Washington for Jesus

Last updated
Washington for Jesus
Part of Melding of Republican Party with American Christianity
Washington for Jesus 1980 TL.jpg
Washington For Jesus, Washington D.C., April 29, 1980
Location
Washington, D.C.
Caused byReligion and politics
GoalsPolitical Change
MethodsMass rally, meetings with elected leaders, speeches

Washington for Jesus was a series of heavily-attended rallies held in Washington, D.C. by various representatives of the American Christian church in the United States. The first rally was held in 1980 on 29 and 30 April and centered primarily on promoting a Christian viewpoint in the political arena. Religious leaders present included John Gimenez, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, William Bright, and Benson Idahosa.

Contents

Although the event was ostensibly non-political, [1] speeches and statements during the 1980 rally outlined many of the early points of the socially conservative agenda of the religious right. It was during this time that many national leaders of the Christian right unified in their political stances against homosexuality, abortion, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, increasing divorce rates, and the women's liberation movement. The event is regarded as a forerunner of the rise of political activism among conservative Christians, [2] and the rallies are believed to have helped mobilize the religious right behind the candidacies of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. [3]

Evidence of Political Motives

Though billed as an apolitical gathering of Christians in DC, [4] recently surfaced audio of a recruitment meeting led by John Gimenez and National Coordinator Ted Pantaleo points toward political motivations. [5]

On the tape, Gimenez reminds ministers that, "Next year is a voting year, and we are talking about getting Ronald Reagan, and those candidates who will be running for President." [5] Pantaleo instructs recruited ministers that "our job is to get one million people to Washington in 1980," further reiterating that they must "get as many people in your congressional district to come to Washington." [5] Although Pantaleo informs recruits that Washington for Jesus' official purpose is to conduct "a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ," [5] he also outlines an organizational structure focused entirely on Congressional districts and informs ministers that, on the day preceding the rally, they will "meet simultaneously with every congressmen in the United States Congress." [5]

Pantaleo also divulges a plan to meet with Congressmen on the day prior to the rally to make political demands. [5] Pantaleo states that "we have done quite a bit of homework on how to approach the Congressmen," and to get what we want we "gotta go in and play hardball." Pantaleo describes 3-5 men teams assigned to each Congressman, those teams having been 'well trained' on the Congressman's voting record. Each team will possess a list of engaged Christian voters within their Congressional district (referred to as a "prayer list"), and will explain to the Congressman that each name on the list has spent the last year praying for them. The team will then make their demands known, with the threat that if their demands aren't met, "We'll have to vote you out of office."

Further Revelations from Recruitment Tape

The Washington for Jesus recruitment tape contains further political commentary. Ted Pantaleo tells ministers that Washington for Jesus has identified and created a list of 'around sixty-five Born Again Christians in Congress'. [5] Pantaleo relates California Congressman Dornan's concern that the American Society of Witches are listed as official users of military chapels, and that members of Congress are being given free abortion access. [5] Pantaleo describes Chairman of the Oregon Republican Party Walter Huss as a "very good Christian" who believes America will be "physically encircled by our enemies" within the next five years. [5] In reference to how Congressmen's legislative votes are swayed, Pantaleo states that an unnamed Congressman told him the Gay Rights Movement found success in Congress because "the gays are making so much noise". [5]

History and rallies

Washington for Jesus was founded by John Gimenez, the pastor of Rock Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Gimenez founded One Nation Under God, Inc. because, he said, he received prophecies that he should go to Washington to influence the future of the United States. Although Gimenez was essentially Charismatic in his beliefs, he was able to appeal to a larger segment of the Christian community with the help of his friend Pat Robertson, who was also based in the Virginia Beach area.

KJ WashForJesusPennsyl.jpg

Independent estimates of attendance at the 1980 rally range from 125,000 to 200,000, while Robertson said the attendance was closer to 500,000. [1] [6] [7] [8] [9] The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority estimated that 400,000 trips were taken on the day of the event, which was a single day record, and the first time the system topped 400,000. [10] This broke the record set on 2/26/1980. The record would last more than a year and a half until the pro-union Solidarity Day March.

While Bright argued that the participants had "not come to Washington with a political agenda or to lobby for certain legislation", speakers at the event were explicitly critical of Supreme Court decisions and warned that the increasing acceptance of abortion and homosexuality would provoke God's retaliation in the form of an attack by the Soviet Union. [11] A group of 20 prominent religious organizations, including the National Council of Churches, criticized the Washington for Jesus rally as explicitly political and an effort to "Christianize the government". [1]

During the 1988 rally, President Ronald Reagan addressed the crowd via videotape, describing his plan to make the following Thursday a National Day of Prayer. The National Park Service estimated the crowd at 200,000. The 1988 rally also helped set a single day record for Metrorail, with an estimated 565,000 trips on the day of the rally, breaking the record set by the Redskins Super Bowl victory parade two months earlier. The record would last until the Inauguration of George H.W. Bush in 1989. [12]

The 1996 rally, held in pouring rain, drew an estimated 75,000 people, according to the U.S. Park Police. [13]

In 2012, Gimenez' widow, Anne, spearheaded a two-day rally in Philadelphia called "America for Jesus." [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 United States presidential election</span> 49th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1980 United States presidential election was the 49th quadrennial presidential election, held on November 4, 1980. The Republican nominee, former California governor Ronald Reagan, defeated incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in a landslide victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John B. Anderson</span> American politician (1922–2017)

John Bayard Anderson was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the Chairman of the House Republican Conference from 1969 until 1979. In 1980, he ran an independent campaign for president, receiving 6.6% of the popular vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Robertson</span> American media mogul and minister (1930–2023)

Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson was an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, presidential candidate, and charismatic minister. Robertson advocated a conservative Christian ideology and was known for his involvement in Republican Party politics. He was associated with the Charismatic movement within Protestant evangelicalism. He served as head of Regent University and of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).

The Christian right, otherwise referred to as the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moral Majority</span> American right-wing Christian political organization

The Moral Majority was an American political organization and movement associated with the Christian right and the Republican Party in the United States. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr. and associates, and dissolved in the late 1980s. It played a key role in the mobilization of conservative Christians as a political force and particularly in Republican presidential victories throughout the 1980s.

<i>The 700 Club</i> Television show

The 700 Club is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, broadcast each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, political opinion commentary, contemporary music, testimonies, and Christian ministry. Celebrities and other guests are often interviewed, and Christian lifestyle issues are presented. The program additionally features world news stories plus investigative reporting by the CBN News team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Crane</span> American politician (1930-2014)

Philip Miller Crane was an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 2005, representing the 8th District of Illinois in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. At the time of his defeat in the 2004 election, Crane was the longest-serving Republican member of the House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Wolf (politician)</span> American politician (born 1939)

Frank Rudolph Wolf is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 10th congressional district from 1981 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he announced in December 2013 that he would not run for reelection in 2014. Wolf retired at the conclusion of his 17th term in office, in January 2015. At the time of his retirement, he was the dean of the state's congressional delegation, having served for 34 consecutive years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Phillips (activist)</span> American political activist (1941–2013)

Howard Jay Phillips was an American politician and activist. A political conservative, Phillips was a United States presidential candidate who served as the chairman of The Conservative Caucus, a conservative public policy advocacy group which he founded in 1974. Phillips was a founding member of the U.S. Taxpayers Party, which later became known as the Constitution Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob McEwen</span> American politician

Robert D. McEwen is an American lobbyist and former Republican Party politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from southern Ohio's Sixth District, from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 1993. Tom Deimer of Cleveland's Plain Dealer described him as a "textbook Republican" who is opposed to abortion, gun control and high taxes. In the House, he criticized government incompetence and charged corruption by the Democratic majority that ran the House in the 1980s. McEwen, who had easily won three terms in the Ohio House, was elected to Congress at the age of thirty to replace a retiring representative in 1980 and easily won re-election five times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional Values Coalition</span> American conservative Christian organization

The Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) was an American conservative Christian organization. It was founded in 1980 at Anaheim California by Rev. Louis P. Sheldon to oppose LGBT rights. Sheldon's daughter, Andrea Sheldon Lafferty, was initially the executive director and presently serves as president. TVC was influential in the 1980s and 1990s in lobbying for government policy based in Christian fundamentalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heath Shuler</span> American football player and politician (born 1971)

Joseph Heath Shuler is an American former politician and football quarterback who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district from 2007 to 2013. The district covers the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons prior to his political career. Shuler played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he was named SEC Player of the Year, and was selected by the Washington Redskins third overall in the 1994 NFL draft. Unable to match his collegiate success, he was traded from the Redskins after three seasons and spent his final two with the New Orleans Saints.

