Televangelism (fromtelevangelist, ablend oftelevision andevangelist) and occasionally termedradio evangelism orteleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notablyradio and television, for themarketing of religious messages, particularly (for the most part protestant denominations of) Christianity.
Televangelists are either official or self-proclaimedministers who devote a large portion of their ministry to televisionbroadcasting. Some televangelists are also regularpastors or ministers in their own places of worship (often amegachurch), but the majority of their followers come from TV and radio audiences. Others do not have a conventional congregation, and work primarily through television. The term is also used derisively by critics as an insinuation of aggrandizement by such ministers.
Televangelism began as a uniquely American phenomenon, resulting from alargely deregulated media where access totelevision networks andcable TV is open to virtually anyone who can afford it, combined with alarge Christian population that is able to provide the necessary funding. It became especially popular amongEvangelical Protestant audiences, whether independent or organized around Christian denominations. 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.
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 privateinterest groups.
The wordtelevangelism is aportmanteau of television and evangelism and it was coined in 1958 as the title of a television miniseries by theSouthern Baptist Convention.[1]Jeffrey K. Hadden and Charles E. Swann have been credited with popularising the word in their 1981 surveyPrime Time Preachers: The Rising Power of Televangelism.[2] However, the termtelevangelist was employed byTime magazine already in 1952, when telegenic Roman Catholic BishopFulton Sheen was referred to as the "first televangelist".[3]
Christianity has always emphasizedpreaching the gospel to the whole world, taking as inspiration theGreat Commission. Historically, this was achieved by sendingmissionaries, beginning with theDispersion of the Apostles, and later, after the invention of theprinting press, included the distribution ofBibles andreligious tracts. Some Christians realized that the rapid uptake ofradio beginning in the 1920s, provided a powerful new tool for this task, and they were amongst the first producers ofradio programming. 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 radio stations with a Christian format broadcast worldwide, such asHCJB inQuito,Ecuador,Family Radio'sWYFR, and theBible Broadcasting Network (BBN), among others.
One of the first ministers to use radio extensively wasS. Parkes Cadman, beginning in 1923.[4][5] In 1923,Calvary Baptist Church inNew York City was the first church to operate its own radio station.[6]"Tell It From Calvary" is a radio show that the church still produces weekly; it's heard on WMCA AM570.[7] By 1928, Cadman had a weekly Sunday afternoon radio broadcast on theNBC radio network, his powerful oratory reaching a nationwide audience of five million persons.[8]
Aimee Semple McPherson was another pioneering tent-revivalist who soon turned to radio to reach a larger audience. Radio eventually gave her nationwide notoriety in the 1920s and 1930s, and she even built one of the earliestPentecostalmegachurches.
In theU.S., theGreat Depression of the 1930s saw a resurgence ofrevival-tentpreaching in theMidwest andSouth, as itinerant traveling preachers drove from town to town, living offdonations. Several preachers began radio shows as a result of their popularity.
In the 1930s, a famous radio evangelist of the period wasRoman Catholic priest FatherCharles Coughlin, whose stronglyanti-Communist andantisemitic 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. (1927–1962),Ralph W. Sockman (1928–1962),G. E. Lowman (1930–1965),Music and the Spoken Word (1929–present),The Lutheran Hour (1930–present), andCharles E. Fuller (1937–1968).[9][10]Time magazine reported in 1946 that Rev. Ralph Sockman'sNational Radio Pulpit onNBC received 4,000 letters weekly and Roman Catholic archbishopFulton J. Sheen received between 3,000 and 6,000 letters weekly. The total radio audience for radio ministers in the U.S. that year was estimated to be 10 million listeners.[11]
An association of AmericanEvangelical Protestant religious broadcasters, theNational Religious Broadcasters, was founded in 1944.[12]
Althoughtelevision also began in the 1930s, it was not used for religious purposes until the early 1950s.Jack Wyrtzen andPercy Crawford switched to TV broadcasting in the spring of 1949. Another television preacher of note wasFulton J. Sheen, who successfully switched to television in 1951 after two decades of popular radio broadcasts, and whomTime called "the first 'televangelist'".[13] Sheen won numerousEmmy Awards for his program, which ran from the early 1950s until the late 1960s.
