BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: Friends and foes alike are remembering Reverend Jerry Falwell, who died suddenly this week at the age of 73. A prayer service was held in Lynchburg, Virginia in memory of the Baptist minister who moved millions of conservative Christians to political activism. Falwell launched the Moral Majority in 1979 to lobby politicians on issues including abortion, gay rights and school prayer, and he helped mobilize evangelical voters to support Republican candidates. For more than 50 years, Falwell was pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, one of the nation's first megachurches. In 1971, he founded Liberty University, which now has more than 21,000 students. The outspoken Falwell was often controversial. In 2001, he apologized after saying that God allowed the attacks of 9/11 because of America's moral decline. During an appearance on our program in 1999 with gay activist Mel White, Falwell acknowledged Christians should engage in more civil debate:

JERRY FALWELL: I think one can preach against sin while displaying love and so forth. And I'm not saying the church has always done that. I'm not saying Jerry Falwell has always done that. But I'm saying there's always room for us to do things better.

Joining me now for more on Falwell's legacy is Kim Lawton, managing editor of our program. Kim, let's start with Jerry Falwell and politics.

KIM LAWTON (Managing Editor, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly): Well, he really did change the conversation about politics and religion in America. I think prior to Jerry Falwell a lot of religious conservatives since the Scopes trial, perhaps, had really been focused inward, and any outward motion was based on evangelizing -- spreading the Gospel. Jerry Falwell was one of the early ones to say no, we have a religious point a view and a moral point of view that needs to change society around us, needs to engage the culture, and the main way he did that was through politics.

ABERNETHY: And he seems to have been very successful?

Ms. LAWTON: Well, you know, when you look, one of the big issues was abortion, and Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land, although there are some restrictions. So on some issues -- there is still no prayer in school --

ABERNETHY: But the influence of the religious conservatives in politics was very strong. I mean, presidents were elected.

Ms. LAWTON: Exactly.

ABERNETHY: -- Congress majorities --