Free Republic

What ever happened to the televangelists of the 1980s? Not a few Americans have grown nostalgic for the 1980s--at least in music and fashion. For those of us who study the intersection of religion and culture, it is hard not to be. Just think back: In the '80s, the Religious Right was in its infancy and ministers from both the left and right were making serious runs for the presidency. Not least, televangelists had successfully jumped from early-morning Sunday network slots to prime-time cable television. Twenty years ago televangelism had its greatest year on record. With their own slick productions...

For the past couple of years, Paul Crouch has turned his well-tanned face to the heavens, seeking out the face of his God. And he has seen . . . nothing. God has not smiled on the pater familias of Costa Mesa-based Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Two years ago, the Los Angeles Times revealed that Crouch paid a former employee $425,000 to stay quiet about an alleged 1996 homosexual tryst in Lake Arrowhead. Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church continues to gnaw away at TBN’s long-held position as Orange County’s most powerful evangelical organization. Crouch and TBN have had to fend off...