Jerry Falwell

==Social and political views==
{{Conservatism US|activists}}
===Families===
Falwell advocated beliefs and practices influenced by his version of biblical teachings.{{sfn|Dobson|Hindson|J. Falwell|1986}}

===Tithing===
In 1989, he told Liberty University employees that membership in his church and [[tithing]] were mandatory. <ref> Associated Press, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-11-me-881-story.html Falwell Mandates Tithing and Church Membership for All of His Employees], latimes.com, USA, March 11, 1989 </ref>

===Vietnam War===
Falwell felt the [[Vietnam War]] was being fought with "limited political objectives", when it should have been an all out war against the [[North Vietnam|North]].{{sfn|J. Falwell|1980|p=85}} In general, Falwell held that the president "as a minister of God" has the right to use arms to "bring wrath upon those who would do evil."{{sfn|J. Falwell|1980|p=98}}

===Civil rights===
On his evangelist program ''[[The Old-Time Gospel Hour]]'' in the mid-1960s, Falwell regularly featured [[racial segregation|segregation]]ist politicians like governors [[Lester Maddox]] and [[George Wallace]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=522 |title=Holy War |publisher=SPLCenter.org |date=2003-06-26 |access-date=2010-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203151501/http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=522 |archive-date=2010-02-03 }}</ref> About [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King]] he said: "I do question the sincerity and non-violent intentions of some civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. James Farmer, and others, who are known to have left-wing associations."{{sfn|J. Falwell|1982|p=310}}

In speaking of the ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' ruling, he said, in 1958:

{{blockquote|If Chief Justice Warren and his associates had known God's word and had desired to do the Lord's will, I am quite confident that the 1954 decision would never have been made. The facilities should be separate. When God has drawn a line of distinction, we should not attempt to cross that line.<ref name="Blumenthal 2007">{{cite magazine |last=Blumenthal |first=Max |author-link=Max Blumenthal |date=May 28, 2007 |title=Age of Intolerance |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance/ |magazine=The Nation |location=New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808164956/http://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance |archive-date=August 8, 2010 |access-date=November 7, 2010}}</ref>}}

In 1977, Falwell supported [[Anita Bryant]]'s campaign, which was called by its proponents "[[Save Our Children]]", to overturn an ordinance in [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Dade County, Florida]], prohibiting discrimination on the basis of [[sexual orientation]], and he supported a similar movement in California.<ref name = NYT051507/>

Twenty-eight years later, during a 2005 [[MSNBC]] television appearance, Falwell said he was not troubled by reports that the nominee for Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, [[John G. Roberts]] (whose appointment was confirmed by the US Senate) had done volunteer legal work for [[gay rights]] activists on the case of ''[[Romer v. Evans]]''. Falwell told then-MSNBC host [[Tucker Carlson]] that if he were a lawyer, he too would argue for civil rights for [[LGBT]] people. "I may not agree with the lifestyle, but that has nothing to do with the civil rights of that part of our constituency", said Falwell. When Carlson countered that conservatives "are always arguing against 'special rights' for gays," Falwell said equal access to housing and employment are basic rights, not special rights. "Civil rights for all Americans, black, white, red, yellow, the rich, poor, young, old, gay, straight, et cetera, is not a liberal or conservative value. It's an American value that I would think that we pretty much all agree on."<ref name=soulforce>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.soulforce.org/2005/08/|last=Melzer|first=Eartha Jane|title=Falwell Speaks in Favour of Gay Civil Rights|publisher=Soulfource.org|date=August 26, 2005|access-date=November 16, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714120644/http://www.archives.soulforce.org/2005/08/|archive-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref>

