VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Reuters) - Televangelist Pat Robertson resigned on Wednesday as head of the Christian Coalition, the powerful conservative political organization he founded in 1989 after a failed campaign for the U.S. presidency.

Robertson, widely criticized for implying the United States brought the Sept. 11 attacks on itself by abandoning God, said he stepped down to focus his energies on a Christian television ministry through his Christian Broadcasting Network.

``I feel that we in America are right now in the midst of the greatest spiritual revival that I have seen in my lifetime, and I personally feel that my calling is to be involved in spiritual things,'' he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

The Christian Coalition spearheaded the political movement of the U.S. religious right in the 1990s, promoting conservative Christian values and most recently claiming credit for the election of President Bush and Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Despite its political successes, the group's budget has fallen to less than $3 million from $25 million at its pinnacle, according to filings monitored by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a longtime critic of Robertson's group.

A Christian Coalition spokeswoman could not immediately confirm the budget figures.

The filings gave no indication how much of the budget was contributed by Robertson, Americans United said. The evangelist's personal fortune was estimated by Virginia Magazine earlier this year at $150 million.

``The Christian Coalition has been a sinking ship for several years, and now the captain's jumped overboard,'' said Barry Lynn, Americans United executive director. ``Without Robertson's money and political clout, it's only a matter of time before the organization collapses outright.''

SEEKS TO GET AMERICANS PRAYING

Although Robertson said he no longer will be involved in grass-roots organizing to help elect conservative Christians into public office, he will retain his political pulpit as host of ``The 700 Club.''

The program, broadcast to more than 90 countries in 65 languages and reaching about 1 million U.S. viewers a day, has seen a surge in viewers in the wake of the attacks and his plea to Americans to renew their dedication to prayer, he said.

``My thrust in this entire thing is to get Americans praying,'' Robertson said in a telephone interview from the Christian Broadcasting Network studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia. ``There's a tremendous spiritual hunger in this country.''

Robertson, 71, came under fire in September after fellow evangelist Jerry Falwell, in an appearance on Robertson's program, said the secularization of the country by liberals, gays and the American Civil Liberties Union was to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Robertson, in the program that aired on Sept. 13, said the attacks occurred ``because God Almighty is lifting His protection from us.'' But he distanced himself from Falwell's comments, which Falwell later sought to clarify but did not retract.

``I do a talk show and I have guests. I hate to take the heat for every guest I have,'' Robertson said.

The board of the Christian Coalition, which is based in Washington, named executive vice president Roberta Combs to replace Robertson as president.

The Coalition, which claims nearly 2 million members in the United States and in the 2000 elections distributed 70 million voter guides, espouses a conservative anti-abortion, pro-family, tax-cut agenda.