Rev. D. James Kennedy Passes Away

The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering Christian broadcaster and megachurch pastor who helped to form the religious right in American politics, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Kennedy died at his home in Fort Lauderdale from complications of a heart attack he suffered on Dec. 28. He had not been seen publicly since the heart attack, and his retirement was announced Aug. 26.

He urged Christians to evangelize in their daily lives, while condemning homosexuality and abortion as assaults on the traditional family. He also preached on the major policy issues of the day, rejecting evolution and global warning.

Unlike rivals Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, Kennedy preferred to be behind the scenes while he started the rise of the religious right. He was a founding board member of the Moral Majority, which he started with Falwell. In 1959, Kennedy became the minister at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, which started with 45 members and has expanded to a megachurch with 10,000 today.

In 1996, Kennedy created Coral Ridge's political arm, called the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, to mobilize conservative Christians against gay marriage, pornography, among other issues. Kennedy also founded the Center for Christian Statesmanship, which organized Capitol Hill Bible studies.

Kennedy was the author of more than 50 books and founded two schools - Knox Theological Seminary and Westminster Academy, a K-12 Christian school near his church.

Coral Ridge Ministries, his radio and TV portion, claimed a weekly audience of 3.5 million people for all its broadcasts. Kennedy's TV show, "The Coral Ridge Hour," has been airing reruns on more than 400 stations and is broadcasted to more than 150 countries on the Armed Forces Network. Last year, the National Religious Broadcasters group inducted him into its hall of fame.