Global and Local Televangelism: An Introduction

Abstract

The salience of contemporary forms of televangelism can be gauged from a consideration of two broad trends:

• 1. the globalization of confessional identities;

• 2. the pivotal role played by television viewing as a leisure activity throughout the world.

Struggles over religious identity and intra-religious contestations have been marked features of late modernity, and televangelism can be seen as a site for these struggles. Deregulation, the proliferation of cable and satellite television, competition and, in the case of Tamil Nadu, India, a populist political project of gifting a television set to each low-income family in the state, have contributed to an increase in television viewing, and thus potentially to increased access to religious channels. In the context of convergence and the penetration of mobile phones in Africa, the Middle East, and most of Asia, televangelism is no longer a strictly televisual phenomenon available during set times but is accessible round the clock over a variety of platforms.