===Israel and Jews===
Falwell's relationship with Israeli Prime Minister, [[Menachem Begin]] was reported in the media in the summer of 1981.<ref>Mouly, Ruth, and Roland Robertson. “Zionism in American Premillenarian Fundamentalism.” ''American Journal of Theology & Philosophy'', vol. 4, no. 3, 1983, p. 103. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/27943631 JSTOR website] Retrieved 27 May 2023.</ref> His staunch pro-[[Israel]] stand, sometimes referred to as "[[Christian Zionism]]", drew the support of the [[Anti-Defamation League]] and its leader [[Abraham Foxman]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Mary Jayne |last=McKay |title=Zion's Christian Soldiers |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/03/60minutes/main524268.shtml |work=CBS News |date=June 8, 2003 |access-date=January 13, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210195101/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/03/60minutes/main524268.shtml |archive-date=February 10, 2009 }}</ref> However, they condemned what they perceived as intolerance towards Muslims in Falwell's public statements.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sachs |first=Susan |date=June 15, 2002 |title=Baptist Pastor Attacks Islam, Inciting Cries of Intolerance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/15/us/baptist-pastor-attacks-islam-inciting-cries-of-intolerance.html |url-access=limited |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref> They also criticized him for remarking that "Jews can make more money accidentally than you can on purpose."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/DiRaB_41/4168_41.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031217060602/http://www.adl.org/PresRele/DiRaB_41/4168_41.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-12-17 |title=ADL Condemns Falwell's Anti-Muslim Remarks; Urges Him to Apologize |publisher=Adl.org |access-date=2010-11-07 }}</ref><ref name="jews">{{cite web|url=http://maxblumenthal.com/2009/09/irving-kristols-alliance-with-anti-semites/|title=Irving Kristol's Rebel Alliance with Anti-Semites|access-date=December 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104125733/http://maxblumenthal.com/2009/09/irving-kristols-alliance-with-anti-semites/|archive-date=January 4, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In his book ''Listen, America!'' Falwell referred to the Jewish people as "spiritually blind and desperately in need of their Messiah and Savior."{{sfn|J. Falwell|1980|p=113}}

In the 1984 book ''Jerry Falwell and the Jews'', Falwell is quoted saying: {{blockquote|I feel that the destiny of the state of Israel is without question the most crucial international matter facing the world today. I believe that the people of Israel have not only a theological but also a historical and legal right to the land. I am personally a Zionist, having gained that perspective from my belief in Old Testament Scriptures. I have also visited Israel many times. I have arrived at the conclusion that unless the United States maintains its unswerving devotion to the State of Israel, the very survival of that nation is at stake{{nbsp}}... Every American who agrees Israel has the right to the land must be willing to exert all possible pressure on the powers that be to guarantee America's support of the State of Israel at this time.{{sfn|Simon|1984|p=62}}}}

===Education===
Falwell repeatedly denounced certain teachings in [[public school (government funded)|public school]]s and [[secular education]] in general, calling them breeding grounds for [[atheism]], [[secularism]], and [[humanism]], which he claimed to be in contradiction with Christian [[morality]]. He advocated that the United States change its public education system by implementing a [[school voucher]] system which would allow parents to send their children to either public or private schools. In his book ''America Can Be Saved'' he wrote that "I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_falwelljerry.htm |title=Biography: Falwell, Jerry |publisher=Atheism.about.com |date=1982-11-21 |access-date=2010-11-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030104032958/http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_falwelljerry.htm |archive-date=2003-01-04 }}</ref>

Falwell supported President [[George W. Bush]]'s [[White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives|Faith Based Initiative]], but had strong reservations concerning where the funding would go and the restrictions placed on churches: {{blockquote|My problem is where it might go under his successors.&nbsp;... I would not want to put any of the Jerry Falwell Ministries in a position where we might be subservient to a future Bill Clinton, God forbid.&nbsp;... It also concerns me that once the [[pork barrel]] is filled, suddenly the Church of Scientology, the Jehovah Witnesses {{sic}}, the various and many denominations and religious groups—and I don't say those words in a pejorative way—begin applying for money—and I don't see how any can be turned down because of their radical and unpopular views. I don't know where that would take us.<ref>{{cite web |last=Falwell |first=Jerry |year=2001 |title=Falwell: 'Deep Concerns' |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7040_1.html |url-status=live |interviewer-last=Caldwell |interviewer-first=Deborah |website=Beliefnet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010092416/http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7040_1.html |archive-date=2008-10-10 |access-date=2010-11-07}}</ref>}}

