Moral Majority

===Establishment and organizational activity===
Falwell and Weyrich founded the Moral Majority in June 1979.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States|author=Hudson, D.W.|date=2008|publisher=Threshold Editions|isbn=9781416565895|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kxKOrqtQBQC|page=15|access-date=2014-11-15}}</ref>  According to former Arkansas governor [[Mike Huckabee]], who was Texas evangelist [[James Robison (televangelist)|James Robison]]'s communications director at the time, Robison's "Freedom Rally" at the [[Dallas Convention Center]] was the genesis of the Moral Majority.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Prodigal Son |first=Ariel |last=Levy |url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/06/28/100628fa_fact_levy |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=2010-06-28 |access-date=22 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122210441/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/06/28/100628fa_fact_levy |archive-date=2012-01-22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Moral Majority was predominately a Southern-oriented organization of the Christian Right, although its state chapters and political activity extended beyond the South.<ref name="Liebman 1983 p. 58"/> The number of state chapters grew quickly, with organizations in eighteen states by 1980.<ref>Liebman, Robert and Robert Wuthnow (1983) ''The New Christian Right'', pp. 31–32. New York: Aldine Publishing Company. {{ISBN|0-202-30307-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Williams |first=Daniel K. |title=Jerry Falwell's Sunbelt Politics: The Regional Origins of the Moral Majority |journal=[[Journal of Policy History]] |volume=22 |pages=125–47 |issue=2 |date=April 2010 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |doi=10.1017/S0898030610000011 |s2cid=146148193 }}</ref> The variety of resources available to the Moral Majority at its founding facilitated this rapid expansion, and included Falwell's mailing list from his program, ''Old Time Gospel Hour''. In addition, the Moral Majority took control of the ''Old Time Gospel Hour''{{'s}} publication, ''Journal Champion'', which had been distributed to the show's donors.<ref>Liebman, Robert and Robert Wuthnow (1983) ''The New Christian Right'', p. 61. New York: Aldine Publishing Company. {{ISBN|0-202-30307-1}}</ref> Through the 1980s, Falwell was the organization's best-known spokesperson. By 1982, Moral Majority surpassed [[Christian Voice (USA)|Christian Voice]] in size and influence.

The Moral Majority's headquarters were in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], where Falwell was the presiding minister of the nation's largest independent Baptist church, [[Thomas Road Baptist Church]]. Virginia has been a seat of Christian Right politics, being the state where the [[Christian Coalition of America|Christian Coalition]]'s first headquarters were established. Falwell was at the head of the Moral Majority and maintained an advisory board, constituting the organization's primary leadership. This leadership was drawn mostly from Falwell's fellow members of the [[Baptist Bible Fellowship]]. Falwell insisted the Moral Majority leadership also include Catholics and Jews, although not all members of the leadership approved of this inclusion.<ref name="Allitt, Patrick 2003 p. 153">Allitt, Patrick (2003). ''Religion in America Since 1945: A History'', p. 153. New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-12154-7}}</ref>

The Moral Majority was an organization made up of conservative Christian [[political action committee]]s which campaigned on issues its personnel believed were important to maintaining its Christian conception of moral law. They believed this represented the opinions of the majority of Americans (hence the movement's name). With a membership of millions, the ''Moral Majority'' became one of the largest conservative lobby groups in the United States and at its height, it claimed more than four million members and over two million donors.<ref>Wilcox, Clyde (1996). ''Onward Christian Soldiers?'', p. 96. Boulder: [[Westview Press]]. {{ISBN|0-8133-2696-6}}</ref> These members were spread among about twenty state organizations, of which [[Washington (state)|Washington]] State's was the largest. The Moral Majority was incorporated into the Liberty Federation in 1985, remaining a distinct entity but falling under the Liberty Federation's larger jurisdiction. In 1987, Falwell retired as the formal head of the Moral Majority, and was succeeded by Jerry Nims,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lohmann|first1=Bill|title=From Beatnik to Religious Right Figure : New Moral Majority Leader Took His Own Path|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1988-02-06/local/me-10334_1_moral-majority|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 6, 1988|access-date=2016-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020035535/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-02-06/local/me-10334_1_moral-majority|archive-date=2016-10-20|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Carroll|first1=Jerry|title=Falwell's Successor Recalls Fondly HIs Bay Area Roots Nims' dad was controversial preacher in the city|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB4EFBFDE4E0961&p_docnum=4&s_dlid=DL0116101916414009005&s_ecproduct=SUB-FREE&s_ecprodtype=INSTANT&s_trackval=&s_siteloc=&s_referrer=&s_subterm=Subscription%20until%3A%2012%2F15%2F2030&s_docsbal=%20&s_subexpires=12%2F15%2F2030&s_docstart=&s_docsleft=&s_docsread=&s_username=refuser&s_accountid=AC0114070818394531470&s_upgradeable=no|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=November 5, 1987}}</ref> although he maintained an active and visible role within the organization. The same year, a major effort which Falwell made to bring scandal-ridden [[Jim Bakker]]'s [[The PTL Club|PTL ministries]] out of financial trouble proved unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/us/falwell-quits-warning-ptl-ministry-may-end.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title= Falwell Quits, Warning PTL Ministry May End|date=October 9, 1987|access-date=December 2, 2021}}</ref>