Jerry Falwell, Father of the Modern Religious Right, Dead at 73

^{See also: Jerry Falwell's History on Race Relations}

The Rev. Jerry Falwell died this morning, most likely from a heart condition that he had been quietly struggling with for some time.

Falwell is a challenging figure for civil libertarians. His provocative and occasionally undisciplined rhetoric often hid the fact that he had methodically and almost single-handedly created the Religious Right when he founded the Moral Majority in 1979, turning its attention to the subject of the 1980 presidential race. After Ronald Reagan was nominated, Falwell's group was able to get four million new evangelical voters to show up and vote--a stunning achievement, and one that has contributed to the election of every Republican president since.

The post-1979 rise of the Religious Right was so significant that it practically defined the tenure of ACLU executive director Ira Glasser, who served from 1978 until 2001.

Falwell's death comes at a time when the strength of his movement is being tested as a result of the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent rise of neoconservatism within the Republican Party. With pro-choicer Rudy Giuliani leading the Republican pack, the 2008 presidential elections could be the first in a generation to feature no socially conservative major-party nominee.

Falwell leaves behind a wife, three children, and eight grandchildren.

Read more:

• Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies at 73
• Falwell Says He Won't Back Giuliani