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Televangelism (from televangelist, a Blend word of television and Evangelism) and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the Proselytism, particularly Christianity.
Televangelists are either official or self-proclaimed ministers who devote a large portion of their ministry to television . Some televangelists are also regular or ministers in their own places of worship (often a megachurch), but the majority of their followers come from TV and radio audiences. Others do not have a conventional congregation, and work primarily through television. The term is also used derisively by critics as an insinuation of aggrandizement by such ministers.
Televangelism began as a uniquely American phenomenon, resulting from a largely deregulated media where access to television networks and cable TV is open to virtually anyone who can afford it, combined with a large Christian population that is able to provide the necessary funding. It became especially popular among Evangelical Protestant audiences, whether independent or organized around Christian denominations. However, the increasing globalisation of broadcasting has enabled some American televangelists to reach a wider audience through international broadcast networks, including some that are specifically Christian in nature.
Some countries have a more regulated media with either general restrictions on access or specific rules regarding religious broadcasting. In such countries, religious programming is typically produced by TV companies (sometimes as a regulatory or public service requirement) rather than private .
One of the first ministers to use radio extensively was S. Parkes Cadman, beginning in 1923. In 1923, Calvary Baptist Church in New York City was the first church to operate its own radio station.Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank and Kanze, Peterr. The airwaves of New York: illustrated histories of 156 AM stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921-1996 Page 168. WQAO went on the air 1923. WQAO went on the air 1923. One of the earliest religious broadcasters in New York. Retrieved November 20, 2009."Tell It From Calvary" is a radio show that the church still produces weekly; it's heard on WMCA AM570. By 1928, Cadman had a weekly Sunday afternoon radio broadcast on the NBC radio network, his powerful oratory reaching a nationwide audience of five million persons.
Aimee Semple McPherson was another pioneering tent-revivalist who soon turned to radio to reach a larger audience. Radio eventually gave her nationwide notoriety in the 1920s and 1930s, and she even built one of the earliest Pentecostal megachurches.
In the United States, the Great Depression of the 1930s saw a resurgence of revival meeting preacher in the Midwest and South, as itinerant traveling preachers drove from town to town, living off . Several preachers began radio shows as a result of their popularity.
In the 1930s, a famous radio evangelist of the period was Roman Catholic priest Father Charles Coughlin, whose strongly Anti-communism and Antisemitism radio programs reached millions of listeners. Other early Christian radio programs broadcast nationwide in the U.S. beginning in the 1920s–1930s, include (years of radio broadcast shown): Bob Jones, Sr. (1927–1962), Ralph W. Sockman (1928–1962), G. E. Lowman (1930–1965), Music and the Spoken Word (1929–present), The Lutheran Hour (1930–present), and Charles E. Fuller (1937–1968). Time magazine reported in 1946 that Rev. Ralph Sockman's National Radio Pulpit on NBC received 4,000 letters weekly and Roman Catholic archbishop Fulton J. Sheen received between 3,000 and 6,000 letters weekly. The total radio audience for radio ministers in the U.S. that year was estimated to be 10 million listeners.
An association of American Evangelical Protestant religious broadcasters, the National Religious Broadcasters, was founded in 1944.J. Gordon Melton, Phillip Charles Lucas, Jon R. Stone, Prime-time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting, Oryx Press, USA, 1997, p. 383
In 1951, producer Dick Ross and Baptist evangelist Billy Graham founded the film production company World Wide Pictures, which made videos of his preaching and Christian films. John Lyden, The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2009, p. 82
After years of radio broadcasting, in 1952 Rex Humbard became the first to have a weekly church service broadcast on television. By 1980, the Rex Humbard programs spanned the globe with 695 stations in 91 languages, the largest coverage of any evangelistic program at the time. By 1957, Oral Roberts's broadcast reached 80% of the possible television audience through 135 of the possible 500 stations.David E. Harrell Jr. "Healers and Televengelists After World War II in Vinson Synan," The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal (Nashville: Nelson, 2001) 331 In Uruguay, Channel 4 has been airing the Roman Catholic Church mass since 1961. ICMtv produce la Misa de Canal 4 - Iglesia Católica Montevideo, 21 September 2017
Christian Broadcasting Network, the first Christian channel, was founded in 1961 by Baptist Pastor Pat Robertson.Randall Herbert Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition, Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 157 Its show, The 700 Club, is one of the oldest on the American television scene and was broadcast in 39 languages in 138 countries in 2016.George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 469
The 1960s and early 1970s saw television replace radio as the primary home entertainment medium and also saw a further rise in Evangelical Christianity, particularly through the international television and radio ministry of Billy Graham. Many well-known televangelists began during this period, most notably Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jerry Falwell, Jesse Duplantis and Pat Robertson. Most developed their own media networks, news exposure, and political influence. In the 21st century, some televised church services continue to attract large audiences. In the US, there are Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer and T. D. Jakes.George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 2275-2276 In Nigeria, there are Enoch Adeboye and Chris Oyakhilome.P. Thomas, P. Lee, Global and Local Televangelism, Springer, USA, 2012, p. 182 Trinity Broadcasting Network is the world's largest religious television network.
Similarly, Ole Anthony wrote very critically of televangelists in 1994. Corruption in Televangelism and Paganism in the American Church. September 23, 1994.
A proportion of their methods and theology are held by some to be conflicting with Christian doctrine taught in long existing traditionalist congregations. Many televangelists are featured by "discernment ministries" run by other Christians that are concerned about what they perceive as departures from sound Christian doctrine.
On January 6, 2011, Grassley released his review of the six ministries response to his inquiry. He called for a further congressional review of tax-exemption laws for religious groups.
Examples of well-known Islamic televangelist TV channels include Muslim Television Ahmadiyya, Islam Channel, ARY Qtv and Peace TV. Some of these channels, but not all, have come under the scrutiny of national television or communications regulators such as Ofcom in the UK and the CRTC in Canada, with Ofcom having censured both Islam Channel and Peace TV in the past for biased coverage of political events, incitement to illegal acts including marital rape, and homophobia. The Islamic televangelist channel Peace TV is banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
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