MYTHS, DISINFORMATION, AND THE RISE OF THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

evangelicalism today^

how we got here from the 1970s^

WHITE CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM

TELEVANGELISM

Televangelism is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Such programs are usually hosted by a fundamentalist Protestant minister, who conducts services and often asks for donations.

Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-proclaimed. Some televangelists are also regular pastors or ministers in their own places of worship (often a megachurch), but the majority of their followers come from TV and radio audiences. Others do not have a conventional congregation, and work primarily through television.

Billy Graham became known worldwide through his TV specials from the 1950s on. Other prominent televangelists have included Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson.

What does it have to do with politics, you ask?

While there was occasionally a political overtone to these programs, most of them refrained from explicit commentary. This changed beginning in the 1970s, because of two related political trends:

largely fundamentalist Protestant organizations like the Moral Majority promoted Christian conservatism. They rallied national support to influence politicians to oppose abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment, among other causes.
beginning with Ronald Reagan’s presidency, conservative politicians started to harness evangelicals as a voting bloc. As a result, many of these politicians began paying closer attention to Christian media for indications of this bloc’s concerns. This gave Christian media further influence in the political world.

Authors and advocates of textbooks and curricula, for example, downplayed the women’s movement in American history or referred to slavery as “involuntary immigration.” Such changes were adopted in some Christian schools and their authors were often featured in Christian media. Even when the influence was indirect, the media, schools and entertainment mutually reinforced each others’ ideas.

The themes central to Christian television were more consistently those of the Republican Party. Consider how in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan began to be depicted as God’s agent on Earth. In the 1990s, the growth of multinational corporations and trade deals was decried as part of a demonic “new world order.” And during Trump's presidency, as Islamophobia continued to rise, Christian television channels depicted Trump as the fighter-in-chief, who defends Christians despite his personal faults.

CHRISTIAN CAPITALISM

Corporate America and Christianity are often intricately interwined. In what's known as the 'prosperity gospel', wealth is a sign of virtue and God's favor. It connects to larger themes of American exceptionalism, individualism, and self-actualization. The effects of this belief can be seen throughout American life from business to politics to social policy.