Â鶹APP

Jerry Falwell portrait.jpg Photo by Liberty University –

Top 10 Facts about Dr. Jerry Falwell

Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr was born August 11 1933 in the Fairview Heights area of Lynchburg, Virginia. He died on May 15, 2007. He was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in  Lynchburg Christian academy.

Jerry graduated from Brookville High School in Lynchburg and from the then-unaccredited Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. He was later awarded three honorary doctorates namely a Doctor of Divinity from Tennessee Temple Theological Seminary, a Doctor of Letters from California Graduate School of Theology, and a Doctor of Laws from Central University in Seoul, South Korea.

In 1971, he founded Liberty University and co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979.

Jerry and his wife had a close relationship, she supported him throughout his career. They both shared a piece of their relationship with the public. They were married for nearly fifty years until his death.

Read more about other American Pastors here.

1. Associated Organizations

Thomas Road Baptist Church, 55th anniversary IMG 4114.JPG Photo by Billy Hathorn – s

In 1956, Jerry founded the Thomas Road Baptist Church. Originally it was located at 701 Thomas Road in Lynchburg, Virginia. It had 35 members and became a megachurch.

In the same year, he began the Old Time Gospel Hour, a nationally syndicated radio and television ministry. When Jerry died, it was handed down to their father’s ministry and he took over as the church’s senior pastor.

Read more about how to begin a church here.

2. Liberty Christian Academy

Sherman July 2016 49 (Liberty Christian Academy).jpg Photo by Michael Barera –

It is a Christian school in Lynchburg that was described in 1966 by Lynchburg News as a private school for white students. The Lynchburg Christian Academy was later opened in 1967 by Jerry. It was a segregation academy and a ministry of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

The academy is now known as the educational facility by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Virginia State Board of Education, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Association of Christian Schools International.

3. Moral Majority

The Moral Majority became one of the largest political lobby groups for evangelical Christians in the United States during the 1980s. According to Jerry’s self-published autobiography.

The Moral Majority was promoted as being pro-life and was credited with delivering two-thirds of the white evangelical vote to Ronald Reagan during the 1980 presidential election.

During his time as head of the Moral Majority, Jerry consistently pushed for Republican candidates and for conservative politics. This led Billy Graham to criticize him for turning political issues into sermons. Graham later stated at the time of Jerry’s death, his accomplishments went beyond most clergy.

4. Labor Unions

Jerry set out in his Christian ministry as a fundamentalist. He attended a conservative Bible college and followed strict standards of ecclesiastical and personal separatism.

He was known and respected in Independent Fundamental Baptist circles. He was being praised in Christian fundamentalist publications such as The Sword of the Lord.  His national politics appears to have been a catalyst for the change.  When he established Moral Majority, he joined Bible Christians in a political alliance with charismatics, Roman Catholics, Jews, Mormons, and others.

Though he never wavered in his belief in the inerrancy of the Bible and the doctrines that conservative Christians widely see as essential to salvation, his rhetoric generally became mellow. 

5. His Legacy

Jerry’s legacy is very controversial, many of his supporters praise the advancement of his socially conservative message. Others accused him of hate speech and identified him as an agent of intolerance.

Christopher Hitchens described his work as Chaucerian fraud and faith-based fraud. Christopher rook special umbrage with Jerry’s alignment with the most thuggish Israeli settlers and his declaration that 9/11 represented God’s judgment on America’s sinful behavior.

Filmmaker Terrence Malick had intended to write and direct a film that focused on the lives of both Jerry Falwell and Jerry Lee Lewis, a pianist, and singer. However, the project went unproduced.

6. Legal Issues

From the 1970s, Jerry was involved in legal matters which occupied much of his time and propelled his name recognition. 

Jerry filed a $10 million lawsuit against Penthouse for publishing an article based on interviews he gave to freelance reporters. The suit was dismissed in Federal district court in 1981 on the grounds. The article was not defamatory or an invasion of Jerry’s privacy.

In 1972, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. launched an investigation of bonds issued by Jerry’s organizations. The SECcharged Jerry’s church with fraud and deceit. The church won a 1973 federal court case prosecuted at the behest of the SEC.

7. Apartheid

In the 1980s, Jerry said sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa would result in a soviet-backed resolution. He also urged his followers to buy up gold Krugerrands and push US reinvestment in South Africa.

In 1985, he drew the ire of many when he called the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu a phony.

8. His Views On Civil Rights

Dr. Jerry Falwell holds a religious rally.jpg Photo by Foley, Mark T. –

On his evangelist program The Old Time Gospel Hour in the mid-1960s, Jerry regularly featured segregationist politicians like governors Lester Maddox and George Wallace.

In 1977, Jerry supported Anita Bryant’s campaign which was called by its proponents. He wanted to overturn an ordinance in Dade County, Florida that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and he supported similar movements in California.

Jerry said that equal access to housing and employment are basic rights, not special rights. Thus all other Civil rights were irrelevant and an American value that many would agree on.

He advocated for Civil Rights while Rev. Billy Graham Advocated for Equal Rights. Click here to read more.

9. Jerry’s Views on Education

Liberty Bible Academy.png Photo by Wasupbigdog –

Jerry repeatedly denounced certain teachings in public schools and secular education in general calling them breeding grounds for atheism, secularism, and humanism. He claimed to be in contradiction with Christian morality.

He advocated that the United States change its public education system by implementing a school voucher system that would allow parents to send their children to either public or private schools.

Read more About another advocate of Education here.

10. Last Days and Succession

His health began deteriorating in 2005 when he was hospitalized more than once. His funeral took place on May 22, 2007, at Thomas Road Baptist Church after he lay in response both at the church and at Liberty University. His burial service was private and is interred at a spot on the Liberty University campus near the Cater Glass Mansion.

After his death, his sons succeeded him in his two positions. Jerry Falwell Jr. took over as president of Liberty University while Jonathan Falwell became the senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

His last televised interview was conducted by Christiane Amanpour for the CNN original series CNN Presents: God’s Warriors. He was interviewed a week before his death. In the interview, he revealed that he had asked God for at least 20 more years in order to accomplish his vision for the university he founded.