Pat Robertson, an influential religious broadcaster whose career blurred the line between Republican politics and evangelical ministry, died in his Virginia home early Thursday morning. He was 93.
Robertson — who frequently came out against women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community in the name of his Christian faith, drawing widespread criticism — is best known for founding the Christian Broadcasting Network and hosting its flagship show,The 700 Club, for decades alongside televangelists likeJim Bakkerand Gordon Robertson, his son and successor.
Pat Robertson announces his endorsement of Rudy Giuliani (2007).Getty Images News
But the Southern Baptist minister’s mind for business extended beyond the lucrative media empire he built with CBN. In 1977, he founded Christian Broadcasting Network University — a private Christian college in Virginia Beach, Virginia — which was later renamed Regent University. The next year, he founded Operation Blessing, an international humanitarian organization. And the family-oriented media company he spun off from CBN would undergo several sales and name changes, eventually landing in Disney’s hands and leading to the birth of ABC Family and Freeform.
With his influence as a leading evangelical voice in the United States, Robertson was drawn into the world of Republican politics, a world he never fully left behind.
Pat and Dede Robertson at the Republican National Convention in 1988.Ron Edmonds/AP/Shutterstock
In 1986, Robertsonprayerfullydecided that he wouldseek his party’s nomination for presidentin the 1988 election, ultimately losing thelong-run battleto then-Vice PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush. He endorsed Bush for the general election.
He also founded the Christian legal organization American Center for Law & Justice, a right-leaning antithesis to the ACLU that has, in part, served to blur the separation of church and state.
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Robertson’s large legacy, which later included endorsing campaigns likeRudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential bid, comes with its stains.
Among his most notorious moments: suggesting that Hurricane Katrina was punishment from God for U.S. abortion policy; agreeing that gay people, feminists and the ACLU should take blame for the September 11 terrorist attacks; and calling for the assassination of Venezuela President Hugo Chávez.
source: people.com
