Controversial televangelist Pat Robertson dies at age 93
Controversial televangelist Pat Robertson dies at 93 after building global Christian Broadcasting Network while critics blasted him for claiming gay people were result of ‘demonic possession’ and feminists were ‘anti-family’
- Robertson’s death was announced by the network that he spent his life turning into a global presence
- He was best known for spearheading the success of the Christian Broadcasting Network and his role on ‘The 700 Club’
- The influential Christian media personality was also criticized for comments on other religion, the LGBTQ community and religion
Controversial televangelist Pat Robertson, who rose to fame by creating a religious broadcasting empire but was frequently criticized for his views on women, the LGBTQ community and other religions, has died at 93.
No cause of death was given.
Robertson was best known for his role on ‘The 700 Club,’ a variety news hour presented from a Christian perspective. Much of his commentary focused on his religious beliefs, though he would often wade into political commentary.
His hybrid brand of religion and politics became a mainstay in the modern GOP, and Robertson himself ran for president in 1988.
But, many of his comments drew ire, such as calling Islam inherently violent, feminism ‘anti-family’ and LGBTQ people the result of ‘demonic possession.’
Pat Robertson, dead at age 93, pioneered American Christian media with his work establishing the Christian Broadcasting Network and on ‘The 700 Club’
As Robertson’s religious influence became more significant across the US, he pivoted directly into politics and in 1988, sought the Republican nomination for president.
His bid against George H. W. Bush was ultimately unsuccessful, but he brought a large religious following into the political fold. He finished in second place in the Iowa caucuses behind Bush, owing his relative success to his appeal among the state’s vast network of evangelical Christian churches.
His signature call for support included asking listeners to pledge that they would work for him, pray for him, and donate to him – a battle cry that allowed him to outpace some more established political rivals.
Robertson later endorsed Bush, who would go on to win the White House. The religious leader’s lasting impact on presidential politics is the vigor with which Republican presidential candidates to this day court the evangelical communities of Iowa.
The year after the election, Robertson formed the Christian Coalition in Chesapeake, which became a major force for grassroots GOP action. He remained the coalition’s president until 2001, when he stepped aside to concentrate on ministerial work.
Robertson, who went on to became a significant figure in GOP politics, with then presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016
As ‘The 700 Club’ gained an enormous audience, Robertson began attracting high-caliber guests, including US presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and eventually Donald Trump.
There were, however, times when Robertson’s religiously-oriented on-air pronouncements drew backlash.
Following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, that killed thousands of innocent Americans, Robertson proclaimed that God had caused the attacks due to anger caused by the federal courts, pornography, abortion rights and church-state separation.
He described Islam as a violent religion, which led to then-President George W. Bush distancing himself from the religious host.
But Islam wasn’t the only religion that Robertson targeted. In March 1995, he called Hinduism as ‘demonic.’
‘I mean these people are out to kill other human beings in the name of their God,’ Robertson said at the time.
In addition to views on religion, Robertson targeted many political debates for his commentary, such as when he spoke on the feminist movement.
‘The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians,’ he once said.
Members of the gay community were also frequent targets as Roberts was anti-LGBTQ. Robertson once said that LGBTQ orientation was because of ‘demonic possession.’
‘I think a lot of it is acquired. I don’t know all the genes or the genetics that’s in your son as to what’s causing him to do whatever he’s doing … but normally speaking, a person who has acquired this can un-acquire it,’ Robertson once said, according to the Christian Post
Robertson was frequently criticized for his comments on a variety of issues such as the LGBTQ community and other religions
Robertson also spoke about foreign policy and his views about God’s impact on world affairs. After his falling out with George W. Bush, Robertson spoke out against the war in Iraq.
‘To sell the American people on Weapons of Mass Destruction, it was a lot of nonsense and we were sold a bill of goods,’ Robertson said. ‘We should have never gone into that country. As bad as Saddam Hussein was, he held those warring factions in check and he contained those radical Islamists.’
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Robertson made a special appearance on ‘The 700 Club’ to say that Vladimir Putin was ‘compelled by God’ to invade the territory, but that his ultimate goal is to ‘move against Israel.’
Finally, The televangelist was also known for his frequent predictions that the world would soon end or face the apocalypse
In 1976, Robertson predicted that ‘there is going to be a judgment on the world’ that would result in its end in 1982.
In his 1990 book, ‘The New Millennium,’ Robertson again asserted that the world would be destroyed on April 29, 2007, USA Today reported at the time.
In 2006, he predicted the Pacific Northwest would be devastated by a tsunami, and that ‘mass killings’ would be unleashed in America in 2007.
In 2020, Robertson predicted that an asteroid would destroy the earth five years after President Donald Trump won his ill-fated re-election bid.
A younger Pat Robertson with his wide Dede, who proceeded him in death by one year
Robertson hosting ‘The 700 Club,’ an hour-long religious news talk show
Marion Gordon ‘Pat’ Robertson was born in Lexington, Virginia, on March 22, 1930. His father, Absalom Willis Robertson, served for nearly four decades as a US Representative and Senator from Virginia.
Robertson served in the Korean War after graduating from Virginia institution Washington and Lee University. He received a law degree from Yale following his service, but failed the bar exam and did not pursue a career in law.
Robertson met his wife, Adelia ‘Dede’ Elmer at Yale in 1952, where she was earning a master’s degree in nursing. They were married by a justice of the peace without either family present, knowing their parents would not approve of the union owing to Robertson being a Southern Baptist and his wife, a Catholic.
In 1961, after buying a bankrupt television station in Portsmouth, Virginia, Robertson brought the Christian Broadcasting Network to life.
The organization was established as a tax-exempt religious nonprofit, which to this day, brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in ‘ministry support’ per year.
As Robertson’s religious influence became more significant across the US, he pivoted directly into politics and in 1988, sought the Republican nomination for president
In 2021, Robertson retired as host of ‘The 700 Club.’ His son Gordon took over weekday hosting duties. Gordon had previously succeeded his father in 2007 as chief executive of CBN.
The religious media tycoon also founded International Family Entertainment Inc., the parent company of The Family Channel on basic cable. In 1997, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. acquired IFE.
Robertson also wrote 15 books over the course of his lifetime, including ‘The Turning Tide’ and ‘The New World Order.’
His wife Dede, to whom he was married for nearly 70 years, proceeded him in death last year at the age of 94. The couple had four children, 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren, according to a statement from CBN.
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