Franklin Graham’s Decision America Tour: Doomed to Failure?
In April of 2015, Franklin Graham began publicizing his Decision America Tour, an aggressive effort to activate the faith community in all 50 states. His stated goals are to pray for the United States and to encourage citizens to vote specifically for candidates who align with a Judeo-Christian worldview. He is also using the tour to persuade Christians to run for public office at all levels, but he has made it clear he will not endorse any political candidates this cycle. He also recently withdrew from the GOP.
Despite my deep respect for Rev. Graham, I believe some of his stated reasons for the Decision America Tour are questionable. First, he claims that as many as 20 to 30 million Christians did not vote in the 2012 election year. While this may be technically true, there is real question whether those missing votes really would have meaningfully changed the election results. Second, Franklin Graham suggests that encouraging Christians to vote will result in them voting for candidates who embrace Judeo-Christian values. This is also far from settled.
Research from 2014 shows that Protestant Christians are in decline and that they are no longer the majority in the US. This means that the missing votes from the last presidential election are undoubtedly also becoming fewer in number as a percentage of the total vote. It is also surprising that in the last presidential election – while more evangelical Christians turned out to vote than in 2008 – an amazing 21% of that total voted for Obama, someone who most would agree largely rejects evangelical values.
Since self-described evangelical Christians can’t agree on who best represents their values, the only way their voting block could make the difference Graham wants is if they could mostly agree on who is best to vote for. That’s unlikely to happen unless the voters have trusted leaders in their faith communities willing to offer explicit direction on – and support to – the best candidate. This is especially important in elections where politicians – like Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski – use millions of dollars of advertising to deceive voters into believing that they are something they aren’t.
Regrettably, Franklin Graham has chosen not to personally endorse any candidates. While the nonprofit organizations he runs (Samaritan’s purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association) are not allowed to endorse candidates, he personally is able to – and should.
That being said, Rev. Graham is likely cautious due to past issues with the IRS. In 2013 he said the IRS audited his ministries after they ran ads in North Carolina supportive of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
Franklin Graham is absolutely correct that the United States needs a revival and fervent prayer to rescue it. But whether his Decision America Tour will make a real difference in the 2016 elections – without offering specific guidance to evangelical voters – remains to be seen.
Without a doubt, God intervenes in the affairs of man, but generally relies on us as His hands and feet. For Rev. Graham, that is his personal support and endorsement of those who answer his call to action. Such bold action from Franklin Graham and other Christian leaders could make a real difference this fall.
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