Field Guide to the Wild World of Religion: 2011 Edition. Pamela J.D. Dewey
of a rattlesnake. Still others seek by ecstatic excitement the immediate, transforming religious experience that will give them a glimpse of True Reality. (p. 13)
All of this is still true. In the 21st Century there are many groups which “deviate from the norm,” many that embrace odd distinctives such as snake-handling or the prediction of imminent Armageddon. What is different now?
What is different is the numbers and distribution of the adherents of these groups of people. Yes, men may have been just as likely to be tempted by porn back in 1962 as in 2005. But the purveyors of porn in 1962 had very limited distribution channels for their wares. Likewise, many folks were susceptible to being attracted to unusual religious claims in 1962. But the purveyors of such claims didn’t have such easy access to potential converts as they do today. Most were limited by the technology of the time to placing an ad in the back of magazines such as Capper’s Farmer, sending out literature via the U.S. mail, and/or broadcasting for a half hour every night, or maybe even only once a week, on an obscure radio station. And these outlets were expensive for the individual just getting started in a ministry. Some relied for developing a following almost exclusively on word of mouth, such as in circles of bored California Society Matrons who were fascinated by the latest claims regarding the most fashionable Hindu yogis who allegedly were in contact with Ascended Masters. While such fellows and their promoters might get followers quickly in the Los Angeles suburbs, their effect on mid-America would be almost non-existent.
It wasn’t easy, prior to the 1970s, to attract a wide following of people for any new religious venture. And even those limited numbers attracted to a new religious novelty were limited in how easily they could feed their new interest. Their opportunities might consist of a booklet or two or newsletter a month sent out by their new teacher of choice, and a catalog of articles one could request. Most groups, even those that could afford to buy radio or TV time, or to produce a glossy monthly magazine to send out to supporters, grew slowly. Sunday morning slots on network stations were expensive or non-existent. Such slots on local channels were perhaps more available, but they reached only a limited audience.
It’s a new world out there now.
Brave New High-Tech World
It started slowly, with the invention of the personal audio tape player, which became widely available in the 1970s. Suddenly, just like the top-40 songs played on the radio, religious messages on the radio were no longer ephemeral, fading away by the next day after broadcast. They could be recorded straight from the airwaves by combination radio/tape recorders, and listened to over and over by hungry Bible students. Those who made such broadcasts could, for the first time, record an unlimited number of extra copies and make them available by mail to those hungry Bible students to listen to over and over. And those students could share the recordings with friends, thereby increasing the audience far beyond those who happened to tune in to late night radio.
This was followed by the personal video recorder in the 1980s. Now viewers were able to use their new recorders to capture forever the TV shows of their favorite teacher or preacher, to play over and over again. And those teachers and preachers could make video presentations available by mail to their supporters, frequently to be played to groups for “home Bible studies.”
Then came cable TV, which greatly increased the number of outlets for would-be preachers and teachers. No longer were they consigned to the Sunday morning church hour on the three networks, or the wee hours of the night on obscure local stations. They first had access to national cable channels such as TBS out of Atlanta and WGN out of Chicago. And, ultimately, they started getting their own “dedicated” religious networks such as Pat Robertson’s CBN and Jan and Paul Crouch’s TBN. By the 1990s, many cable lineups included several 24/7 religious channels—including, eventually, Mother Angelica’s EWTN Roman Catholic channel.
Add into the mix the explosion of shortwave radio, which provides wide coverage for dirt-cheap prices. The audience for shortwave stations might originally have been primarily limited to long-haul truckers who were kept awake late at night on the Interstates by everything from the bizarre antics of the purveyors of UFO encounters and various conspiracy theories, to the latest would-be end-time prophet. But the appeal has long since jumped to housewives doing dishes, businessmen commuting long distance to work everyday, and more. Thus many smaller ministries now choose to buy time on a shoestring on various shortwave channels, or even set up their own broadcast towers and blanket the airwaves with their own brand of theological novelties around the clock.
At the same time as the rise of these new media outlets came the development and proliferation of the desktop personal computer (PC). Prior to the 1970s, only the government and big corporations could afford to own the huge computers of the time. Even just maintaining a mailing list and generating mailing labels was a major production, and expensive. A ministry might rent time on a central computer somewhere in the city to handle these jobs. But with the advent of the PC, even the smallest ministry acquired the ability not only to maintain their own lists, but also to churn out “personalized” letters to supporters. The name of the potential donor, and personal information about him/her, could be sprinkled throughout the letter to make it appear as though the televangelist was taking a personal interest in the individual. “I was just kneeling by my bed, John, and God showed me a vision of you in your home there in Brown City, and put it on my heart to pray for the needs of you and your family.” A scanned graphic image of the televangelist’s signature could be added to the end of the letter, and printed in a different color ink, and it would appear that the man had personally signed this intimate correspondence! Although most people are sophisticated enough about computers now to realize this ruse, in the early days it was easy to fool the average donor. In fact, to this day many naïve supporters still believe that their favorite televangelist really does take a personal interest in them, and that such letters are crafted one by one.
Do-it-yourself Church
In the 1950s, some local churches broadcast their worship services live on local TV and radio, with the clear note that the service was being provided for “shut-ins” such as the infirm elderly, the sick, and the severely handicapped. It never occurred to most people that such a second-hand experience should take the place of “real church” for those able to make it to the live event. Nor did most think that it could take the place of actual relationships and conversations with real people that would be available through the activities of a local church. Even Billy Graham, who regularly had televised crusades and regional personal appearances, never implied in any way that his activities were a substitute for the local church. In fact, his appearances were always sponsored by a group of area churches. If someone “came forward” at one of his revivals in a conversion experience, he immediately encouraged them to become affiliated with, and attend regularly, a local church in their area.
But, starting in the 1970s, with a new breed of televangelists and all the new technology available, it suddenly dawned on many people that they didn’t need to “get religion” from a church on the corner or a pastor who lived in their own town at all. They could get weekly sermons, regular Bible studies, and religious music right in the privacy and convenience of their own home. In fact, the sermons were often more polished and more consistently inspiring, the Bible studies more in-depth … or at least more entertaining, and the music presented with more professionalism, than any local church could provide.
They could even “interact” with their chosen religious leader by sending letters to his ministry headquarters, and by receiving those “personalized” letters from him.
Perhaps even more importantly, they could have a selection of theological novelties from which to choose that was far greater than was available from the few local churches in their own town.
Thus arose a phenomenon that has utterly exploded in the 21st century—the Do-It-Yourself Church. One of the primary power sources fueling this phenomenon is that other central fact of life in the 21st century—the Internet and its World Wide Web.
Chapter 4
Oh, What a Tangled World