Christian Voice is an American conservative political advocacy group, known as part of the Christian right within U.S. politics. In 1980, Christian Voice claimed 107,000 members including 37,000 pastors from 45 denominations. Christian Voice was headquartered at The Heritage Foundation in the 1970s and 1980s and is currently located in Alexandria, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William L. Armstrong</span> American politician (1937–2016)

William Lester Armstrong Jr. was an American businessman, administrator, and politician. He was a member of the Republican Party and served as a United States representative and Senator from Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark D. Siljander</span> American politician

Mark Deli Siljander is an American author and politician who served as a Republican U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan. He authored the book A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March for Life (Washington, D.C.)</span> Annual anti-abortion rally in Washington, D.C.

The March for Life is an annual rally and march against the practice and legality of abortion, held in Washington, D.C., either on or around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision legalizing abortion nationwide which was issued in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court. The participants in the march have advocated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which happened at the end of the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. It is a major gathering of the anti-abortion movement in the United States and it is organized by the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel McKee (politician, born 1774)</span> American politician and lawyer (1774–1826)

Samuel McKee was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Paul 1988 presidential campaign</span>

The Ron Paul presidential campaign of 1988 began in early 1987 when former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas announced his candidacy for the 1988 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. He joined the third party after leaving the Republican Party over the Reagan administration's handling of the federal budget. He ran on a platform that included non-interventionism in foreign conflicts, decriminalization of illegal drugs on a federal level, a return to the gold standard, the abolition of the Federal Reserve and a reduction in all government spending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reagan era</span> Period in the history of the United States, 1981–1991

The Reagan era or the Age of Reagan is a periodization of recent American history used by historians and political observers to emphasize that the conservative "Reagan Revolution" led by President Ronald Reagan in domestic and foreign policy had a lasting impact. It overlaps with what political scientists call the Sixth Party System. Definitions of the Reagan era universally include the 1980s, while more extensive definitions may also include the late 1970s, the 1990s, and even the 2000s. In his 2008 book, The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974–2008, historian and journalist Sean Wilentz argues that Reagan dominated this stretch of American history in the same way that Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal legacy dominated the four decades that preceded it.

John Gimenez was an American Pentecostal evangelist. He was a pastor, international overseer and bishop of Rock Ministerial Family and Rock Church International, which he co-founded with his wife Anne in 1968. He founded the Washington for Jesus events. His first "Washington for Jesus" event in 1980 is regarded as a forerunner of the political rise of conservative Christians. Bishop Gimenez co-founded Network of Christian Ministries with Charles Green and Emanuele Cannistraci. The Network of Christian Ministries unified hundreds of prominent ministries from different evangelical streams. Gimenez died suddenly on February 12, 2008.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "125,000 Sing, Pray in 'Washington for Jesus' Rally". Eugene Register-Guard . Associated Press. April 29, 1980. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ Vegh, Steven G. (February 14, 2008). "Bishop John Gimenez, co-founder of Rock Church, dies". Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Posner, Sarah (June 17, 2009). "All Roads Lead to Virginia Beach". The American Prospect. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "Support for Christian Rally Here Drifting Away". Washington Post. 2023-12-23. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Washington for Jesus" founder John Gimenez recruits Pentecostal pastors at private meeting 1979 . Retrieved 2024-03-31– via www.youtube.com.
  6. ↑ Diamond, Sara (1995). Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States . Guilford Press. pp.  175. ISBN   978-0-89862-864-7.
  7. ↑ Westerlund, David (1996). Questioning the Secular State: The Worldwide Resurgence of Religion in Politics. Hurst Publishers. p. 36. ISBN   978-1-85065-241-0.
  8. ↑ Rojas, Aurelio (October 13, 1995). "A Pilgrimage for Bay Area Blacks". San Francisco Chronicle . Following are estimates by the National Park Service of attendance at other major demonstrations, rallies and events in the nation's capital: ... Washington For Jesus religious rally, 1980: 200,000
  9. ↑ "'WASHINGTON FOR JESUS' RALLY DRAWS CROWD TO CAPITAL". Orlando Sentinel . Associated Press. April 30, 1988. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Rally-Goers Boost Ridership on Metro". The Washington Post. 1 May 1980.
  11. ↑ Turner, John (2008). Bill Bright & Campus Crusade for Christ: The Renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America. UNC Press Books. ISBN   978-0-8078-5873-8.
  12. ↑ Fehr, Stephen C; Jordan, Mary (13 June 1991). "Parade Hands Metro Two Records". The Washington Post.
  13. ↑ ""Washington for Jesus" rally draws 75,000". Southeast Missourian, from wire service reports. May 1, 1996. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  14. ↑ "Christians to Gather in Philadelphia, Sept. 28-29, to Pray for the Healing of Our Country". Christian NewsWire (Press release). February 20, 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.