The Very American Rise and Fall and Rise and Death of Jim Bakker

Televangelist Jim Bakker is dead at 86. And whatever else can be said about him, he was a true American original.

In the ’70s and ’80s, millions of Americans welcomed Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker into their living rooms every day. They laughed with them, prayed with them and sent them money—enough money to build a television network and a Christian theme park.

He was also a convicted fraudster whose empire collapsed amid revelations of deception, sexual misconduct allegations and spectacularly bad judgment.

His was a life of faith and fame, of innovation and swindlery. And his legacy is everywhere.

So today’s question: How did Jim Bakker turn religious intimacy into an American empire?

My guest is Dr. Leah Payne, a historian of American religion at Portland Seminary and author of God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music. She studies where faith, politics and pop culture meet.

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