Jerry Falwell Sr. Could Have Played Pro Baseball, But Instead He Televangelized
Hulu’s new documentary, God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty, goes behind the scenes of a big sex scandal that shook one of America's famous evangelical conservative families to its core.
The documentary tells the shocking story of Giancarlo Granda, a 20-year-old Miami pool attendant who later claimed he ended up in a seven-year affair with a woman, Becki Falwell, and her husband, Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University and son of Jerry Falwell Sr., a televangelist and famed conservative thought leader. While the couple has confirmed Becki's involvement, they have denied Jerry Jr.'s alleged role.
When news of the sex scandal broke in 2020, Jerry Falwell Jr. was ousted from his job as president of the conservative Liberty University, and since then, has mostly stayed out of the spotlight. But in an interview with Vanity Fair earlier this year, Jerry Jr. opened up about his relationship with his father, Jerry Falwell Sr.
But who is Jerry Falwell Sr., exactly? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Jerry Falwell Sr.?
Jerry Falwell Sr. was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and founder of conservative Christian college Liberty University, according to his Liberty University bio. He was born on August 11, 1933, and had a twin brother named Gene, per Britannica.
Jerry was a very good athlete in school and even had the opportunity to play baseball professionally, but he went to Lynchburg College and then Baptist Bible College instead, Britannica says.
In 1956, he founded the Thomas Road Baptist Church in his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia, which started out with just 35 members. He also began the “Old Time Gospel Hour,” which became a nationally syndicated radio and television ministry, his bio says.
He co-founded the Moral Majority.
Jerry organized the famed "Moral Majority" in 1979, which was a conservative political lobbying group, per his bio. The group would select political candidates to endorse based on a slew of criteria. It focused on candidates who were pro-life, pro-family, pro-Israel, and preferred a strong national defense policy. Among others, the group selected Ronald Reagan as “their” candidate.
The group disbanded in 1989, per Britannica.
Jerry Falwell Sr. founded Liberty University.
These schools included Lynchburg Christian Academy, a K-12 school, which Jerry founded in 1967, and Liberty University, a fundamentalist conservative Christian university, which he founded in 1971. The university was originally called Lynchburg Bible College.
Liberty University now has more than 15,000 students on campus and more than 94,000 students taking courses online, per Jerry’s bio. His son and grandson, Trey, would both go on to work there.
He was married to Macel Pate and had three kids.
Jerry was married to a woman named Macel Pate Falwell for almost 50 years until his death in 2007. Macel died in 2015, Jerry's bio reads.
Together, the couple had three children: Jerry Jr., former president of Liberty University (and one of the main subjects in the sex scandal); Jonathan, senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church; and Jeannie, a surgeon.
Jerry Falwell Sr. was opposed to abortion, gay rights, and feminism.
Jerry was a controversial conservative leader who at one point identified as a segregationist, and later said that AIDS was a "divine punishment for homosexuality, per Britannica.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in Manhattan, Jerry made some bigoted and racist statements, calling Muhammad, the Islamic prophet, a terrorist and suggesting that the attacks had reflected God’s judgment on a nation spiritually weakened by the American Civil Liberties Union, providers of abortion and supporters of gay rights, per The New York Times. He later apologized.
Jerry also infamously suggested that Tinky Winky, a Teletubbies character, was a homosexual signal because he was purple and had a triangle on his head. Falwell also was outspoken about his anti-feminist stances.
How did he die?
Jerry was 73 when he was found unconscious in his university office, according to The New York Times. His physician later told The Times that Jerry had heart problems and likely died of a heart attack.
Where is Jerry Falwell Sr. buried?
True to his roots, Jerry was buried at Liberty University, specifically at the Carter Glass Estate on its campus in Lynchburg, Virginia, according to Liberty University. There is a memorial garden set up in his honor and an eternal flame that burns.
Catch up on all the family drama in God Forbid, out now on Netflix.
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