I chose this topic since it’s something that connects to my personal life, and it was a topic that I thought would be interesting to research. I found that this essay helped me get better at finding resources related to certain topics on the internet, as well as avoiding sources that can be untrustworthy or biased. It has also helped me with practicing systematic application of citation conventions; while I still believe I have more to improve on when it comes to adding citations to a paper, this assignment has given me a chance to practice writing citations manually for articles and books. While this essay is not necessarily related to the impact of linguistics (though language does somewhat play a role in this topic), it still gave me a chance to explore one of the ways in which people, especially people of color, can be exploited by others.

An Analysis of Televangelist Scams

With the rise of TV as an important source of entertainment for people around the world, some pastors have seen an opportunity to find a much broader audience. These pastors are known as Televangelists, and are most well-known for their massive churches and cult followings. However, within recent years, their reputations have only grown as preachers like Joel Osteen, Peter Popoff, and the Copelands have gained more and more power. One of the most powerful privileges that comes with being a religious leader is the ability to influence the actions of thousands or even millions. Televangelists are very much aware of their sway over the public, which brings us to a very important question: should they be given this kind of power?

Within the past few years, especially following the rise of Covid, Televangelists have been in the news more and more- and never for a good reason. Much of the news surrounding these religious leaders follows their increasingly lavish lifestyles, and the scams they used to get money from their devoted followers. According to USA Today’s 2019 article on Televangelist controversies, pastors like Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis were seen using money from their church endeavors to purchase private jets, with the latter even saying that God wanted him to have a private jet to “spread the gospel”; this is on top of the 3 jets that Duplantis already owns, each inscribed with a an almost comically ironic reminder that possessions are not everything. In the state of South Carolina, pastor John Gray stated that God helped him achieve his wife’s dream of owning a $200,000 Lamborghini.

While pastors using their donations for their own gain is already off-putting in and of itself, its immorality is dwarfed by the methods they used to get said money. Many Televangelists are more than willing to use their faith or their platforms to make money off of their audiences. In the case of celebrity pastor Jim Bakker, who was jailed for fraud surrounding his misuse of funds meant for his church, Bakker encouraged people to purchase some of his property in the Ozark Mountains under the guise that it was the safest place to be when the apocalypse comes; It is important to note that many Conservative Christians believe that humanity is currently living the Biblical End of Days. This, of course, would not be the last time that Bakker would get in trouble with the law. During the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, as many people throughout the US suffered and died due to the spread of the disease, Bakker came on the news to promote colloidal silver as a cure for Covid. In reality, colloidal silver can lead to various dangerous side effects, including organ failure and dermatological conditions like Argyria, an illness that results in blue or bluish-grey skin. He was promptly sued for $156,000 by General Attorney Leslie Rutledge, but not before selling over $60,000 worth of colloidal silver to his viewers in Arkansas. Bakker’s promotion of scams and especially his recklessness in regards to the health of the public is by no means unique among Televangelists; Gloria Copeland, for example, stated that children do not need the Influenza vaccine because Jesus died to protect them from illness. 

In order to properly understand the extent to which these figures take advantage of their audiences, we may look at the controversies surrounding Peter Popoff, a televangelist who has been actively defrauding his audience since the 1980s. When Popoff first rose to prominence, he was well-known for allegedly healing the sick and even having telepathy. Popoff framed himself as a prophet, making it all the easier for him to get money from his audience. However, after being caught faking his “powers” on national television, Popoff went into obscurity until he made a comeback years later. However, it was not the comeback itself that made his case particularly deplorable, but the platform he used for it: BET, or Black Entertainment Television. According to Hanna Rosin’s 1998 Washington Post article White Preachers Born Again on Black Network, after being exposed as a fraud to his original audience, Popoff decided to move on to scamming an almost exclusively Black audience, even focusing on Black members of his audience in his testimonials and fundraising appeals. And Popoff is not the only one. Multiple preachers used stories of suffering and unfair treatment to gain prominence among Black audiences during the 90s, and Popoff in particular continues to be a rather well-known preacher. In the present, Popoff uses his platform to peddle “Miracle Spring Water”, a packet of holy water that will allegedly cure the user of any physical or financial burden. While the product is free according to the commercials, writers at Truth in Advertising who investigated the product’s claims were required to pay exactly $19 to get it. (according to Popoff, the numbers 1 and 9 are of religious significance.) Even after paying for the water, they continued to receive letter after letter asking for more money to guarantee a miracle; if they had continued to pay, the writers would have had to pay up to $300 in total for a miracle that never came. In general, Christians of color, especially African American and Caribbean Christians, form a significant portion of televangelists’ audiences; a study by the Journal of African American Studies in New Brunswick showed that these groups consumed noticeably more religious media than White Christians. 

While some megachurches have offered some aid for those in need, especially during Russia’s ongoing attacks against Ukraine, the vast majority of televangelists have not used their wealth for humanitarian aid. In the end, televangelists use their power over others almost exclusively for their own gain, and do so at the cost of their audiences. Not only do they prioritize money over helping others, they continue to lie to their viewers and contribute to the already widespread exploitation of Black Americans. In addition to their social impact, televangelists have a profound influence over conservative political groups, and often intertwine religion with politics in support of figures like Donald Trump. In turn, the actions of these pastors extend beyond merely Christians; it impacts each and every American citizen. All of these acts lead us to only one response for the previously asked question, and that is a simple no; because of how they use their influence to harm others, televangelists have all but proven that they cannot be trusted with their platforms.

Works Cited

1. Peter Popoff’s Miracle Spring Water. Truth in Advertising. March 14, 2019.
2. Jim Bakker Sued by Second State for Selling Fake Coronavirus Cure. The Associated Press. June 17, 2020.
3. Bote, Joshua. Fraud, private jets and a Lamborghini: 10 televangelists who have faced controversy. USA Today. June 17, 2019.
4. James, William. Andrews’ Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology. 13th ed. Elsevier Inc. 2020.
5. Rosin, Hanna. White Preachers Born Again on Black Network. The Washington Post. September 3, 1998.
6. Taylor, Robert, Chatters, Linda. Religious media Use Among African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and Non-Hispanic Whites. Journal of African AMerican Studies (New Brunswick). September 30, 2010.