of his book at amazon.com that sounds like someone had the same suspicions I did concerning his book:

Dec. 20, 1999 Reviewer: Jack P. from New York, NY: DIANASPEAKS is a fable — a parable — for our age. You don’t have to believe it’s from Diana. The book can stand quite well on its own merits. As one of my book-critic friends admitted “It’s a damn good read!” I’m a skeptic. But I must confess that after reading a book galley of DIANASPEAKS, I can recommend it without reservations to all my fellow skeptics. I haven’t been so excited or moved since I read Carlos Castaneda in my youth. We learn from the Princess’ mistakes how we could live our lives. How we can transform it overnight. How today is always the day of salvation. DIANASPEAKS articulates a breathtaking new paradigm that makes more sense than anything I know of as we enter the third millennium. I can only call it immortalist. But it is immortalism based on science. And it has the real potential to reconcile science and religion in the next century. This is no ordinary vision. With the collapse of Marxism, and the bankruptcy of globalism, Yaoist Immortalism could become a worldview to reckon with. Maybe this will be the secret to its longevity. Without a vision, the people perish. Chairman Yao shows us the difference between form and substance, between appearance and reality. Does it matter who Carlos Castaneda was? Nope. All that matters was his message. The same can be said about Chairman Yao. An unforgettable pseudonym, stage name, or alter ego. So long as he can give us books like this, I say more power to Chairman Yao!

Edward Babinski writes that the information on Yao’s book from his now defunct “Church of Diana” by ‘Chairman Yao’ included that the publisher was Komintern (Limited Collector’s edition (Nov. 26, 1999) ISBN: 9197349356). The website included reviews:

• “A disturbing Enlightenment” — Lucia Dlugoszewski, acclaimed avant-garde composer, poet, and choreographer
• (Princess Diana) “knew she had healing power.” — Liz Tilberis, the former editor-in-chief, Harper’s Bazaar
• “Audacious, provocative, and possibly groundbreaking.” — Lars Fimmerstad, Swedish critic & commentator
• CHAIRMAN YAO ROCKS! LONG LIVE CHAIRMAN YAO! — Alexander Bard, European pop star & impresario

Excerpt: On Thanksgiving Eve, November 26th, 1997, I had a dream….It was about Princess Diana who had died in a car crash in Paris on the 31st of August….I saw Diana on my TV screen. She looked radiant, very much alive, as handsome as ever…she is looking straight at me….’Hello,’ she says, ‘May I speak to you?'” Thus begins the extraordinary odyssey of Chairman Yao, the exclusive conduit for Princess Diana’s messages, who has been thrust into controversy and attacked by the tabloids just like the People’s Princess. Believe it or not. But read it and decide for yourself if these messages are from Princess Diana as increasing numbers believe. This is the book the powers that be don’t want you to read. Discover her message of hope for you in the new millennium. Tap into her healing powers through this book. Discover your evolutionary and spiritual destiny. Find out how she really died. And what she thinks of Prince Charles and his mistress Camilla. Read her predictions about how we shall conquer Old Age and Death – soon! Marvel as she solves the riddle of Nostradamus’ prophecies concerning the New World Teacher – when he will appear, and how we will recognize him.

A press-release states: RELIGIOUS RIGHT SEEKS TO BAN “DIANA SPEAKS” FROM LIBRARIES & SCHOOLS. New York — Just like the late Princess, DIANA SPEAKS: THE UNCENSORED MESSAGES FROM PRINCESS DIANA (NY, Stockholm: Periskop, $39.95) has no lack of admirers, detractors, or controversy. Just as with the bestselling Harry Potter novels, the Religious Right wants to ban DIANA SPEAKS from libraries and schools on the grounds that it is “occult,” “anti-Christian,” and “subversive.” Sources also report Buckingham Palace is “furious” about the book and is “moving to discredit it.”

Chairman Yao, the spiritual teacher who is the exclusive conduit for Princess Diana’s after-death messages, has already been on Roseanne, Philly After Midnight, Wireless Flash News Service, and a host of radio talk shows. And all this buzz before the book’s publication date. If one is judged by the quality of one’s enemies, then Chairman Yao is doing well indeed.

“Don’t let a Pat Robertson or a Prince Charles tell you what to read! Make up your own mind by reading this book,” the preternaturally youthful and telegenic spiritual master challenges us. “Find out why they’re so afraid of this book. Why they want to shoot the messenger.” 40% of those who have read DIANASPEAKS in focus groups are so “touched” they “believe or are open to the possibility that it contains authentic messages from the late Princess.”

The book DIANA SPEAKS is incurring the wrath of the Religious Right by predicting that

• i) Science will conquer aging and death in our lifetime – without Christianity;
• ii) Christianity will collapse by 2050;
• iii) “The New World Teacher” – predicted by The Buddha – will appear soon (the Religious Right attacks him as “the AntiChrist”).

Now in his mid-60s and residing in Europe, Yao has largely retreated from public life.

He deeply guards his privacy. Nevertheless, his legacy endures through the continued impact of Fundamentalist Anonymous and the countless lives he has influenced. Richard Yao’s life story is a powerful testament to resilience, advocacy, and the importance of creating inclusive spaces for all individuals, regardless of their background or identity.

Whatever Happened to Richard Yao of Fundamentalists Anonymous? (Aug. 22, 2023)

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TAGS: Richard Yao, Fundamentalist Anonymous, LGBTQ rights, religious extremism, televangelists, Wall Street, NYU Law, Yale Divinity School, Jim Luce, Madison Avenue Baptist Church