Televangelism
Encyclopedia
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
to communicate the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
faith. The word is a portmanteau of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
and was coined by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry
Christian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
to television broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
ing. The term is also used derisively by critics as an insinuation of aggrandizement by such a minister.
Origins
Televangelism began as a peculiarly AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
phenomenon, resulting from a largely deregulated media
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
where access to television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
s and cable TV is open to virtually anyone who can afford it, combined with a large Christian population
Christianity in the United States
Christianity is the largest and most popular religion in the United States, with around 77% of those polled identifying themselves as Christian, as of 2009. This is down from 86% in 1990, and slightly lower than 78.6% in 2001. About 62% of those polled claim to be members of a church congregation...
that is able to provide the necessary funding. However, the increasing globalisation of broadcasting has enabled some American televangelists to reach a wider audience through international broadcast networks, including some that are specifically Christian in nature, such as Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
and The God Channel. Domestically produced televangelism is increasingly present in some other nations such as Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Some countries have a more regulated media with either general restrictions on access or specific rules regarding religious broadcasting. In such countries, religious programming is typically produced by TV companies (sometimes as a regulatory or public service requirement) rather than private interest groups. Some televangelists are also regular pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
s or ministers in their own places of worship (often a megachurch
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
), but the majority of their followers come from their TV and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
audiences. Others do not have a conventional congregation as such and solely work through television.
History
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
to the whole world. Historically, this was achieved by sending missionaries and the distribution of bibles and literature. Some Christians realised that the rapid uptake of radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
beginning in the 1920s provided a powerful new tool for this task, and they were amongst the first producers of radio programming
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
. Radio broadcasts were seen as a complementary activity to traditional missionaries, enabling vast numbers to be reached at relatively low cost, but also enabling Christianity to be preached in countries where this was illegal and missionaries were banned. The aim of Christian radio was to both convert people to Christianity and to provide teaching and support to believers. These activities continue today, particularly in the developing world. Shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
radio stations with a Christian format broadcast worldwide, such as HCJB
HCJB
HCJB, "The Voice of the Andes", was the first radio station with daily programming in the South American country of Ecuador and the first Christian missionary radio station in the world. The station was founded in 1931 by Clarence W. Jones, Reuben Larson, and D. Stuart Clark.- History :Radio...
in Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Family Radio
Family Radio
Family Radio, also known by its licensee name Family Stations Inc., is a Christian radio network based in Oakland, California, USA, founded by Lloyd Lindquist, Richard H. Palmquist and Harold Camping...
's WYFR
WYFR
WYFR is a shortwave radio station located in Okeechobee, Florida, United States. The station is owned by Family Stations, Inc., as part of the Family Radio network, and broadcasts traditional Christian radio programming to international audiences....
, and the Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN)
Bible Broadcasting Network
The Bible Broadcasting Network is a listener-supported global Christian radio network staffed and headquartered in Charlotte, NC. The programming consists of 50% outside ministries, 30% music and 20% BBN produced programs...
, among others.
In the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
of the 1930s saw a resurgence of revival-tent
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
preaching
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
in the Midwest and South, as itinerant traveling preachers drove from town to town, living off donation
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
s. Several preachers began radio shows as a result of their popularity. One of the first ministers to use radio extensively was S. Parkes Cadman
S. Parkes Cadman
Samuel Parkes Cadman , better known as S. Parkes Cadman, was an American clergyman, newspaper writer, and pioneer Christian radio broadcaster of the 1920s and 1930s. He was an early advocate of ecumenism and an outspoken opponent of anti-Semitism and racial intolerance...
, beginning in 1923. By 1928, Cadman had a weekly Sunday afternoon radio broadcast on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio network, his powerful oratory reaching a nationwide audience of five million persons.
Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson , also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles, California evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s. She founded the Foursquare Church...
was another pioneering tent-revivalist who soon turned to radio to reach a larger audience. Radio eventually gave her nationwide notoriety in the 1920's and 1930's and she even built one of the earliest megachurches.
