Televangelism

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(Redirected from
Television evangelist
)
This article is about the use of radio and television to preach religion. For the Ethel Cain song, see Preacher's Daughter.
Joel Osteen, a prominent televangelist

Televangelism (a

portmanteau of "television" and "evangelist"), also sometimes called radio evangelism or teleministry, is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to preach religion, and most prominently Christianity
.

Televangelists are either official or self-proclaimed

broadcasting. 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. 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 a

Evangelical 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 private

interest groups
.

Terminology

The word televangelism is a

Fulton Sheen was referred to as the "first televangelist".[3]

History

Radio

S. Parkes Cadman, one of the first ministers to use radio, beginning in 1923

Christianity has always emphasized

Shortwave radio stations with a Christian format broadcast worldwide, such as HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, Family Radio's WYFR, and the Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN)
, among others.

One of the first ministers to use radio extensively was

Calvary Baptist Church in New 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 the NBC radio network, his powerful oratory reaching a nationwide audience of five million persons.[8]

megachurches
.

In the

South, as itinerant traveling preachers drove from town to town, living off donations
. Several preachers began radio shows as a result of their popularity.

In the 1930s, a famous radio evangelist of the period was

Music and the Spoken Word (1929–present), The Lutheran Hour (1930–present), and Charles E. Fuller (1937–1968).[9][10] Time magazine reported in 1946 that Rev. Ralph Sockman's National Radio Pulpit on NBC received 4,000 letters weekly and Roman Catholic archbishop Fulton 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 American

Evangelical Protestant religious broadcasters, the National Religious Broadcasters, was founded in 1944.[12]

Television

Archbishop Fulton Sheen
, the first televangelist.
Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Evangelist Billy Graham speaks at the NRB convention, 1977

Although television also began in the 1930s, it was not used for religious purposes until the early 1950s. Jack Wyrtzen and Percy Crawford switched to TV broadcasting in the Spring of 1949. Another television preacher of note was Fulton J. Sheen, who successfully switched to television in 1951 after two decades of popular radio broadcasts and whom Time called "the first 'televangelist'".[13] Sheen would win numerous Emmy Awards for his program that ran from the early 1950s, until the late 1960s.

In 1951, producer Dick Ross and

Baptist evangelist Billy Graham founded the film production company World Wide Pictures, which would make videos of his preaching and Christian films. [14]

Televangelist Joel Osteen at Lakewood Church, a megachurch in Houston, Texas

After years of radio broadcasting in 1952

Channel 4 airs the Roman Catholic Church mass since 1961.[16]

Baptist Pastor Pat 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, but also corresponded with a further rise in

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jerry Falwell, 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 are Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer and T. D. Jakes.[19] In Nigeria, there are Enoch Adeboye and Chris Oyakhilome.[20] Trinity Broadcasting Network is the world's largest religious television network.[21]

Controversies and criticism

Televangelists frequently draw criticism from other Christian ministers. For example, preacher

John 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.

Senate probe

In 2007,

Rolls-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:

  • Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas;
  • Creflo Dollar and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International and Creflo Dollar Ministries of College Park, Georgia;
  • Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church Inc. and Benny Hinn Ministries of Grapevine, Texas;
  • Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Bishop Eddie Long Ministries of Lithonia, Georgia; "DocuSeries – Sex Scandals and Religion" did a 2011 investigative episode on his alleged sexual misconduct[28]
  • Joyce Meyer and David Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Missouri and
  • Randy White and ex-wife Paula White of the Without Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries of Tampa.[29]

On January 6, 2011 Grassley released his review of the six ministries response to his inquiry. He called for a further congressional review of tax-exemption laws for religious groups.[30]

In Islam

Amr Khaled, an influential Egyptian Muslim televangelist, in Toronto, Canada

In

Internet videos like their Evangelical counterparts.[31] Examples include Moez Masoud, Zakir Naik and Amr Khaled, amongst others.[31][32] These figures may build on the longstanding da'i tradition but also draw inspiration from Christian televangelists. Similarly to Christian televangelists, critics have argued that some Islamic televangelists may be too political, especially those pandering to fundamental Islamism including the far-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 include

Muslim Television Ahmadiyya, Islam Channel, ARY Qtv and Peace TV. Some of these channels, but not all, have come under scrutiny from national television or communications regulators such as Ofcom in the UK and the CRTC 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 including marital rape,[35] and homophobia.[36] The Islamic televangelist channel Peace TV is banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.[37][38][39]

