How Pat Robertson Helped Shape The Radical Christian Nationalism Barry Goldwater Warned Against

Alternet ✏ On Thursday, June 8, the Rev. Pat Robertson — a far-right Christian fundamentalist and the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and the Christian Coalition — died in Virginia Beach at the age of 93.

Alex Henderson
Robertson was a controversial figure in U.S. politics and within Christianity, but he was also highly influential. And he helped shape the radical Christian nationalism that the late conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) vehemently warned against more than 40 years ago.

Robertson founded CBN in 1961, launching his program "The 700 Club" several years later. But it wasn't until the early 1980s that he became so influential in the Republican Party. Along with the late Moral Majority founder the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Sr. and Pentecostal evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, Robertson was a major supporter of Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign and helped the Religious Right gain considerable influence in the Republican Party.

It wasn't influence that Goldwater welcomed. The Arizona senator was part of Reagan's right-wing coalition, but he viewed the Religious Right as dangerous and saw far-right evangelicals like Robertson, Falwell and Swaggart as toxic for the conservative movement.

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