Faith is a belief in a certain code of ethics, or a standard
of merit. For some, their faith is much more profound than a simple lifestyle.
This is when faith changes from ordinary to an extraordinary state that is more
spiritual. In fact we do not even look at many faiths as extraordinary anymore;
numerous religions have slipped their way into every day life. We pledge allegiance
to our nation under God and are read bible versus before our high school
football games. These influences become even more prominent in smaller
communities. A perfect example of this is my grandmother, Gloria Murphy, was
born and raised in a southern community that was rich with Christian culture.
Today Gloria is a Pentecostal preacher here in California. Gloria is a product
of the environment and era that she was raised in; she was able to find comfort
and support from the gospel while living deep in the south at the peak of
televangelism. Still, other forces existed which would shape her religion for
she is also a product of post-pluralism.
In my prior
blog I spoke about my grandmothers first personal connection with religion. She
was a single mother trying to survive with a lower class income. She found
solace in prayer and other Christian practices. She was raised Christian, not
uncommon in the south, but she was given the choice to practice her faith. In
her community televised preaching strived for many of these televised churches
were based in the south. Evangelists had finally found their way onto the
television by the 1950's and were preaching true fundamentalist Christianity that attracted
southern Christians like my grandmother1. After World War 2 televangelism
saw great growth with great speakers such as Billy Graham leading the way. These
televangelists would preach the gospel as well as many conservative ideas
related to anti communism2. Gloria was another individual who fell
in love with the new age of televised preaching. She would watch many
televangelists however she had one who was her favorite. This man’s name is
Benny Hinn and he preached the Pentecostal doctrine my grandmother so
appreciates. However, we can look to Benny Hinn as an example of
post-pluralism.
Post-pluralism
is the idea of religions sharing ideas and thus another sect of a religion is
formed. For example the Ghost dance was a native interpretation of a Christian
idea. The Televangelist Benny Hinn was a Pentecostal preacher and the leader of
a large televised ministry. Similar to the words of Mary Baker Eddy, Hinn
claimed he could heal any sickness. He led “miracle crusades” where it is said
he healed cases of anything from cancer to blindness. Later investigations
questioned such claims. One cannot deny the connection between Hinn and Eddy.
Eddy truly believed that sickness was an illusion that could be healed with
proper spiritual technique3. Hinn would use his special prayer
technique to heal those who came to his televised show. Gloria was unaware of
the fact that she was not following a simple Pentecostal preacher but rather a Pentecostal
who preached Christian Science ideals as well. Soon Gloria became even more
connected with God as she witnessed her own personal healings of prayer. As I
noted in my earlier blog she had two separate cases where her daughters were
healed through prayer. Also these healings occurred in the 1980’s when
televangelism saw it’s largest growth2.
Thus we can
see that Gloria stumbled upon her religion through personal choice but was also
guided by history and her surroundings. Growing up in the south left her with
an innate Christian background that gained depth through southern televangelist
ministries such as Benny Hinn. Due to the prevalence of televangelism in the
1980’s my grandmother became a devout believer in Pentecostal ideas as well as
religious healing.
1. Alexander, Bobby Chris,
Televangelism reconsidered : ritual in the
search for human community / Atlanta, Ga. :
Scholars Press, c1994.
2. Balmer,
Randall. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical
Subculture in America.Expanded ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
3. Voorhees,
Amy Black. Writing revelation Mary Baker
Eddy and her early editions of Science and Health, 1875-1891
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ReplyDeleteUsing of television to preach and communicate Christianity became an American phenomenon that results many people to know/or start believing in Christianity during 20th century. In addition, the same way increasingly appeared in other countries. As you mentioned in your article, Evangelists used television to preach its beliefs and attract more and more people to believe fundamentalist Christianity. I think it is a very clever method to let the public know about Christianity and attract followers. The media, such as television, radio, and Internet, gave preachers a new platform to deliver sermons and spread creeds and codes of the religions.
ReplyDeleteI really think that the location in the U.S. where someone is brought up plays a huge role in their exposure and approach to religion. I have family that has spent time in the south as well and they grew up with an exposure to televangelism and Christianity that I feel is definitely not as prominent here in California. It was very interesting to see how Post-pluralism had influenced the Pentecostal speaker Benny Hinn. His blending of ideas from Scientology with the Pentecostal faith makes sense with the shared ideas the two have.
ReplyDeletePerhaps televangelism was more successful in the south because it appeals to Christian backgrounds such as Pentecostalism. Televangelists use a style of worship that attracts those who would rather worship in an open manner. Many of the sects of Christianity in the south practice a similar style of worship. Would you say that California is a more liberal state, where religion is interpreted differently? Could this be why our family members were more effected by televangelism than ourselves?
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