Billy Graham, the evangelical minister dead at 99: How is legacy lives on

The prevalence of religious language in US politics that Graham helped inspire continues to this day. Indeed, the Trump administration has been particularly swift to employ it

On Feb. 21, Billy Graham, the evangelical Christian minister who was widely regarded as “America’s pastor,” died at the age of 99.

Graham is best known for his global “crusades” – rallies that attracted crowds in the millions – and for the spiritual counsel he provided to American presidents for over a half-century. But, what is less widely known is his contribution to the religious language in American public life.

Americans before the mid-20th century were often ambivalent about religious language and images in public life. Graham helped change that reality.

Religion in American public