Jerry Falwell

Jerry Falwell was instrumental in the formation of Christian rights, because of his founding of the moral majority which was a leading national religious organization in the early 1980s. Falwell combined traditional evangelical theology with a politically conservative agenda, which positioned the Christian right as a force in national politics. His media presence as a televangelist and  his ability to mobilize suburban evangelicals in the Sunbelt made him a powerful political figure.  He framed social conservatism as a battle against liberal government intrusion, he portrayed himself as a protector of middle-class family values under siege by federal bureaucrats and liberal elites​. rallying evangelicals around issues such as opposition to abortion, gay rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment which is what made instrumental in the formation of the christian rights.  

Falwell changed his commitments over time because as his church grew more suburban and middle-class, and as he sought national respectability, he distanced himself from segregationist rhetoric, and he apologized for his racism in the past. His view shifted when he became an entrepreneurial megachurch leader. He liked corporate style church growth and business friendly practices. Which is why he changed his commitments. 

Tax cuts and defense spending fit with Falwell’s evangelical theology because he saw high tax and government welfare as something morally destructive. He believed that federal welfare enabled laziness. When it comes to defense spending he saw the soviet union as an “aesthetic” threat and believed that the U.S. military was a part of God’s plan to protect Christian nations. He opposed arms reduction treaties.