In the 1930s, a famous radio evangelist of the period was Roman Catholic priest Father Charles Coughlin
Charles Coughlin
Father Charles Edward Coughlin was a controversial Roman Catholic priest at Royal Oak, Michigan's National Shrine of the Little Flower church. He was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience, as more than thirty million tuned to his weekly broadcasts during the...
, whose strongly anti-Communist and anti-Semitic radio programs reached millions of listeners. Other early Christian radio programs broadcast nationwide in the U.S. beginning in the 1920s–1930s include (years of radio broadcast shown): Bob Jones, Sr.
Bob Jones, Sr.
Robert Reynolds Jones, Sr. was an American evangelist, pioneer religious broadcaster and the founder and first president of Bob Jones University.-Early years:...
(1927–1962), Ralph W. Sockman
Ralph Washington Sockman
Ralph Washington Sockman was the senior pastor of Christ Church in New York City, United States. He gained considerable prominence in the U.S...
(1928–1962), G. E. Lowman
G. E. Lowman
Guerdon Elmer Lowman, more familiarly G. E. Lowman was an American Christian clergyman and a pioneering international radio evangelist beginning in 1930, following a successful business career....
(1930–1965), The Lutheran Hour
The Lutheran Hour
The Lutheran Hour is a U.S. religious radio program that proclaims the message of Jesus Christ on nearly 800 stations throughout North American, as well as by weekly audiences on the American Forces Network and XM Satellite Radio FamilyTalk 170...
(1930–present), and Charles E. Fuller
Charles E. Fuller
Charles Edward Fuller was an American Christian clergyman and a radio evangelist.Charles Fuller was born in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Pomona College in 1910, he worked in the citrus packing business in southern California until 1918...
(1937–1968). Time magazine reported in 1946 that Rev. Ralph Sockman's National Radio Pulpit on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
received 4,000 letters weekly and Fulton J. Sheen
Fulton J. Sheen
Servant of God Fulton John Sheen, born Peter John Sheen was an American archbishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio...
received between 3,000–6,000 letters weekly. The total radio audience for radio ministers in the U.S. that year was estimated to be 10 million listeners.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
also began in the 1930s, it did not become widespread until after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Jack Wyrtzen
Jack Wyrtzen
John Von Casper "Jack" Wyrtzen was a youth evangelist and founder of Word of Life ministries, which he led for 50 years...
and Percy Crawford
Percy Crawford
Percy Bartimus Crawford was an evangelist and fundamentalist leader who especially emphasized youth ministry. During the late 1950s, he saw the potential of FM radio and UHF television and built the first successful Christian broadcasting network...
switched to TV broadcasting in the Spring of 1949. Another television preacher of note was Fulton J. Sheen
Fulton J. Sheen
Servant of God Fulton John Sheen, born Peter John Sheen was an American archbishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio...
, a Roman Catholic archbishop who successfully switched to television in 1951 after two decades of popular radio broadcasts. . Sheen would win numerous Emmy Awards for his program that ran from the early 1950s, until the late 1960s.
After years of radio broadcasting in 1952 Rex Humbard
Rex Humbard
Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard was a well-known American television evangelist whose Cathedral of Tomorrow show was shown on over 600 stations at the peak of its popularity....
became the first to have a weekly church service broadcast on television and was the person for whom Time Magazine coined the phrase "Televangelist". By 1980 the Rex Humbard programs spanned the globe across 695 stations in 91 languages and to date the largest coverage of any evangelistic program. Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts
Granville "Oral" Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University....
broadcast by 1957, reached 80% of the possible television audience through 135 of the possible 500 stations. The 1960s and early 1970s saw television replace radio as the primary home entertainment medium, but also corresponded with a further rise in evangelical Protestant Christianity, particularly through the international television and radio ministry of Billy Graham. Many well-known televangelists began during this period, most notably Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts
Granville "Oral" Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University....
, Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast...
, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jerry Fallwell, and Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
. Most developed their own media networks, news exposure, and political influence. In the 21st century, the televised church services of Joel Osteen
Joel Osteen
Joel Scott Osteen is an American author, televangelist, and the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. His ministry reaches over seven million broadcast media viewers weekly in over 100 nations around the world.-Biography:...
's Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is the largest congregation in the United States, averaging more than 43,500 in attendance per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church Central Campus, home to four English language services and two Spanish...
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, and Robert Schuller
Robert H. Schuller
Robert Harold Schuller is an American televangelist, pastor, speaker, motivator and author. He is principally known for the weekly Hour of Power television program which he began in 1970. He is also the founder of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, where the Hour of Power program...
's Crystal Cathedral
Crystal Cathedral
The Crystal Cathedral is a Protestant Christian church building in the city of Garden Grove, in Orange County, California, United States. It is the headquarters and principal place of worship for Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a church founded in 1955 by Robert H. Schuller and affiliated with the...
in Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H...
, continue to attract large audiences.
Controversies & Criticism
Televangelists frequently draw criticism from other Christian ministers. For example, well-known preacher John MacArthurJohn F. MacArthur
John Fullerton MacArthur, Jr. is a United States evangelical writer and minister noted for his internationally known and broadcast radio program titled Grace to You...
published a number of articles in December 2009 that were highly critical of televangelists.
A proportion of their methods and theology are held by some to be conflicting with Christian doctrine taught in long existing traditionalist congregations. Many televangelists are featured by "discernment ministries" run by other Christians that are concerned about what they perceive as departures from sound Christian doctrine.
- Many televangelists exist outside the structures of Christian denominations, meaning that they are not accountable to anyone.
- The financial practices of televangelists are frequently unclear. A 2003 survey by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch indicated that only one out of the 17 televangelists researched were members of the Evangelical Council for Financial AccountabilityEvangelical Council for Financial AccountabilityThe Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability is an accreditation agency to promote fiscal integrity and sound financial practices among member organizations. Founded in 1979, it comprises over 2,000 evangelical Christian organizations which qualify for tax-exempt, nonprofit status and...
.
- The prosperity gospel taught by many televangelists promises material, financial, physical, and spiritual success to believers.
- Some televangelists have significant personal wealth and own large properties, luxury cars, and various transportation vehicles such as private aircraft or ministry aircraft. This is seen by critics to be contradictory to traditional ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
thinking.
- Televangelism requires substantial amounts of money to produce programs and purchase airtime on cable and satellite networks. Televangelists devote time to fundraising activities. Products such as books, CDs, DVDs, and trinkets are promoted to viewers.
- Televangelists claim to be reaching millions of people worldwide with the gospel and producing numerous converts to ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. However, such claims are difficult to verify independently and are often disputed.
- Several televangelists are very active in the national or international political arena (e.g., Pat RobertsonPat RobertsonMarion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, Jerry FalwellJerry FalwellJerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, John HageeJohn HageeJohn Charles Hagee is an American founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, a non-denominational charismatic megachurch with more than 19,000 active members...
), and often espouse conservative politics on their programs. Such televangelists may occasionally arouse controversy by making remarks deemed offensive on their programs or elsewhere, or by endorsing partisan political candidates on donor-paid airtime, at which point some have been threatened that they may have their tax-exempt status taken away if they reside in the United States.
Televangelists often strongly dispute these criticisms and say they are doing God's work. They cite declining attendance at traditional church services and the growth of global mass media as factors necessitating the use of television to 'fulfill the "Great Commission
Great Commission
The Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism...
" of the Gospel of Jesus to the generation of the 21st Century.'
See also
- List of American televangelists
- National Religious BroadcastersNational Religious BroadcastersNational Religious Broadcasters is an American organization that represents Christian religious broadcasters on American television and radio, including several high-profile televangelists and Christian radio show hosts. It claims a membership of more than 1700 organizations...
- List of Christian evangelist scandals
- List of televangelists in Brazil
:Category:Television evangelists
- Jesus He Knows MeJesus He Knows Me"Jesus He Knows Me" is the second track on the 1991 Genesis album We Can't Dance, and its fourth single. The song is a satire about televangelism, released in a period when several televangelists such as Robert Tilton, Jim Bakker, Larry Lea and Benny Hinn were under investigation for promising...
- Prosperity Gospel
- Holy God TVHoly God TVHoly God TV is a Christian televangelism channel targeting the Tamil community. It is broadcast from France via the Hot Bird 8 satellite positioned at 13.0°E....