Powerful American Pastors

Religious leaders have always held incredible power. In most religions, and most importantly in Christianity, the word of God has incredible moral weight behind it, and those who claim to speak for God gain authority and power. They have the power to guide ideology, especially of Christians. They influence political and business leaders directly, and influence large numbers of people to give them money, fight for their causes, and vote for who they tell them to. While religious leaders have decreased in power with the birth of modern capitalism and "democracy," alongside the aristocracy, a small number of them still are incredibly influential and powerful. They are completely anti-democratic and convince people to give up their democratic rights by only voting for and arguing for the pastors positions. They also hold power in other ways, through running for office, owning businesses, and controlling the flow of large amounts of resources.

It is worth noting that most pastors do not hold significant power except over a handful of people. Collectively, they are driven by the theology that comes from ultra-wealthy pastors and their ministries/education, and the donations and funding from other wealthy individuals. They also do similar things that limit peoples democratic power, through distraction, the redirection of their energies, and a basic reinforcement of hierarchy and existing power without actually supporting that kind of agenda. Thus, Pastors can generally be understood more as a tool of the ruling class than an actual member of it.

Some of the most powerful pastors, as well as other Christian leaders, include:

Kenneth Copeland - a wealthy, influential pastor who sat on Donald Trump's evangelical executive advisory board.

Pat Robertson - media mogul, televangelist, political commentator, former Republican presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister.

Joel Osteen - Powerful pastor with a massive audience and tens of millions of dollars. His sermons are watched by 10 million people in the US and millions more internationally.

Doug Burleigh - Runs The Fellowship, a DC-based Christian organization with international political connections, a large amount of influence over some American politicians, and a mentorship program for future leaders.

Russel Nelson - President of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, a large, hierarchical Christian denomination with over 16,000,000 members.

Franklin Graham - Pastor, missionary, and the CEO and president of both Samaratin's Purse and Billy Graham Evangelical Association. He is the son of the very famous pastor Billy Graham.

John MacArthur - Pastor of a church with over 8000 regular attenders and a massive media following with books, radio, and other media. He leads a college and a seminary.

Brian Meuller - Runs Grand Canyon University, the largest Christian university in the country.

Leith Anderson - Leader of the National Association of Evangelicals and a church with thousands of members.

Tomás Mackey - President of Baptist World Alliance, a DC-based Baptist organization with 47,000,000 members

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Fellowship\_(Christian\_organization)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian\_Mueller

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leith\_Anderson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John\_F.\_MacArthur

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin\_Graham