The challenge of televangelism

Abstract

The revival of evangelical Christianity in the U.S. in recent years has been intimately linked to the rise of televangelism, or evangelical television. The evangelical return to the public sphere caught the intellectual world by surprise. When reality set in, an intense debate emerged within the social sciences about televangelism's impact on American religion and society. It also raised questions about the growing effects of globalization, and the role of religious revivals in a world increasingly polarized between the rich North and the poor South. The resulting analysis was often highly critical since televangelism challenged the liberal, mainstream denominations, and their preoccupation with their local churches. The electronic church was viewed as too individualistic, undermining religious community and ritual togetherness. It was seen as oversimplifying theological tenets, as encouraging personality cults, and as corrupted by market and right‐wing political imperatives.