Franklin Graham

Graham preaching in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Shortly after identifying himself as having "become a Christian" in 1974, Graham joined Bob Pierce, founder of Samaritan's Purse, on a six-week mission to Asia. It was during this trip that Graham decided to focus on world relief. In 1979, after the death of Pierce, he became the president of Samaritan's Purse. Graham now also serves as the organization's CEO, and heads efforts on behalf of the organization in more than 100 countries, including programs such as Operation Christmas Child and the "Children's Heart Project".

Samaritan's Purse reported gross receipts of $414,031,085 during the 2010 federal tax year.[12] According to 2014 data, Graham is the highest paid Samaritan's Purse employee at $622,252 annually and leads other charities in compensation.[13] The preacher gave up a salary at the evangelistic association during the late economic downturn,[14] but the leaders urged him to accept compensation again and he now receives increased retirement contributions as well as a regular salary.[15] The evangelistic association reported 2013 revenues as $106.5 million and 2014 as $112,893,788.[16][17]

Franklin Graham drew scrutiny in 2009 for drawing a full-time salary from Samaritan's Purse, while simultaneously receiving a full-time salary from Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). This was called into question after his 2008 compensation from both organizations totaled $1.2 million. (Most of this was the result of a new IRS rule that required him to re-report deferred retirement contributions that had already been reported over the previous three years.[18]) Some experts on non-profit organisations have questioned whether one person can perform two full-time jobs leading organizations that employ hundreds and spend hundreds of millions around the world.[19] In response to the questions about his compensation, Graham decided to give up his salary from BGEA, stating his calling to the ministry "was never based on compensation." He also had contributions to his retirement plans suspended until the economy bounced back.[20] However, Graham was again criticized in 2015 when it was revealed he had again taken up his salary from BGEA, and that his annual compensation was significantly higher than that of the CEO's of similar but much larger non-profit organisations [21]

In a March 2011 interview with Newsmax, Graham said the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan "may be" the second coming and Armageddon.[22]

Graham, a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, came under criticism for comments he made about Islam in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks when he referred to Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion."[23] Further criticism came on April 18, 2003, when he preached at a Good Friday service at the Pentagon.[24] Graham has made controversial remarks against Islam saying "True Islam cannot be practiced in this country," to CNN's Campbell Brown in December 2009. "You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries."[25][26][27][28] On April 22, 2010, after objections from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and the Muslim group Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Pentagon rescinded his invitation from the Christian conservative National Day of Prayer Task Force to speak at a Pentagon National Day of Prayer event.[25]

In the August 30, 2010, issue of Time magazine, "Does America Hate Islam?", Graham reportedly said that Islam "is a religion of hatred. It's a religion of war." Building the cultural center near Ground Zero, he says, means Muslims "will claim now that the World Trade Center property ... is Islamic land."[29]

On Iraq, Graham says he is, "poised and ready" to send representatives of the charity he runs to Iraq as soon as possible. While the purpose is humanitarian aid, Graham also admits, "I believe as we work, God will always give us opportunities to tell others about his Son. ... We are there to reach out to love them and to save them, and as a Christian, I do this in the name of Jesus Christ."

On August 19, 2010, when asked by CNN correspondent John King if he had doubts that President Barack Obama is a Christian, Graham stated, "I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim; his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name." Graham continued, "Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed, and he has renounced Islam, and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done. I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said."[30][31] In a March 2011 interview with the conservative Internet publication Newsmax, Graham claimed officials in the Obama administration had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood:

The Muslim Brotherhood is very strong and active in our country. It's infiltrated every level of our government. Right now we have many of these people that are advising the US military and State Department on how to respond in the Middle East, and it's like asking a fox, like a farmer asking a fox, "How do I protect my henhouse from foxes?" We've brought in Muslims to tell us how to make policy toward Muslim countries. And many of these people we've brought in, I'm afraid, are under the Muslim Brotherhood.[32]

In an open letter response, Graham apologized to President Obama, saying, "I regret any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama. The president has said he is a Christian and I accept that." In the open letter closing Graham stated, "In this election season and challenging economic time I am praying for our country and for those who lead it—for we are commanded in Scripture to do so."[33]

Graham has commented on Hinduism as well, saying, "no elephant with 100 arms can do anything for me. None of their 9,000 gods is going to lead me to salvation".[34]

When Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court in March 2009, Graham argued in an op-ed in The New York Times that Bashir should not be indicted for alleged genocidal acts because the indictment would lead to the collapse of the 2005 peace agreement.[35] In September 2010, Graham stated on ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour that building churches and synagogues is forbidden in most countries in the Islamic world.[36]

In April 2011, Graham told ABC's This Week program that Donald Trump, who had recently declared an interest in the Republican nomination for the 2012 U.S. presidential race, was his preferred candidate.[37] During an MSNBC Morning Joe interview on February 21, 2012,[38] Graham said that Rick Santorum was most closely aligned to Christian values in his words and deeds and that Senator Santorum was certainly a Christian at heart. On President Obama, Graham said that he is "a fine man" but could not know whether the president was a Christian in his heart. Asked about Mitt Romney, Graham said that most Protestants do not view Mormonism as a Christian faith. Graham further continued the trend of Christian politics and Protestant exclusivity, many of his views since Trump assumed office reflected a populist ideology, which is fairly common among the evangelical right.

