The search for an American divine

In his recent biography of Billy Graham, Grant Wacker nicknamed the Baptist preacher “America’s pastor.” Owing to a prolific career that began in 1949 and has now spanned nearly 70 years, which saw him as the spiritual advisor to multiple U.S. presidents, the moniker is arguably fitting. 

Graham began his career at a pivotal time in American history, as Cold War anxieties pitted American piety against “godless communists.” The 1950s saw the insertion of “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance. New technology, in the form of television, gave birth to televangelists, with Graham as the granddaddy of them all. Some called this new movement “the electric church.” Over 80 percent of American homes had a television by the end of the decade. While channels and audience numbers were limited, there was a clear appetite for family-friendly fare. The timing of Graham’s career was fortuitous in a number of ways.

On more than one occasion, scholars have drawn parallels between Graham and 18th-century Anglican missionary George Whitefield. Whitefield’s career similarly had fortuitous timing, coming as evangelism was taking off in the British Atlantic. Whitefield too, was skillful in his use of available technology. Where Graham had television, and an innate talent for successful application of it to his ministry, Whitefield skillfully used the extensive 18th-century transatlantic print network. This may seem crass to the more religiously inclined. But along with being charismatic, both Graham and Whitefield were adept at marketing their versions of religious truth in a church community that lacked either geographical boundaries or the physical boundaries imposed by church walls. It is a process that many historians would concur that Whitefield started. Graham is, in many ways, a modern iteration of Whitefield’s career.