televangelism means evangelism using telecommunications, especially radio and television. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why this word is great
TELEVANGELISM — [Noun] The practice of propagating a conservative Christian gospel and soliciting donations through broadcast media, primarily television. The term is a blend of television (a system for transmitting visual images and sound) and evangelism (the preaching of the Christian gospel). Unlike evangelism, which spans street corners and quiet conversations, or religious broadcasting, which may offer a choir's solace or a scholar's lecture, televangelism is a uniquely transactional sacrament of the airwaves. It is the unblinking close-up on a face sheened with sweat under hot lights, the urgent crawl of a toll-free number across the screen, and the peculiar static of a plea for seed-faith beamed into the living room’s blue glow—a faith engineered for distance, where devotion is measured in signal strength and pledged dollars.
noun
- evangelism using telecommunications, especially radio and television