===Apartheid===
In the 1980s Falwell said sanctions against the [[apartheid]] regime of South Africa would result in what, he felt, would be a worse situation, such as a Soviet-backed revolution. He also urged his followers to buy up gold [[Krugerrand]]s and push US "reinvestment" in South Africa.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Richard N. |last=Ostling |author-link=Richard Ostling |title=Jerry Falwell's Crusade |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959697,00.html |magazine=Time |location=New York |date=September 2, 1985 |access-date=May 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015121702/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959697,00.html |archive-date=October 15, 2007 }}</ref> In 1985 he drew the ire of many when he called [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner and [[Anglican]] Archbishop [[Desmond Tutu]] a phony "as far as representing the black people of South Africa".<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959695,00.html | magazine=Time |location=New York | title=Religion: An Unholy Uproar | date=September 2, 1985 | access-date=May 6, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029184801/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959695,00.html | archive-date=October 29, 2010 }}</ref><ref name="Pear 1985">{{cite news |last=Pear |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Pear |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A15FB3D5F0C728EDDA10894DD484D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fF%2fFalwell%2c%20Jerry |title=Falwell Denounces Tutu as a 'Phony' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1985-08-21 |access-date=2010-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609013718/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A15FB3D5F0C728EDDA10894DD484D81&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/F/Falwell%2C%20Jerry |archive-date=2008-06-09 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |agency=United Press International |title=Falwell Offers Tutu Qualified Apology |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-24/news/mn-26104_1_south-africa |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=24 August 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Falwell Gives Qualified Apology for Calling Bishop Tutu a Phony |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/24/world/falwell-gives-wualified-apology-for-calling-bishop-tutu-a-phony.html |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=24 August 1985}}</ref>

===''The Clinton Chronicles''===
{{Main|The Clinton Chronicles}}

In 1994, Falwell promoted and distributed the video documentary ''The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton''. The video purported to connect [[Bill Clinton]] to a murder conspiracy involving [[Vince Foster]], [[Jim McDougal|James McDougall]], [[Ron Brown (U.S. Secretary of Commerce)|Ron Brown]], and a [[cocaine]]-[[smuggling]] operation. The theory was discredited, but the recording sold more than 150,000 copies.<ref name="falwell">[http://www.salon.com/1998/03/11/cov_11news/ The Falwell connection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714161034/http://www.salon.com/1998/03/11/cov_11news/ |date=2014-07-14 }} by [[Murray Waas]] Salon.com</ref>

The film's production costs were partly met by "Citizens for Honest Government", to which Falwell paid $200,000 in 1994 and 1995.<ref name="falwell"/> In 1995 Citizens for Honest Government interviewed [[Arkansas State Police|Arkansas state troopers]] Roger Perry and [[Larry Patterson]] regarding the murder conspiracy about Vincent Foster. Perry and Patterson also gave information regarding the allegations in the [[Paula Jones]] [[Troopergate (Bill Clinton)|affair]].<ref name="falwell"/>

The [[infomercial]] for the 80-minute videotape included footage of Falwell interviewing a silhouetted journalist who claimed to be afraid for his life. The journalist accused Clinton of orchestrating the deaths of several reporters and personal confidants who had gotten too close to his supposed illegal activities. The silhouetted journalist was subsequently revealed to be Patrick Matrisciana, the producer of the video and president of Citizens for Honest Government.<ref name="falwell"/> "Obviously, I'm not an investigative reporter", Matrisciana admitted to investigative journalist [[Murray Waas]].<ref name="falwell"/> Later, Falwell seemed to back away from personally trusting the video. In an interview for the 2005 documentary ''[[The Hunting of the President]]'', Falwell admitted, "to this day I do not know the accuracy of the claims made in ''The Clinton Chronicles''."<ref>''[[The Hunting of the President]]'' (DVD) 2005</ref>

===Views on homosexuality===
Falwell condemned homosexuality as forbidden by the Bible. Homosexual rights groups called Falwell an "agent of intolerance" and "the founder of the anti-gay industry" for statements he had made and for campaigning against [[LGBT social movements]].<ref name=NYT051507/><ref name="Blumenthal 2007"/> Falwell supported [[Anita Bryant]]'s 1977 "Save Our Children" campaign to overturn a Florida ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of [[sexual orientation]] and a similar movement in California.<ref name=NYT051507>{{cite news |last=Applebome |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Applebome |date=May 15, 2007 |title=Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies at 73 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/obituaries/15cnd-falwell.html?hp |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630165807/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/obituaries/15cnd-falwell.html?hp |archive-date=June 30, 2017}}</ref> In urging the repeal of the ordinance, Falwell told one crowd, "Gay folks would just as soon kill you as look at you."<ref name=homosexuals>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Hans |last2=Eskridge |first2=William |author2-link=William Eskridge |date=May 19, 2007 |title=The Legacy of Falwell's Bully Pulpit |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/18/AR2007051801392.html |url-status=live |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111163004/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/18/AR2007051801392.html |archive-date=November 11, 2012 |access-date=May 18, 2007}}</ref> When the LGBT-friendly [[Metropolitan Community Church]] was almost accepted into the [[World Council of Churches]], Falwell called them "brute beasts" and stated that they are, "part of a vile and satanic system" that "will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven."<ref name=vile/> He later denied saying this.<ref name=intersex/> Falwell also regularly linked the [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] pandemic to LGBT issues and stated, "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."<ref name=AIDS>{{cite web |url=http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinion/x1987843539 |title=Press: The Sad Legacy of Jerry Falwell |author=Press, Bill |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928110421/http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinion/x1987843539|access-date=February 15, 2015|archive-date=September 28, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

After comedian and actress [[Ellen DeGeneres]] came out as a lesbian, Falwell referred to her in a sermon as "Ellen DeGenerate". DeGeneres responded, "Really, he called me that? Ellen DeGenerate? I've been getting that since the fourth grade. I guess I'm happy I could give him work."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986189,00.html |title=He Called Me Ellen Degenerate? |access-date=November 25, 2008 |last=Handy |first=Bruce |magazine=Time |location=New York |date=April 14, 1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123083654/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986189,00.html |archive-date=November 23, 2008}}</ref>

Falwell's legacy regarding homosexuality is complicated by his support for LGBT civil rights (see "civil rights" section above), as well as his attempts to reconcile with the LGBT community in later years. In October 1999, Falwell hosted a meeting of 200 evangelicals with 200 gay people and lesbians at Thomas Road Baptist Church for an "Anti-Violence Forum", during which he acknowledged that some American evangelicals' comments about homosexuality entered the realm of hate speech that could incite violence.<ref>{{cite news |author=Niebuhr, Gustav |date=October 23, 1999 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/23/us/religion-journal-falwell-finds-an-accord-with-gay-rights-backer.html |department=Religion Journal |title=Falwell Finds an Accord with Gay Rights Backer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630154512/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/23/us/religion-journal-falwell-finds-an-accord-with-gay-rights-backer.html |archive-date=2017-06-30 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> At the forum, Falwell told homosexuals in attendance, "I don't agree with your lifestyle, I will never agree with your lifestyle, but I love you" and added, "Anything that leaves the impression that we hate the sinner, we want to change that."<ref>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Deb |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/25/falwell/index.html |title=The Odd Couple |work=Salon|date=1999-10-25 |access-date=2010-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129201711/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/25/falwell/index.html |archive-date=2011-01-29}}</ref> He later commented to ''New York Times'' columnist [[Frank Rich]] that "admittedly, evangelicals have not exhibited an ability to build a bond of friendship to the gay and lesbian community. We've said ''go somewhere else, we don't need you here [at] our churches.''"<ref>{{cite news |last=Rich |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Rich |date=November 6, 1999 |title=Has Jerry Falwell Seen the light? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/06/opinion/journal-has-jerry-falwell-seen-the-light.html?scp=2&sq=jerry%20falwell%20AND%20homosexual&st=nyt&pagewanted=1 |url-access=limited |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522005442/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/06/opinion/journal-has-jerry-falwell-seen-the-light.html?scp=2&sq=jerry%20falwell%20AND%20homosexual&st=nyt&pagewanted=1 |archive-date=May 22, 2013 |access-date=2010-11-07}}</ref>

