Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a small station in Virginia into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, attempted a presidential bid and helped make religion a centerpiece of Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, is dead, the chain. announced on Thursday. He was 93 years old.
Robertson died at his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, early Thursday morning, according to the network. No cause was given.
Robertson’s companies also included Regent University, an evangelical Christian school in Virginia Beach; the American Center for Law and Justice, which defends the First Amendment rights of religious people; and Operation Blessing, an international humanitarian organization.
But for more than half a century, Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms, known for his television show “700 Club,” and in later years, his televised pronouncements on God’s judgment on America for everything from homosexuality to the teaching of evolution.
Money poured in as he solicited donations, his influence soared, and when he moved directly into politics seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 1988, he brought a large following with him.
Robertson pioneered a now common strategy of courting Iowa’s network of evangelical Christian churches and finished second in the Iowa caucuses to Vice President George HW Bush.
AP Photo/Steve Helber
His masterstroke was insisting that three million supporters in the United States sign petitions before he decided to run, said Robertson’s biographer, Jeffrey K. Hadden. The tactic gave him an army.
“He asked people to pledge to work for him, pray for him and give him money,” Hadden, a sociologist at the University of Virginia, told The Associated Press in 1988. “Political historians can see as one of the wittiest things a candidate has ever done.”
Robertson later endorsed Bush, who won the presidency. The search for Iowa evangelicals is now a ritual for Republican hopefuls, including those currently seeking the White House in 2024.
Robertson started the Christian Coalition in Chesapeake in 1989, saying it would further the ideals of his campaign. The coalition became a major political force in the 1990s, mobilizing conservative voters through grassroots activities.
At the time of his resignation as chairman of the coalition in 2001, Robertson said he wanted to concentrate on ministerial work, his impact on both religion and politics in the US being “enormous”, according to John C. Green, professor emeritus of political science. at the University of Akron.
Many followed the path Robertson blazed in religious outreach, Green told the AP in 2021. In American politics, Robertson helped “consolidate the alliance between conservative Christians and the Republican Party.”
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
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