Falwell left deep mark on American politics

analysis

By Rachel Zoll

updated 6:43 p.m. ET May 15, 2007

The Rev. Jerry Falwell’s habit of sounding off on everything from liberals and terrorism to the “Teletubbies” regularly embarrassed his fellow conservatives.

But it would be a mistake to remember the pastor as out of touch, or the buffoon his critics made him out to be.

Falwell turned a major segment of U.S. Christianity into a political sledgehammer — even if the movement has not achieved all of its goals and its leader’s tongue got him in trouble.

His decision in the 1970s to confront an American culture that he saw in moral free fall helped touch off a mass movement that transformed the Republican Party and U.S. politics. When he died Tuesday at age 73, white evangelicals comprised more than one-third of the GOP base and were among the Republicans’ most reliable supporters.

“Just as the black church never again has to be indoctrinated to get involved politically, neither does the evangelical church,” Falwell told William Martin, author of “With God On Our Side, The Rise of the Religious Right in America.”

Entry into politics
It may be hard to remember now, but conservative preachers avoided politics in the days when Falwell began his ministry. Then the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973.

“Religious people and religious values were being squeezed out of the public square,” said the Rev. Ed Dobson, who worked at Falwell’s side from 1973 until 1987.

As founding pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., Falwell began meeting with theologians and lawmakers to see how Christians could fight back. His foes? Liberals, “abortionists,” the American Civil Liberties Union, feminists, gay rights activists and the faithless.

In 1979, he and his allies launched the Moral Majority. Falwell not only drew preachers from behind their pulpits into the brawling world of electoral campaigns, but he also brought conservative politics into the church. He helped persuade thousands of pastors nationwide to conduct voter-registration drives in their congregations, contributing to a flood of new voters on the GOP rolls.

Interactive timeline The Rev. Jerry Falwell, 1933-2007 A quick look at his life and legacy

“The Rev. Falwell’s creation of the Moral Majority was a turning point in history for the church in America,” said the Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition. “His legacy will last for decades to come.”

The Moral Majority platform mixed traditional Christian values with a strongly conservative world view: Falwell wanted prayer in public school and more money for national defense, too.

When Christian activists helped Ronald Reagan win the 1980 presidential race, Falwell credited the Moral Majority and became the mouthpiece for newly empowered Americans “who felt they and their beliefs were disrespected,” said Cal Thomas, the syndicated columnist and Moral Majority spokesman for six years.

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

Schieffer to moderate last debate NYT: GOP concern after McCain's rough week Bush faces tough issues in last 100 days Issue of race creeps into campaign Obama relies heavily on ground effort Palin has mixed record as fiscal conservative Palin at times blurred church-state line GOP's Palin denies abuse of power finding McCain strikes back at Obama ally IMF warns of global financial meltdown Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: