Washington for Jesus was a series of prayer meetings held in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

by various representatives of the American Christian church in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The first rally was held in 1980 on 29 and 30 April and centered primarily on promoting a Christian viewpoint in the political arena. Religious leaders present included John Giminez

Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...

, Jerry Falwell,

William Bright William O. Bright (August 13, 1928 – October 15, 2006) was an American linguist and toponymist who specialized in Native American and South Asian languages and descriptive linguistics. Biography Bright earned a bachelor's degree in lingui ...

, and Benson Idahosa. Although the event was ostensibly non-political, speeches and statements during the 1980 rally outlined many of the early points of the

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

agenda of the religious right. It was during this time that many national leaders of the Christian right unified in their political stances against

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period be ...

, drug abuse, increasing divorce rates, and the

women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

. The event is regarded as a forerunner of the rise of political activism among conservative Christians, and the rallies are believed to have helped mobilize the religious right behind the candidacies of Ronald Reagan and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

History and rallies

Washington for Jesus was founded by

John Gimenez John Gimenez was an American Pentecostal evangelist. He was a pastor, international overseer and bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christian ...

, the pastor of Rock Church in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. Gimenez founded One Nation Under God, Inc. because, he said, he received prophecies that he should go to Washington to influence the future of the United States. Although Gimenez was essentially Charismatic in his beliefs, he was able to appeal to a larger segment of the Christian community with the help of his friend

, who was also based in the Virginia Beach area. Independent estimates of attendance at the 1980 rally range from 125,000 to 200,000, while Robertson said the attendance was closer to 500,000. The

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

estimated that 400,000 trips were taken on the day of the event, which was a single day record, and the first time the system topped 400,000. This broke the record set on 2/26/1980. The record would last more than a year and a half until the pro-union Solidarity Day March. While Bright argued that the participants had "not come to Washington with a political agenda or to lobby for certain legislation", speakers at the event were explicitly critical of Supreme Court decisions and warned that the increasing acceptance of abortion and homosexuality would provoke God's retaliation in the form of an attack by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. A group of 20 prominent religious organizations, including the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Un ...

, criticized the Washington for Jesus rally as explicitly political and an effort to "Christianize the government". During the 1988 rally, President Ronald Reagan addressed the crowd via

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...

, describing his plan to make the following Thursday a

National Day of Prayer The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". The president is required by law () to sign a ...

. The National Park Service estimated the crowd at 200,000. The 1988 rally also helped set a single day record for Metrorail, with an estimated 565,000 trips on the day of the rally, breaking the record set by the Redskins Super Bowl victory parade two months earlier. The record would last until the Inauguration of George H.W. Bush in 1989. The 1996 rally, held in pouring rain, drew an estimated 75,000 people, according to the U.S. Park Police. In 2012, Gimenez' widow, Anne, spearheaded a two-day rally in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

called "America for Jesus."

References

External links

"Washington For Jesus Rally"
featuring Rev. Falwell. C-SPAN video, 33:00 min, April 29, 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington For Jesus Evangelicalism in the United States Christianity and politics in the United States New Right (United States) Protests in the United States 1980 in Washington, D.C. 1988 in Washington, D.C. 1996 in Washington, D.C.

History and rallies

See also

References

External links