Evangelical radio and the rise of the electronic church, 1921–1948

Abstract

Evangelicals in the U.S. used radio extensively between the wars to preach their old‐fashioned gospel and to enhance their social status in the expanding industrial nation. They were among the earliest station owners and operators and, despite restrictive network and regulatory policies, built audiences through creative and entertaining programming. National radio preachers such as Charles Fuller and Walter Maier became symbols of the rising influence and growing public acceptability of twentieth century American evangelicalism. They proved that evangelical broadcasting was commercially viable, setting the scene for the rise of the electronic church on U.S. television.