The implications, political and spiritual, were profound. Whereas Falwell had once treated theology as the imperative—prioritizing saving the individual soul, believing that America’s redemption was downstream from mass conversion—he was now operating in reverse, setting aside religious differences and working with non-Christians toward a supposed national salvation. In this sense, Falwell was a mirror image of Billy Graham, who in the early stages of his career had stressed patriotism and courted political power, only to later back away from both.
