Televangelism Reconsidered

By closely examining four television programs--Falwell''s The Old-Time Gospel Hour Robertson''s 700 Club the Bakkers'' PTL Club and the telecasts of Jimmy Swaggart--this work considers the attraction of televangelism for its conservative Christian audience. It argues that televangelism as ritual performance both legitimates the beliefs of viewers and at the same time adapts other beliefs of its viewers to the broader culture.