The History of Televangelism: God Told Me to Ask You for Money
Quick Answer
What is the history of televangelism in America? Televangelism began with religious radio broadcasts in the 1920s and moved to television in the 1950s, with Billy Graham establishing the template. It peaked in the 1980s with preachers like Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, and Oral Roberts commanding massive audiences and revenues before a series of fraud convictions, sex scandals, and investigative exposés dismantled several of the largest ministries. The industry survived, adapted, and became deeply intertwined with American conservative politics.
The history of televangelism is, depending on how you look at it, a story about faith, media, money, and power. It is also a story about a man who preached to millions while his wife fed him the names of sick people through a radio earpiece he claimed was the voice of God. Both things are true.
How It Started
Religious broadcasting predates television by decades. Aimee Semple McPherson, a Pentecostal evangelist, launched her own radio station in Los Angeles in 1924, one of the first religious broadcasters in America. She understood that radio could reach people no tent revival ever could, and she used it accordingly. Charles Fuller's "Old Fashioned Revival Hour" in the 1940s reached an estimated 20 million listeners weekly, making it one of the most popular radio programs in the country.
Television changed the scale entirely. Billy Graham made his first televised crusade in 1951 and spent the next half-century refining what became the standard playbook: charismatic preacher, large audience, emotional appeal, and a very clear path to donation. Graham was, by most accounts, personally honest. His organization became the template for what came after. The people who came after were not always personally honest.
The Golden Age of Fraud
The 1970s and 1980s were the peak years of American televangelism, and also the years that generated the most material for prosecutors.
Oral Roberts was famous for faith healing and for telling his audience in 1987 that God would "call him home" unless his viewers sent $8 million within a few months. They sent $9.1 million. Roberts survived. The people he claimed to have healed were harder to verify.
Jim Bakker built PTL, which officially stood for "Praise The Lord" and unofficially for other things depending on who you asked. He constructed Heritage USA, a Christian theme park in South Carolina that was briefly the third most visited theme park in the United States. He sold lifetime vacation memberships to fund it. He sold far more memberships than there were rooms, which is called fraud. In 1989, Bakker was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison. The sentence was later reduced. He returned to television after his release.
Jimmy Swaggart was one of the most watched preachers in America, with an audience estimated at 500 million across 143 countries at his peak. He spent considerable effort exposing the sexual sins of other ministers. In 1988, a prostitute's account of their relationship was made public. Swaggart gave a tearful on-air confession that became one of the most watched moments in televangelist history. He was caught in a similar situation again in 1991. The second time, he told his congregation God had told him to handle it differently and moved on.
The Earpiece
Peter Popoff was a faith healer who filled auditoriums with people seeking miraculous cures. He would call out audience members by name, describe their ailments in specific detail, and declare them healed. His explanation was divine revelation. The actual explanation was that his wife Elizabeth read information from prayer request cards through a radio transmitter backstage, which Popoff received through an earpiece during the service.
The skeptic and magician James Randi intercepted the radio transmissions in 1986 and played them on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Popoff's ministry filed for bankruptcy in 1987. By the 2000s, he was back on television, selling "miracle spring water" in infomercials that aired at 3 a.m. His ministry reportedly brought in tens of millions annually.
The Money
Understanding televangelism requires understanding the tax structure. Religious organizations in the United States are generally exempt from federal income tax and, in many cases, from the financial disclosure requirements that apply to other nonprofits. This makes it difficult to know exactly how much money flows through these ministries, which is part of the appeal for the people running them.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries gives some sense of the scale. Copeland, who has been broadcasting since the 1960s, has an estimated net worth of over $300 million. His ministry owns its own airport outside Fort Worth, Texas. In 2019, a reporter asked him why he needed private jets. He explained that commercial airplanes are filled with "a bunch of demons" and that you cannot talk to God in that environment. The Senate Finance Committee investigated several major televangelism ministries in 2007. Most declined to cooperate fully with the inquiry. The investigation concluded without significant consequences.
The Political Machine They Built
The most consequential thing televangelists did was not raise money. It was build a political coalition.
Jerry Falwell Sr. founded the Moral Majority in 1979, explicitly to mobilize evangelical Christians as a political force. It worked. Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election with substantial support from evangelical voters who had not previously been reliably Republican. Pat Robertson founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, ran for president in 1988, and then built the Christian Coalition, which became one of the most influential grassroots political organizations in the country through the 1990s.
The infrastructure built by televangelism, the donor lists, the communication networks, the cultural authority with a specific segment of the population, became the foundation for the religious right's influence over the Republican Party for the next four decades. Project 2025 is, among other things, the product of that infrastructure applied to federal policy planning. The line from Falwell's Moral Majority to Heritage Foundation to Project 2025 is direct.
History tends to look kindly on charismatic men who built large organizations. The documentary record is a useful corrective. If you are skeptical of institutions that ask for your money and your faith simultaneously, our Not Today Jesus T-shirt exists for exactly that feeling. The Let's Start A Cult T-shirt is for people who understand that the line between a ministry and a cult is mostly a matter of budget. Both are in the Satan collection, which is exactly where they belong.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a televangelist?
A televangelist is a Christian minister who uses television as their primary medium to reach an audience. The term emerged in the 1950s and 1960s as television became widespread. Televangelists typically broadcast religious programming that includes preaching, faith healing, and fundraising appeals. The largest televangelism ministries in the United States have generated hundreds of millions of dollars annually and in several cases became significant political organizations.
What happened to Jim Bakker?
Jim Bakker was convicted in 1989 on 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the sale of vacation timeshares through his PTL ministry. He was originally sentenced to 45 years but the sentence was later reduced to eight years; he was released in 1994 after serving five. Bakker returned to television ministry and continues to broadcast. His second ministry, which operates from Branson, Missouri, has been known for selling survivalist food products and other merchandise.
How did James Randi expose Peter Popoff?
Magician and skeptic James Randi discovered that Peter Popoff appeared to receive information about audience members through a wireless earpiece during his faith healing services. Randi's team intercepted radio transmissions from Popoff's wife Elizabeth, who read details from prayer request cards submitted before the service. Randi presented the recordings on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1986. Popoff's ministry subsequently filed for bankruptcy. He returned to broadcasting in the early 2000s and remained active for years afterward.
Why do televangelists have private jets?
Televangelists who own private jets typically justify them on grounds of security, schedule demands, or the spiritual necessity of uninterrupted focus. Kenneth Copeland, who owns multiple jets and his own airport, stated in a 2019 interview that commercial flights are filled with "a bunch of demons" that would interfere with his ability to talk to God. Privately owned aircraft purchased through ministry funds are generally not subject to the same disclosure requirements as other organizational expenses, which makes them attractive from a financial privacy standpoint.
What is the connection between televangelists and American politics?
Televangelists were central to building the religious right as a political force beginning in the late 1970s. Jerry Falwell Sr.'s Moral Majority, founded in 1979, mobilized evangelical Christian voters who helped elect Ronald Reagan in 1980. Pat Robertson's 700 Club and Christian Coalition built donor lists and political infrastructure that shaped Republican politics through the 1990s and 2000s. The organizations and networks built during the televangelism boom became the foundation for conservative Christian political activism that continues to influence American policy today.
Are televangelists required to disclose their finances?
Religious organizations in the United States are generally exempt from federal income tax and, unlike most nonprofits, are not required to file Form 990 financial disclosures with the IRS. This means that the finances of most televangelism ministries are not publicly available. The Senate Finance Committee investigated several major ministries in 2007 and most declined to provide complete financial records. Without disclosure requirements, independent verification of income, expenses, and compensation is difficult.
