Republicans and Evangelicals I Jerry Falwell (part 2)

Give to help Chris make more Truce The New Right had a plan--to bring evangelical Christians together as a voting bloc. But how to do that? They chose a few targets, people with big followings, and courted them. Jerry Falwell was an obvious choice. He was a fundamentalist preacher, televangelist, and the founder of Liberty University. He also had a propensity for the dramatic, seeing the end of days around every corner. The New Right did not like President Jimmy Carter and did their best to turn evangelicals against him. A big job considering that Carter was an evangelical and often talked about his faith. Still, they wanted Ronald Reagan (a divorced actor with a reputation with the ladies) to be their man. In this episode, Chris is joined by author and historian Rick Perlstein. Sources Reaganland by Rick Perlstein article about Reinhold Niebuhr God's Own Party by Daniel K. Williams The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald Listen, America! by Jerry Falwell Discussion Questions What was the role of the New Right in recruiting religious people? Why was Falwell an ideal candidate for the New Right? A higher percentage of evangelicals voted for Nixon than for Reagan. So why do we talk so much about Reagan as a turning point? What was the Moral Majority? How do we see groups like them operating today? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices