Bush in 1988, several conservative Supreme Court decisions and influencing the creation of the powerful Christian Coalition. Politically powerfulFalwell, a television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority in 1979, became the face of the religious right in the 1980s. He turned down an offer to play professional baseball and transferred from Lynchburg College to Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo. In the 1980s, Falwell's group claimed 6.5 million members, raising $69 million for conservative politicians and helping to elect Ronald Reagan president in 1980. Moral Majority, American political organization that was founded in 1979 by Jerry Falwell, a televangelist, to advance conservative social values. Billy Graham once rebuked him for political sermonizing on “non-moral issues.”, “We did not always agree on everything, but I knew him to be a man of God," Graham said Tuesday. Although it disbanded in 1989, the group helped to establish the religious right as a force in American politics. “Today, our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Macel and the rest of the Falwell family.". Son Of Moral Majority Founder Tells Pope To Keep Out Of Politics (Original post) KamaAina: Feb 2016: OP: the pope should tell him to stay out of religion. Rev. In the 1990s, despite fading somewhat in the public eye, Falwell was an outspoken critic of the Democratic Party and especially of Democratic Pres. One of his lasting contributions was the establishment of the Liberty University, where he taught young people to remain true to their convictions, and rely upon God's word throughout each stage of their lives. And, unlike some of his televangelist brethren who were severely wounded by sexual and financial scandals, Falwell’s enterprises prospered throughout the 1980s. He gave it up seven months later after learning the depth of PTL’s financial problems. “What’s happened to America is that the wicked are bearing rule. Many conservative Christians believed that they had no proper voice in politics. Falwell slid fully clothed down a theme park water slide after donors met his fund-raising goal to help rescue the rival ministry. As a student, Falwell was a star athlete and a prankster who was barred from giving his high school valedictorian’s speech after he was caught using counterfeit lunch tickets his senior year. “His accomplishments went beyond most clergy of his generation.”. Hundreds of workers were laid off, and viewers of his television show dwindled. The Moral Majority's influence dropped sharply following sex scandals in the late-1980s involving two other television evangelists, Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. Despite the hostility he sometimes provoked, Falwell was largely responsible for making American Christian conservatives politically active, and he had a marked impact on other aspects of American religious and political life in the late 20th century. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In 1987, Falwell took over the PTL (Praise the Lord) ministry in South Carolina after Jim Bakker’s troubles. Jerry Falwell is photographed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., in this Aug. 18, 1994 file photo. Although his grandfather and father were atheists, Falwell accepted Jesus Christ in 1952, perhaps through the influence of his mother, a devout Christian. Also in 1956, Falwell began the “Old Time Gospel Hour,” a nationally syndicated radio and television ministry that has led millions to Christ. He opposed abortion, feminism, gay rights, and other causes associated with the social and cultural transformations of the 1960s and ’70s. “He has left instructions for those of us who had to carry on, and we will be faithful to that charge,” Godwin said. Moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths, but instead make … "If he doesn't, don't.". LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The Rev. The Moral Majority's stated mission was to "reverse the politicization of immorality in our society." Jerry Falwell, in full Jerry Laymon Falwell, Sr., (born August 11, 1933, Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.—died May 15, 2007, Lynchburg), American religious leader, televangelist, and founder of the Moral Majority, a political organization for the promotion of conservative social values. Falwell dissolved the Moral Majority in 1989, saying that its political aims had been achieved. Throughout his career Falwell engendered controversy with remarks that many Americans perceived as intolerant or bigoted. Jerry Falwell — founder of the Moral Majority and the face of the religious right in the 1980s — died Tuesday after being found unconscious in his office, a Liberty University executive said. “He was one of the first to come up with ways to use television to expand his ministry,” said Robert Alley, a retired University of Richmond religion professor who studied and criticized Falwell’s career. A successful minister, Falwell was perhaps best known for his political activism and the founding in 1979 of the Moral Majority, which he characterized as pro-family and pro-American. Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, extended condolences to those close to Falwell, but added: "Unfortunately, we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America's anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation's appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation.". Falwell is survived by his wife, Macel, and three children, Jerry, Jonathan and Jeannie. Largely because of the Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals, donations to Falwell’s ministry dropped from $135 million in 1986 to less than $100 million the following year. “I shudder to think where the country would be right now if the religious right had not evolved,” Falwell said when he stepped down as Moral Majority president in 1987. Falwell credited … “Jerry has been a tower of strength on many of the moral issues which have confronted our nation,” fellow evangelist Pat Robertson said Tuesday. Omissions? Moral Majority Founder Falwell, 73, Outraged Liberals and Fought for Israel Appreciation By Zev Chafets. Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse but noted that Falwell had “a history of heart challenges.”, “I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast,” Godwin said. Moral majority definition, a political action group formed mainly of Protestant fundamentalists to further strict conservative aims, as strong antiabortion laws, the restoration of school prayer, the teaching of creationism in public schools, and the curbing of books and television programs considered antireligious or immoral. Falwell is the son of the late Liberty University founder and Moral Majority co-founder, Jerry Falwell, Sr., and to understand Trumpism and the extremism of the … Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and one of the key architects of the rise of the Religious Right, died May 15 at age 73. Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and built the religious right into a political force, has died. Eleanors38: Feb 2016 #9: Exactly!!! Liberty University was $73 million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, and his “Old Time Gospel Hour” was $16 million in debt. It urged religious conservatives to register to vote, and to vote Republican. The schools had been founded in the mid-1960s in response to the desegregation of public schools set in motion by the Brown v. ... “If the moral majority … Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. He stood for voluntary prayer in schools, balanced budgets, military strength and aid to Israel. Falwell started taking on political causes in the late 1970s. In that year he founded Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg; the congregation grew from some 35 members to more than 20,000 by the time of Falwell’s death. Born on Aug. 11, 1933, Falwell was not particularly religious until his sophomore year of college in 1952, when Falwell said he underwent a religious conversion. -Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church and chancellor of Liberty University, was tapped by conservative political activists to lead fundamentalist Christians into the Republican Party in the late 1970s. The Moral Majority, which disbanded in 1989, was partly responsible for the 1980 election of Republican President Ronald Reagan, said Randall Balmer, a professor of American religious history at Barnard … He later founded … Published May 18, 2007, issue of May 18, 2007. Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church and chancellor of Liberty University, was tapped by conservative political activists to lead fundamentalist Christians into the Republican Party in the late 1970s. …fundamentalists, such as the televangelist. Jerry Falwell was a fundamentalist preacher who co-founded the Moral Majority and reacquainted disaffected religious conservatives with politics during the 1970s and 1980s. Ronald Reagan and the Moral Majority How US religious conservatives organised in the 1970s to get Republicans elected into office. He later apologized. In June 1979 the Moral Majority was launched and changed the course of American politics. But he re-entered the political arena by the mid-1990s, selling a video that accused then-President Clinton of crimes and calling him an "ungodly liar.". Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and one of the key architects of the rise of the Religious Right, died May 15 at age 73. Paul M. Weyrich, who co-founded the Moral Majority with Jerry Falwell in 1979, died this morning around 1 a.m. He said Falwell was found without a pulse and never regained consciousness. In the main building of the Liberty University campus in Lynchburg, Va., there is a Jerry Falwell museum. so true. In 1999, he told an evangelical conference that the Antichrist was a male Jew who was probably already alive. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. A pioneer of televangelismThe big, blue-eyed preacher with a booming voice started his independent Baptist church with 35 members. bbgrunt: Feb 2016 #5: LOL! Coinciding with the popularity of Ronald Reagan, Falwell Sr. founded the Moral Majority in 1979 as a conservative Christian political lobbying group. Falwell had made careful preparations for a transition of his leadership to his two sons, Godwin said. Falwell devoted much of his time to keeping his university afloat. A month later, his National Liberty Journal warned parents that Tinky Winky, a purple, purse-toting character on television’s “Teletubbies” show, was a gay role model and morally damaging to children. Instead of accepting an offer to play professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals, he transferred to the Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo. The day before he died, Falwell “had been up on the mountain by the logo, and students were up there picnicking, and he had had a happy exchange with those students,” Godwin said. In 1957, from his living room, Falwell began broadcasting his message of salvation and raising the donations that helped his ministry grow. Over the next two decades, Weyrich founded, co-founded, or held prominent roles in a number of other notable conservative organizations. And he stood against the Equal Rights Amendment, pornography, abortion, homosexuality, gambling and rock music. Ed Dobson, a founding member of the Moral Majority, put it in these terms: their focus was on the family. Two years later, with Jerry Falwell, he founded the Moral Majority (1979–1989). The Rev. He ran with a gang of juvenile delinquents before becoming a born-again Christian at age 19. The Rev. saturnsring: Feb 2016 #1: haha! Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jerry-Falwell, The New York Times - Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority founder, dies at 73, Liberty University - Biography of Jerry Falwell, United States History - Biography of Jerry Falwell, Jerry L. Falwell - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). He later founded the conservative Liberty University, which began as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971, and served as its chancellor. IE 11 is not supported. Tuesday morning, he said, Falwell was talking about plans for the future. Rhiannon12866: Atheist father, religious conversionFalwell’s father and his grandfather were militant atheists, he wrote in his autobiography. LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. In 2006, Falwell marked the 50th anniversary of his church and spoke out on stem cell research, saying he sympathized with people with medical problems, but that any medical research must pass a three-part test: “Is it ethically correct? He was hospitalized in February for two weeks with what was described as a viral infection, then hospitalized again in March with congestive heart failure after being found unconscious. Jerry Falwell, the fundamentalist preacher who founded the Moral Majority and brought the language and passions of religious … Bill Clinton. He formed the Faith and Values Coalition as the “21st century resurrection of the Moral Majority,” to seek anti-abortion judges, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and more conservative elected officials. In 2004, buoyed by the electoral victories of George W. Bush, Falwell founded the Faith and Values Coalition—which became the Moral Majority Coalition—as a successor to the Moral Majority. Throughout his career Falwell was a staunch supporter of the State of Israel and of the Republican Party; his Liberty University became an important stop for Republican presidential candidates in the early 21st century. He was an avid sports fan who arrived at Liberty basketball games to the cheers of students. “He went to his office, I went to mine and they found him unresponsive.”. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Falwell survived two serious health scares in early 2005. This is a good story, but it is not how it … Falwell, a television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority in 1979, became the face of the religious right in the 1980s. The Rev. "If a man stands by this book, vote for him," he was quoted by Time magazine as saying at one rally in 1979. Falwell started the organization because he thought evangelicals made up a large voting block and needed better representation in Washington, D.C. and state governments. Today, the church has 24,000 members and the annual revenues of all of his ministries total more than $200 million, according to his biography on Liberty University's Web site. A segregationist in his early years, he later abandoned that view. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died … Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and built the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in … Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Falwell said he held gays and feminists among those partially responsible. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly … Is it morally correct?”. Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell dies MSNBC ^ | 5-15-2007 | MSNBS Posted on 05/15/2007 3:46:41 PM PDT by Always Right. Robert J. Billings, the evangelistic Christian educator who helped rouse the religious Right into a potent political force as a founder of the Moral Majority… Falwell believed that the Bible was "the inerrant Word of God, and totally accurate in all respects. In 1967, Falwell implemented his vision to build a Christian educational sy… In 1971 Falwell founded Lynchburg Bible College—later Liberty University, a fundamentalist Christian university—which he led until his death. “My heart was burning to serve Christ,” he once said in an interview. Well said! With Falwell at the helm, the Moral Majority, founded in 1979, prospered. ", He took that conviction in the Bible to his rallies. Falwell delivered the benediction at the Republican National Convention in 1996. “I knew nothing would ever be the same again.”. …of the largest fundamentalist denominations; Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Jerry Falwell, in full Jerry Laymon Falwell, Sr., (born August 11, 1933, Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.—died May 15, 2007, Lynchburg), American religious leader, televangelist, and founder of the Moral Majority, a political organization for the promotion of conservative social values. He declared that AIDS was a divine punishment for homosexuality; he blamed “abortionists,” gays and lesbians, feminists, and others for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States (a statement he subsequently retracted); he identified Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, as a terrorist; and he asserted that the Antichrist was a currently living Jewish male. In 1986 Falwell founded the Liberty Foundation as a way to broaden his base. In the late 1980s he unsuccessfully sought to revive the PTL (Praise the Lord) Club, the conservative Christian organization and television network of the disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker. He was 73. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and one of the key architects of the rise of the Religious Right, died May 15 at age 73. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Print; Email; Share. With Falwell’s high profile came frequent criticism, even from fellow ministers. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He dreamed that Liberty would grow to 50,000 students and be to fundamentalist Christians what Notre Dame is to Roman Catholics and Brigham Young University is to Mormons. Skip to comments. Ron Godwin, Liberty's executive vice president, said Falwell had been found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. Jerry Falwell, the leader of a movement called the Moral Majority that arose in the late 1970s, was mad and he was going to let everyone know it: “We’re fighting a holy war,” he said at his Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1980. The Rev. Other victories attributed to his influence include the election of President George H.W. President Bush issued a statement after Falwell's death, saying, "Jerry lived a life of faith and called upon men and women of all backgrounds to believe in God and serve their communities. The Rev. Against stem cell researchFalwell was re-energized after family values proved important in the 2004 presidential election. See more. Dr. Carl Moore, Falwell’s physician, said the evangelist had had a heart rhythm abnormality. By the mid-1990s, two local businessmen with long ties to Falwell began overseeing the finances and helped get companies to forgive debts or write them of as losses. The group registered millions to vote and advocated for social and moral issues, including overturning the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
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