===''Teletubbies''===

In February 1999 a ''National Liberty Journal'' article (the media attributed it to Falwell)<ref name=NLJ>{{cite web|url=http://nljonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=0|title=PARENTS Alert... Parents Alert|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516002632/http://nljonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=0|archive-date=May 16, 2006|access-date=June 30, 2023|work=NLJ|url-status=dead}}</ref> claimed that Tinky Winky, a [[Teletubbies|Teletubby]], was intended as a homosexual role model. The NLJ is a publication of the university he founded. An article published in 1998 by the ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'' website had referred to Tinky Winky's status as an icon for the same movement.<ref name=Tubbythump>{{cite web| url=http://salon.com/media/1998/04/03media.html|title=Tubbythumping|last=Millman|first=Joyce |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613062013/http://salon.com/media/1998/04/03media.html|archive-date=June 13, 2011|access-date=February 16, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/index.cfm?PID=15758&artid=97 Arizona supporter funds largest-ever gift annuity to LU] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526012026/http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/index.cfm?PID=15758 |date=2011-05-26 }} (February 27, 2008) By Mitzi Bible – Liberty Journal</ref> In response, Steve Rice, spokesperson for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment, which licenses ''[[Teletubbies]]'' in the United States, said, "I really find it absurd and kind of offensive."<ref name=Tinky>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/276677.stm | title=Gay Tinky Winky bad for children | access-date=May 18, 2007 | work=BBC News | date=February 15, 1999 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714040014/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/276677.stm | archive-date=July 14, 2007 }}</ref><ref name=Winky>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auX3.SI9QH2M | title=Jerry Falwell, Evangelist, Political Activist, Dies | access-date=May 18, 2007 | last=Burke | first=Heather | work=Bloomberg | date=May 15, 2007 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930075811/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auX3.SI9QH2M | archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> The UK show was aimed at pre-school children, but the article stated "he is purple–the [[gay pride]] color; and his antenna is shaped like a [[Pink triangle|triangle]]–the gay-pride symbol". Apart from those characteristics Tinky Winky also carries a magic bag which the ''NLJ'' and ''Salon'' articles said was a purse. Falwell added that "role modeling the gay lifestyle is damaging to the moral lives of children".

===September 11 attacks===
After the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, Falwell said on [[Pat Robertson]]'s ''[[The 700 Club]]'', "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the [[ACLU]], [[People for the American Way]], all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"<ref name="falwell apology"/><ref name="falwell 9/11">[https://home.comcast.net/~joe.grabko/falwell.mp3 Falwell speaks about WTC disaster, Christian Broadcasting Network<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019023622/https://home.comcast.net/~joe.grabko/falwell.mp3 |date=2012-10-19 }}</ref> In his opinion, LGBT organizations had angered God, thereby in part causing God to let the attacks happen.<ref>{{cite news|last=Goodstein|first=Laurie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/us/after-attacks-finding-fault-falwell-s-finger-pointing-inappropriate-bush-says.html|title=After the Attacks: Finding Fault; Falwell's Finger-Pointing Inappropriate, Bush Says|work=The New York Times|date=September 15, 2019|access-date=January 14, 2019}}</ref> Falwell believed the attacks were "probably deserved", a statement which [[Christopher Hitchens]] described as treason.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273295,00.html "Christopher Hitchens and Ralph Reed Square Off over Late Leader's Influence; the Christian Right."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511165011/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273295,00.html |date=2008-05-11 }} ''[[Hannity & Colmes]]''. May 17, 2007. [[FOX News]]. Retrieved June 23, 2009.</ref> Following heavy criticism, Falwell said that no one but the terrorists were to blame, and stated, "If I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize."<ref name="falwell apology">{{cite news| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/ | work=CNN | title=Falwell Apologizes to Gays, Feminists, Lesbians | date=September 14, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401182609/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/|archive-date=April 1, 2013|access-date=February 16, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="shield of protection">{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69715 |title=Top Stories |publisher=NY1|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323050047/http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69715 |archive-date=March 23, 2008}}</ref> Falwell was later the object of some of his own followers' outrage for retracting his statements about divine judgment on America and its causes, because they had heard the same themes in his preaching over many years that America must repent of its lack of devotion to God, immoral living, and timid support of Israel if America wanted divine protection and blessing.{{sfn|Winters|2012|pp=383–384}}