On February 28, 2012, Graham responded to a one-page letter sent by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as an: "Open Letter from Leaders of Faith Regarding Statements by Franklin Graham." In the introduction to the one-page letter the fourteen signatories stated: "we are greatly troubled by recent attempts by some religious leaders to use faith as a political weapon. We were disturbed and disappointed by statements made by Rev. Franklin Graham during an interview on MSNBC that questioned whether President Obama is a Christian." In closing, the open-letter stated: "We call on Rev. Graham and all Christian leaders to exemplify this essential teaching of Jesus and refrain from using Christianity as a weapon of political division."[39] In June 2016, Graham told a crowd, "I have zero hope for the Democratic Party; I have no hope for the Republican Party. I am running a campaign to put God back in the political process."[40] Nevertheless, in November 2016, Graham told The Washington Post that God had played a role in Donald Trump's election as U.S. president, saying: "I could sense going across the country that God was going to do something this year. And I believe that at this election, God showed up."[41] The same newspaper noted that the day after Trump's victory, Graham had posted a comment on Facebook in which he wrote, "Did God show up? […] In watching the news after the election, the secular media kept asking 'How did this happen?' 'What went wrong?' 'How did we miss this?' Some are in shock. Political pundits are stunned. Many thought the Trump/Pence ticket didn't have a chance. None of them understand the God-factor."[41] At the Inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, Graham chose to read a passage from Paul's First Epistle to Timothy, chapter 2, which calls for prayers for all people, including "kings and for all those in authority, that we may live peacefully quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."[42]

Since the election, Graham has "become known, above all, as the most vociferous evangelical ally" of Trump.[43] He has strongly opposed the impeachment process, calling it an "unjust inquisition."[44] In a November 21, 2019, interview with Eric Metaxas, Graham suggested opposition to Trump was the work of a "demonic power."[45][46] In December, when Christianity Today magazine, founded by Graham's father Billy, published an editorial calling Trump "profoundly immoral" and supporting his removal from office, Graham responded by saying his father had voted for Trump and saw him as the "man for this hour in history for our nation" and that the magazine was "representing the elitist liberal wing of evangelicalism".[47][48]

In mid-December 2020, Graham wrote about the Trump presidency on Facebook. In his opinion, "President Trump will go down in history as one of the great presidents of our nation, bringing peace and prosperity to millions here in the U.S. and around the world."[49]

In January 2021, Graham compared the ten Republican members of the House of Representatives who voted to impeach Trump to Judas Iscariot, suggesting that the Democrats had promised them "thirty pieces of silver."[50]

Graham spoke against a bill proposing to ban conversion therapy, referring to homosexuality as "an abomination." He also compared conversion therapy to Conversion to Christianity.[51]

Graham supported North Carolina Amendment 1, which was passed by a voter referendum on May 8, 2012, prohibiting same-sex marriage and all domestic partnerships.[52] Graham responded to Obama's May 9, 2012, statement of support for same-sex marriage, saying, "President Obama has, in my view, shaken his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage. It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more."[53]

In December 2017, several British MPs urged the Home Secretary to consider refusing UK entry to Graham from speaking at an event due to take place in Blackpool in September 2018. As Graham represents the evangelical community, critics argued that those who want to ban Graham which means that individuals who have different opinions of LGBT rights would be banned in the UK. Gordon Marsden, a Labour openly gay MP suggested that Graham's comments may have contravened British laws on hate speech. As of February 2018, a petition against Graham being granted a visa had gathered more than 7,500 signatures. The pastor of Liberty Church in Blackpool, who organised the petition, said: "As a Christian and as a leader of a church that particularly welcomes LGBT people, I'm horrified that other local churches are inviting someone with this record of hate speech." The pastor said that Graham's visit had triggered an "enormous amount of protest from Christians in the north-west" of England, and his presence would be "extremely destructive in the area".[54]

After South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg became the first openly gay man to announce a run for the 2020 Democratic nomination for President against President Donald Trump, Graham attacked Buttigieg for his homosexuality and marriage to another gay man in April 2019, tweeting "Mayor Buttigieg says he's a gay Christian. As a Christian I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman—not two men, not two women." The tweet was one of three in a thread.[55][56][57][58][59]

The tweet was met with a strong negative response against Graham, much of which condemned Graham as a hypocrite for selective criticism of a Democratic candidate's perceived wrongdoings while remaining silent on those perceived of the incumbent Republican. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough denounced Graham on his Morning Joe program, saying, "Just shut up Franklin Graham! You are a disgrace! You are a disgrace for normalizing Donald Trump's behavior."[60] The Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin rebuked Graham as a "hypocritical bigot" who "has rationalized Trump's infidelity and racism, ignored his lies, cheered his inhumane immigration policy and behaved as a political hack rather than a religious leader," also writing "Buttigieg gets the benefit of being attacked by a right-winger whom progressives revile, gets to underscore a message of generational change and acceptance and gets to demonstrate what a class act he is. The other candidates must be wondering why some GOP hatemonger doesn't attack them."[61] Opinion pieces in the National Review,[62] The Charlotte Observer,[63] and The Arizona Republic[64] were also critical of Graham's comments.[65]

Graham defended Russian President Vladimir Putin's "gay propaganda" law and has praised his leadership for "protecting children from any homosexual agenda or propaganda."[66]

On January 14, 2015, Duke University canceled plans to have an amplified Muslim call to prayer played each Friday from the top of its chapel bell tower. Media outlets, including Fox News and CBS, credit Graham for organizing a campaign that garnered more than 70,000 "Likes" on Facebook, calling on the university to cancel the call to prayer and lobbying alumni to boycott the school if they did not.[67]

All venues booked for Franklin Graham's planned eight-city 2020 UK tour cancelled his booking after protests by LGBTQ+ activists, petitions and requests from local councils. Many said statements Graham had made were incompatible with their values, and that his appearance would be divisive, could be disruptive or lead to a breach of the peace. His organisation said it would seek other venues.[68][69]