The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
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Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#2There’s a great documentary called Marjoe (a conjugate of Mary and Joseph) about how scammy some of these people are. It won Best Picture in 1972: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjoe.
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#3It's not just televangelists; the local variety of parson is just as exploitative. I grew up in the Mississippi Delta—every "Reverend" drives around in a Cadillac while most of his congregation struggles to make ends meet. These same Reverends preach on the religious benefits of daily fasting while the children of their congregations get their one square meal of the day at school.
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#4It surprised me to read that they had been informed by John Oliver, because I have always assumed that Oliver's reach would be rather insular because of both its content and nature of distribution.
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#5Smart ones profiting off of the masses, like the stock market, or just how the whole world works.
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#6It surprised me to read that they had been informed by John Oliver, because I have always assumed that Oliver's reach would be rather insular because of both its content and nature of distribution.
Indeed! Serendipity.
> In August 2015, the couple were channel-hopping in a Jacksonville motel room, when they caught an episode of John Oliver's satirical news show, Last Week Tonight. > > "I never watched John Oliver. I had never even heard of the guy," says Larry.
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#7It surprised me to read that they had been informed by John Oliver, because I have always assumed that Oliver's reach would be rather insular because of both its content and nature of distribution.
[deleted]
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#8Good to hear that Ole Anthony and John Bloom (Joe Bob) are still at it!
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#9It's not just televangelists; the local variety of parson is just as exploitative. I grew up in the Mississippi Delta—every "Reverend" drives around in a Cadillac while most of his congregation struggles to make ends meet. These same Reverends preach on the religious benefits of daily fasting while the children of their congregations get their one square meal of the day at school.
For some data points:
"When it comes to clergy, new Catholic priests, which includes bishops, can expect a salary somewhere in the mid-$20,000 range, with median salaries varying slightly depending on geography. The highest median salary for a new priest is in the Midwest, at $29,856, while the lowest median salary, $24,960, is found in the Central region, which spans from Minnesota to Texas. The maximum salary for priests ranges from $29,744 in the West region to $44,417 in the Midwest."
Now this is Catholicism, so it's going to be regimented, along with mainline protestant ministries.
But even for the more 'American flavours' of Christianity, I suggest the average income is probably lower.
I'd consider these hustlers about the same level of the vast number of people who hustle products on their Instagram accounts which is to say some do very well, most don't.
Oddly, I'm not sure how much authenticity and revenue correlate for this, or any other field of service. It's the 'marketers' that tend to win.
[1] https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/08/11/how-much-do...
Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
#10It really is a thing.