===Labor unions===
Falwell also said, "Labor unions should study and read the Bible instead of asking for more money. When people get right with God, they are better workers."<ref>{{cite web |last=Ricco |first=Joanne |date=August 2002 |title=The Right Wing Attack on the American Labor Movement |url=http://www.wisaflcio.org/Right_Wing/TheRightWingAttack.pdf |location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin |publisher=Wisconsin State AFL-CIO |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013094701/http://www.wisaflcio.org/Right_Wing/TheRightWingAttack.pdf |archive-date=October 13, 2007}}</ref>

===Relationship with American fundamentalism===
[[File:Dr. Jerry Falwell holds a religious rally.jpg|thumb|Falwell at an "I Love America" rally in 1980]] Cultural anthropologist Susan Friend Harding, in her extensive ethnographic study of Falwell, noted that he adapted his preaching to win a broader, less extremist audience as he grew famous. This manifested itself in several ways: For example, he no longer condemned "worldly" lifestyle choices such as dancing, drinking wine, and attending movie theaters; softening his rhetoric which predicted an apocalypse and God's vengeful wrath; and shifting from a belief in outright [[biblical patriarchy]] to a [[complementarianism|complementarian]] view of appropriate gender roles. He further mainstreamed himself by aiming his strongest criticism at [[secular humanism|"secular humanists"]], [[paganism|pagans]] or various [[liberalism|liberals]] in place of the [[racism|racist]], [[antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] and [[anti-Catholicism|anti-Catholic]] rhetoric that was common among Southern fundamentalist preachers but increasingly condemned as [[hate speech]] by the consensus of American society.{{sfn|Harding|2000}}

===Islam===
Falwell opposed [[Islam]]. According to ''[[Asharq Al-Awsat]]'', a [[Pan-Arabism|pan-Arab]] newspaper, Falwell called Islam "satanic".<ref>[https://archive.today/20120728120957/http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/10900 A case that is forgotten...another group of takfir] from ''Arab-West Report''</ref> In a televised interview with ''[[60 Minutes]]'', Falwell called [[Muhammad]] a "terrorist", to which he added: "I concluded from reading Muslim and non-Muslim writers that Muhammad was a violent man, a man of war." Falwell later apologized to Muslims for what he had said about Muhammad and affirmed that he did not necessarily intend to offend "honest and peace-loving" Muslims. However, he refused to remove his comments about Islam from his website.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120719121517/http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/16194 Rev. Jerry Falwell: I think Muhammad was a terrorist] from ''Arab-West Report''</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120718140356/http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/7337 Recent developments] from ''Arab-West Report''</ref> [[Egyptian Christian]] intellectuals, in response, signed a statement in which they condemned and rejected what Falwell had said about Muhammad being a terrorist.<ref>{{cite news |title=Christian Leaders in Egypt Condemn Jerry Falwell's Statement About the Prophet Being a Terrorist |url=http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/15419 |url-access=subscription |work=Arab-West Report}}</ref>