Evangelist Pat Robertson, who once ran for the Republican Party nomination for U.S. president and who has played an important role in mobilizing conservative Christians to vote in the United States, has said that "God is not a Republican."

Robertson made the remark during an interview with Fox News presenter Chris Wallace on Oct. 17, Premier Christian News reported on Oct. 19.

The 91-year-old was asked if there were any negatives to tying Christian evangelicalism to the Republican party, to which he replied: "Well, I came to realise without question that God is not a Republican, that God loves everybody.

"The trouble with, you know, getting involved in partisan politics is that half the electorate you're going to make mad at you. And I should be dealing with eternal matters and not secular politics."

Robertson founded the Christian Broadcasting Network and featured in the Fox News program due to his recent decision to step down from leading the "The 700 Club," a daily talk show he founded in 1966.

SON TAKING OVER

He announced on the 60th anniversary of CBN's first broadcast that he is moving on to new projects. "Today's show will be my final as host of The 700 Club," said Robertson. "My replacement will be my very capable son, Gordon, who will take over as full-time host of the program."

He is also the founder of advocacy group the Christian Coalition which wanted to mobilize Christians to get involved in politics.

During the interview, Robertson admitted that "mobilizing Christians into the political arena" was one of his "biggest achievements."

"It was thought before [that] politics was something dirty," he said. "We had enormous amount of influence and I think it was important."

Robertson failed to become the Republican presidential nominee in 1988, losing against Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush.

The televangelist will now focus on teaching at Regent University and will still appear on a monthly, interactive episode of The 700 Club.

Robertson, founded CBN in 1960 as the first Christian television network in the United States, and was America's longest-running TV host. said CBN.

He explained to Wallace how he believed God used a Christian talk show format to reach souls in a new and powerful way from the earliest days of CBN's broadcasts.

"People would call in the things that were going on in their life... people would call in prayer, they would call in answers, and the interaction format is what we've been using ever since," he told Wallace.

He said he founded the Christian Coalition to encourage American evangelicals to make a difference in politics.

"The big thing I have done is mobilize Christians into the political arena," Robertson said. "We exploded across the country. We had an enormous amount of influence and I think it was important."