Anthony Campolo Jr. (February 25, 1935 – November 19, 2024) was an American sociologist, Baptist pastor, author, public speaker, and spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton.

[3] In 1976, Campolo ran as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 5th district,[8] but lost to incumbent Republican Dick Schulze.

[9] Campolo was the subject of an informal heresy hearing in 1985 brought about by several assertions in his 1983 book A Reasonable Faith, particularly his claim that, "Jesus is actually present in each other person".

[14] In 2007, with Shane Claiborne, he founded Red-Letter Christians, with the aim of bringing together evangelicals who believe in the importance of insisting on issues of social justice mentioned by Jesus (in red in some translations of the Bible).

[17][18] In March 2011, Campolo began hosting the TV show Red Letter Christians, aired on JC-TV.

[20] Although Campolo associated himself with the Democratic Party and several other modern liberal groups and causes, he publicly stated his opposition to abortion.

[21][22][23] Starting in the late 1980s, Campolo's left-leaning political beliefs began to put leaders of the Christian right, such as Gary Bauer and Jerry Falwell, at odds with him.

Along with his wife, Peggy Campolo, he participated in very public debates and discussions about the place of lesbians and gays within church and society.

He cited several reasons including the institution of marriage primarily being about spiritual growth instead of procreation, what he had learned through his friendships with gay Christian couples, and past examples of exclusionary church traditions practiced "by sincere believers, but most of us now agree that they were wrong.

"[29] In 2018, he participated in a "Red Letter Revival" in Lynchburg, Virginia, intended to highlight the connection between Evangelical Christianity and concern for social justice.

[32] His son, Bart Campolo, is a former evangelical preacher who left Christianity and transitioned to secular humanism.