For more than a half-century, Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms, known for his 700 Club television show
Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died. He was 93.
His masterstroke was insisting that three million followers across the U.S. sign petitions before he would decide to run, Robertson biographer Jeffrey K. Hadden said. The tactic gave him an army. By the time of his resignation as the coalition’s president in 2001 – Robertson said he wanted to concentrate on ministerial work – his impact on both religion and politics in the U.S. was “enormous,” according to John C. Green, an emeritus political science professor at The University of Akron.
He received a law degree from Yale University Law School, but failed the bar exam and chose not to pursue a law career. Robertson received a master’s in divinity from New York Theological Seminary in 1959, then drove south with his family to buy a bankrupt UHF television station in Portsmouth, Va. He said he had just $70 in his pocket, but soon found investors, and CBN went on the air on Oct. 1, 1961. Established as a tax-exempt religious non-profit, CBN brought in hundreds of millions, disclosing $321 million in “ministry support” in 2022 alone.
He called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2005. Later that year, he warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town not to be surprised if disaster struck them because they voted out school board members who favoured teaching “intelligent design” over evolution. And in 1998, he said Orlando, Florida, should beware of hurricanes after allowing the annual Gay Days event.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to GOP politics, dies at 93Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms, known for his “700 Club” television show, and in later years, his televised pronouncements of God’s judgment, blaming natural disasters on everything from homosexuality to the teaching of evolution.
Read more »
Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to GOP politics, dies at 93Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died. He was 93.
Read more »
Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to GOP politics, dies at 93 | National NewswatchNational Newswatch: Canada's most comprehensive site for political news and views. Make it a daily habit.
Read more »
Pat Robertson, founder of Christian Broadcasting Network, dies at 93Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, has died.
Read more »
'It was crazy': Video shows wrong-way driver on Pat Bay HighwaySidney/North Saanich RCMP are seeking witnesses after a car was seen going the wrong way on the Pat Bay Highway.
Read more »