In 1951, producer Dick Ross andBaptist evangelistBilly Graham founded the film production companyWorld Wide Pictures, which made videos of his preaching and Christian films.[14]
After years of radio broadcasting, in 1952Rex Humbard became the first to have a weekly church service broadcast on television. By 1980, the Rex Humbard programs spanned the globe with 695 stations in 91 languages, the largest coverage of any evangelistic program at the time. By 1957,Oral Roberts's broadcast reached 80% of the possible television audience through 135 of the possible 500 stations.[15] In Uruguay,Channel 4 has been airing the Roman Catholic Church mass since 1961.[16]
Christian Broadcasting Network, the first Christian channel, was founded in 1961 byBaptist PastorPat Robertson.[17] Its show,The 700 Club, is one of the oldest on the American television scene and was broadcast in 39 languages in 138 countries in 2016.[18]
The 1960s and early 1970s saw television replace radio as the primary home entertainment medium and also saw a further rise inEvangelical Christianity, particularly through the international television and radio ministry ofBilly Graham. Many well-known televangelists began during this period, most notablyOral Roberts,Jimmy Swaggart,Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker,Jerry Falwell,Jesse Duplantis and Pat Robertson. Most developed their own media networks, news exposure, and political influence. In the 21st century, some televised church services continue to attract large audiences. In the US, there areJoel Osteen,Joyce Meyer andT. D. Jakes.[19] In Nigeria, there areEnoch Adeboye andChris Oyakhilome.[20]Trinity Broadcasting Network is the world's largest religious television network.[21]
Televangelists frequently draw criticism from other Christian ministers. For example, preacherJohn MacArthur published a number of articles in December 2009 that were highly critical of some televangelists.
Someone needs to say this plainly: The faith healers and health-and-wealth preachers who dominate religious television are shameless frauds. Their message is not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nothing spiritual or miraculous about their on-stage chicanery. It is all a devious ruse designed to take advantage of desperate people. They are not Godly ministers but greedy impostors who corrupt the Word of God for money's sake. They are not real pastors who shepherd the flock of God but hirelings whose only design is to fleece the sheep. Their love of money is glaringly obvious in what they say as well as how they live. They claim to possess great spiritual power, but in reality they are rank materialists and enemies of everything holy.
— John MacArthur[22]
Similarly,Ole Anthony wrote very critically of televangelists in 1994.[23]
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.
In 2007,SenatorChuck Grassley opened a probe into the finances of six televangelists who preach a "prosperity gospel".[27] The probe investigated reports of lavish lifestyles by televangelists including fleets ofRolls-Royces, palatial mansions, private jets, and other expensive items purportedly paid for by television viewers who donate due to the ministries' encouragement of offerings. The six that were investigated are:
On January 6, 2011, Grassley released his review of the six ministries response to his inquiry[clarification needed]. He called for a further congressional review of tax-exemption laws for religious groups.[30]
InIslam, the related concept ofdawah, which encourages Muslims to go and spread the religion to non-Muslims (similar to the evangelical tradition of evangelizing), has also given rise to figures often described as "Islamic televangelists" who preach using television andinternet videos like their evangelical counterparts.[31] Examples includeMoez Masoud,Zakir Naik andAmr Khaled, amongst others.[31][32] These figures may build on the longstandingda'i tradition but also draw inspiration from Christian televangelists. As with some Christian televangelists, some Islamic televangelists have been criticized for being toopolitical, especially those pandering to fundamentalIslamism including thefar-right.[31][33] Critics also claim that many will make significant amounts of money from their work and therefore may not be motivated by spiritual or charitable causes.
Examples of well-known Islamic televangelist TV channels includeMuslim Television Ahmadiyya,Islam Channel,ARY Qtv andPeace TV. Some of these channels, but not all, have come under the scrutiny of national television or communications regulators such asOfcom in the UK and theCRTC in Canada, with Ofcom having censured both Islam Channel and Peace TV in the past for biased coverage of political events,[34] incitement to illegal acts includingmarital rape,[35]homophobia,[36] and murder.[37] The Islamic televangelist channel Peace TV is banned in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.[38][39]
He bought more television stations, then piled on cable channels and eventually satellites until he had built the world's largest Christian television system...
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