Christian Broadcast Network Begins Broadcasting
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), launched on this day, was founded by evangelist Pat Robertson, who later became the host of the 700 Club on cable television and was a candidate for president in 1988.
Fundamentalist Christian television and radio stations began as small enterprises but became a major political force in the late 1970s. They were a significant factor in the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, helping to draw Christian voters away from President Jimmy Carter.
See Pat Robertson deny that earth is 6,000 Years Old (a view held by many fundamentalists): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdmxv-LL_f8
Read: Stewart M. Hoover, Mass Media Religion: Social Sources of the Electronic Church (1988)
Learn more about the Christian Broadcasting Network here.
Read: William C. Martin, With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America (1996)