Marketing the Millennium: the revivalist ethos and the electronic church in the United States of America

Abstract

This thesis outlines the historical progression of the revivalist ethos in American society, starting with Charles Finney and culminating in the electronic church. It outlines the stages of development in urban revivalism, and in particular the personalities of Charles, Finney, Dwight Moody, Billy Sunday and Billy Graham. Furthermore, this thesis traces the historical development of religious broadcasting in the United States and shows that radio and television provided a new institutional environment for the revivalist ethos. It is in these twin processes of urban revivalism and the political economy of religious broadcasting that we should locate the electronic church. Set in this context, the electronic church represents - with its market-oriented approach to religion - an excellent example of the rationalization process by means of which the electronic church has converged to meet the imperatives of the wider economic environment.