According to his official broadcasting channel, Pat Robertson died on Thursday. The conservative evangelist, media mogul, and media mogul, who helped galvanize the modern Christian Right, had a large national following, and was regularly criticised for his provocative political statements.
He was 93.
Robertson is a prominent Christian broadcaster and entrepreneur in the U.S. He was equal parts a religious leader and defender of culture.
Robertson was a visionary in a sense. Robertson transformed a small Virginia TV station into a powerhouse of religious broadcasting, combining fiery ideologies with the technology of 20th century entertainment. He encouraged other conservative Christians, including those who are not Christians, to join him on the airwaves.
He founded the Christian Coalition and the Christian Broadcasting Network, which is home to “The 700 Club” and helped organize American evangelicals as a conservative political group and one of its cornerstones.
Robertson’s national fame peaked in the 1980s when social conservatism was on the rise. In 1988, Robertson ran for the Republican nomination for president. The contest was ultimately won by George H.W. Bush. Bush. He would continue to be a key figure in the GOP, rallying conservative Christians around George W. Bush.
Pat Robertson waves to supporters Des Moines, Iowa, in 1988.
Peter Southwick / AP
Robertson’s political views and comments in public were often the subject of intense scrutiny during his career. He earned a reputation for being a right-wing provocation.
Robertson’s military record was criticized early in his 1988 campaign for president, as it appeared that he exaggerated his service. Marine veterans claimed in interviews at the same time that Robertson used his political influence to avoid combat duty. Robertson denied these allegations.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Roberson, along with his fellow televangelist Jerry Falwell, were severely condemned for seeming to blame the tragedy on feminists, homosexuals, and abortion doctors.
Robertson was criticized in 2010 after he falsely claimed that the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in that year had been caused by Black enslaved people who, in 18th-century struggle for freedom from French colonizers, made a “pact” with the Devil.
Marion Gordon Robertson, born in Lexington, Virginia, on March 22, 1930. Robertson’s dad, Absalom Wilis Robertson, was a member of both the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the Senate.
In 1950, the younger Robertson received his degree from Washington and Lee University. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a reservist and served for two years in active duty during the Korean War. In 1955, he earned a degree in law from Yale University.
Robertson’s religious experience changed dramatically in the years to come. Robertson graduated from the New York Theological Seminary in 1959 and became a Southern Baptist minister by 1961.
Robertson bought a bankrupt UHF TV station in Portsmouth Virginia the same year and renamed it Christian Broadcasting Network. Robertson was 31 when the channel began broadcasting on Oct. 1, 1960.
Five years later CBN began production of “The 700 Club,” which became synonymous with CBN, an American mainstay and one of Christian television’s signature shows.
“The 700 Club”, as it was called, was revolutionary in its day. The show adopted a format that is normally associated with secular television, a departure for traditional Christian TV. The show was hosted by Jim Bakker who left CBN in 1972.
Robertson turned CBN into an influential entity that politicians sought out to court religious conservatives. According to the network, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and Jimmy Carter were guests.
CBN University is a private Christian school that was founded in 1978. The school was renamed Regent University 12 years later.
Robertson became more involved in politics during the 1980s. In 1988, he ran for the Republican nomination against George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole in 1996, when the Republican party was a presidential front-runner.
The evangelist centered his campaign around social issues that are at the core of the modern conservative movement. He opposed abortion rights and supported school prayer.
Robertson’s campaign got off to a surprising start, finishing second in the Iowa Caucuses. His campaign quickly blew up, and he only won four statewide nomination contests before he dropped out.
Bush won the presidency and clinched his nomination. Robertson had spoken at the August convention of his party and endorsed Bush’s candidacy.
Robertson made his mark in Republican politics as well as the American political scene. He launched the Christian Coalition in 1994, one year after his failed bid for president. This political advocacy group advanced his goals and led Republicans to takeover Congress.
He left the Christian Coalition back in 2002. He left CBN in 2005, and his son Gordon Robertson took over the role of chief executive. The older Robertson continued hosting “The 700 Club”, until 2021.
Robertson has been a prominent face of the Christian Right, and is well-liked by conservative audiences. He said that people who oppose his candidacy are “revolting” against God’s plans for America.
On occasion, he departed from conservative party lines on certain issues. He said that marijuana possession convictions should not be punishable by mandatory prison terms.
Robertson, who appeared to be breaking with the conservative movement after Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election, reportedly called out the former president for living in “alternate realities” and implored Trump “to move on.”
Dede Robertson, the wife of Robertson, passed away in April 2022 at age 94.