See also

References

  1. ^ Denis J. Bekkering, "From 'Televangelist' to 'Intervangelist': The Emergence of the Streaming Video Preacher." The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 23, no.2 (2011), 101–117.
  2. ISBN 978-0201038859
    .
  3. ^ "Bishop Fulton Sheen: The First 'Televangelist'", Time Magazine, Monday, April 14, 1952
  4. ^ "S. Parkes Cadman dies in coma at 71" (PDF). The New York Times. July 12, 1936. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  5. ^ "Radio Religion". Time magazine. January 21, 1946. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  6. ^ Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank and Kanze, Peterr. The airwaves of New York: illustrated histories of 156 AM stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921-1996 Page 168. WQAO went on the air 1923. WQAO went on the air 1923. One of the earliest religious broadcasters in New York. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  7. ^ "Welcome to WMCA 570 AM & 102.3 FM - New York | The Mission WMCA - New York, NY". 2020-05-29. Archived from the original on 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  8. ^ "Air Worship". Time magazine. February 9, 1931. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  9. ^ "Billy Graham Center archives". Wheaton College. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  10. ^ Thomas H. O'Connor (1985). Baltimore Broadcasting from A to Z. Baltimore, Maryland: O'Connor Communications.
  11. ^ "Radio Religion". Time Magazine. January 21, 1946. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  12. ^ J. Gordon Melton, Phillip Charles Lucas, Jon R. Stone, Prime-time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting, Oryx Press, USA, 1997, p. 383
  13. ^ "Bishop Fulton Sheen". Time. 1952-04-14. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  14. ^ John Lyden, The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2009, p. 82
  15. ^ David E. Harrell Jr. "Healers and Televengelists After World War II in Vinson Synan," The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal (Nashville: Nelson, 2001) 331
  16. ^ ICMtv produce la Misa de Canal 4 - Iglesia Católica Montevideo, 21 September 2017
  17. ^ Randall Herbert Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition, Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 157
  18. ^ George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 469
  19. ^ George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 2275-2276
  20. ^ P. Thomas, P. Lee, Global and Local Televangelism, Springer, USA, 2012, p. 182
  21. ^ Elaine Woo (December 2, 2013). "Paul Crouch dies at 79; founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2014. He bought more television stations, then piled on cable channels and eventually satellites until he had built the world's largest Christian television system...
  22. ^ "A Colossal Fraud". Grace to You.
  23. ^ Corruption in Televangelism and Paganism in the American Church. September 23, 1994. Archived August 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-23. Retrieved 2010-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ^ See, for example, "Lee Zurik Investigation: Could ministries face IRS issues? - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8". Archived from the original on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  26. ^ Calvin L Smith wrote at http://www.calvinlsmith.com/2010/05/televangelism.html, "Thus, despite a clear market demand for religious broadcasting... the evidence is that, ironically, the medium actually wins very few converts and is completely ineffective as an evangelistic tool. Instead religious broadcasting is primarily aimed at and viewed by Christians..."
  27. ^ "Grassley seeks information from six media-based ministries" (Press release). 6 November 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  28. ^ "Sex Scandals In Religion – Ep. 4: IN THE NAME OF THE LORD". Earthbook.tv. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  29. ^ "Sen. Grassley probes televangelists' finances". USA Today. The Associated Press. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  30. ^ "The United States Senate Committee on Finance: Newsroom – Ranking Member's News". Finance.senate.gov. 6 January 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  31. ^
    ISSN 0013-0613
    . Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  32. ^ "May 16, 2008 ~ Muslim Televangelists | May 16, 2008 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS". Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  33. ^ "Malaysia ministers want Muslim preacher Zakir Naik expelled". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  34. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  35. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived
    from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  36. ^ "Peace TV faces UK ban after presenter calls gay people "worse than animals"". Gay Times. 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  37. ^ "Zakir Naik, Wanted In India, Banned From Making Speeches In Malaysia". NDTV.com. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  38. ^ The Times of India (10 July 2016). "Bangladesh bans televangelist Zakir Naik's Peace TV". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  39. ^ "Peace TV stations fined £300,000 for hate speeches as it pulls out of the UK". The National News. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2021.

Further reading

  • Bekkering, Denis (2018). American Televangelism and Participatory Cultures: Fans, Brands, and Play With Religious "Fakes". Palgrave Macmillan.
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