Jerry Falwell, Jr., and the Power of Shame Culture
How shame harms, corrupts, and produces scandal
Jerry Falwell, Jr., made waves in the Evangelical world again with his recent interview with Vanity Fair.
Falwell, former president of the largest Evangelical university in the world, a leader who influenced millions of Evangelicals, claims in the interview to not be religious and criticizes both organized religion and Evangelical elites.
He talks about the pressures of being born into the Falwell family and becoming president of Liberty University, the expectations and restrictions, the inability to have a beer in his local community, and the need to flee to Florida to let loose.
To me, the power of shame culture is the most significant part of Falwell’s interview.
There’s only one thing worse than sin — sin made public.
The power of shame culture contributed to his downfall; his moral failings were real, but they became magnified when they damaged appearances. He was forced out as Liberty’s president for making Liberty look bad, not for years of questionable leadership, rhetoric, and morality.
We’ve accepted the narrative that Liberty’s board of directors forced out Falwell due to the sex…
