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Study Questions

Tona J. Hangen
Redeeming the Dial:
Radio, Religion, & Popular Culture in America

  1. What is Hangen's purpose in writing this book? What was so appealing about religious radio and what made it so effective? What is the "dynamic tension" in conservative Protestantism? What was radio's role in organizing evangelicalism and in countering secularization? Describe the impact of religious radio on popular culture. Be sure you understand the difference between sustaining and commercial time.

  2. Describe the beginnings of religious radio, the radio scene in the 1920s, and the origins of governmental policies and regulation. How did regulatory agencies treat liberal and conservative Protestants? Why did conservatives stay aloof from the National (later, Federal) Council of Churches? How did the National (or Federal) Council end up getting free sustaining time and conservative evangelists have to buy commercial time? Who was Father Charles Coughlin, and what was his impact and significance?

  3. Be able to identify and explain the significance of Paul Rader, Aimee Semple McPherson, Charles Fuller, and Billy Graham. Describe the role of each in the evolution of religious radio, reasons for their success, differences and similarities of style and approach to evangelism, and impact on radio, conservative religion, and society.

  4. Who constituted the core audience for religious radio? What do their letters tell historians about why they listened and what they got out of the broadcasts?

  5. Identify the major players and the major issues during the struggles for radio airtime during the 1940s. Who was Robert Harold Scott, and what impact did his case have on religious radio? How did Scott help conservative radio evangelists get recognition from mainline Protestant groups?

  6. Describe how changes in broadcasting rules eventually made it possible for evangelicals to monopolize both religious radio and religious television broadcasting. Why did liberal churches find themselves shut out? How did this change ultimately help the organization and spread of conservative evangelicalism?

Last updated: Saturday, December 05, 2009 11:49 AM