Church History in Plain Language (Plain Language Series)

by Bruce L. Shelley

Resistance to the shifting culture came most notably through political action led by a movement called the Religious Right. A striking example of its influence on American political life came in 1984 during the first televised presidential debate between Republican party candidate Ronald Reagan and Democratic parly candidate Walter Mondale. Mondale referred to televangelist Jerry Falwell no less than three times. Falwell was running for no office. He held no position in the administration. And yet the Democratic candidate for the country’s highest office felt compelled to introduce this Baptist pastor into the debate no less than three times. Why? Jerry Falwell was pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, but after creating a political action group called the Moral Majority in 1979, Falwell rose out of nowhere to become the first prominent spokesman for the so-called Religious Right.