TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2007
Breaking-News Resources: Rev. Jerry Falwell's Death
The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the founder
of the Moral Majority, died today. It is certainly worth our time to think about who
is the voice of religion in America
these days. Falwell was been
a lightning
rod for right-wing issues for more than 20 years. Just
click here for some of his more incendiary remarks over the years.
Falwell once could raise millions but more recently
struggled even to keep his school, Liberty
University,
on sound financial footing.
Public opinion
surveys show that religious leaders as a group do not hold the sway they once
did. According
to The Christian Post, a Barna
research project earlier this year found:
Most
Americans [are] unfamiliar with some of the nation's leading Christian
ministers. Evangelical pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren was found to
be unknown by 72 percent of the adult population and 63 percent among born-again Christians. One of the most influential Christians and also once dubbed
the next Billy Graham, Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter's House in Dallas was
also largely unknown in both population segments.
According
to Barna's most recent research, Pat Robertson was the only other religious
figure besides Graham known to at least half of the population. The statistics
were similar among born-again Christians. For Robertson, however, only 33
percent of Americans had a favorable impression of him and 25 percent had a
negative one.
Still,
Americans have a relatively high regard for religious leaders. On average, 74
percent of adults have a positive impression of the spiritual leaders whom they
know.
Beliefnet has a
survey that generated a guide to the most influential black religious leaders in America.
In January, The
Church Report surveyed its readers about the most influential Christians in
America. You have never heard of most of them. The Religion News Service named its list of top GOP "King Makers," which includes some of the country's most prominent Christians. How many of these
folks make it on your radar? I
recognized only four of the names.
Posted at 9:02:54 PM
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