In 2020, religious freedom in the United Kingdom came into the spotlight. After facing slanderous accusations and unlawful discrimination, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) was forced to launch a legal battle to protect the rights of all followers of Jesus in the UK.
What many intended for evil, God used to defend the outreach of the Gospel, with Franklin Graham announcing this week the creation of “the Billy Graham Defense Fund” using the winnings from their victories in court to “help other Christians who may be threatened into silence.”
The Attack On The ‘God Loves You Tour’
Four years ago, the “God Loves You Tour,” led by Franklin Graham, was scheduled at several venues across the UK—hoping to bring the Gospel to tens of thousands of Brits.
However, upon hearing of the tour, backlash from LGBT activists ensued, alleging Graham would use the events to make “homophobic” and “Islamophobic” remarks. The Mayor of Liverpool added to the mischaracterization of Graham’s tour, insisting, “We cannot allow hatred and intolerance to go unchallenged by anyone, including religious groups or sects.”
As a result, seven venues canceled their contracts—commencing an intense legal battle for religious liberty.
Graham underscored that he was “not coming to the UK to speak against anybody.”
“I’m coming to speak for everybody. The Gospel is inclusive. I’m not coming out of hate, I’m coming out of love,” he explained. “The rub, I think, comes in whether God defines homosexuality as sin. The answer is yes. But God goes even further than that, to say that we are all sinners—myself included. The Bible says that every human being is guilty of sin and in need of forgiveness and cleansing. The penalty of sin is spiritual death—separation from God for eternity.”
“We feel that we are being discriminated against because of our religious beliefs,” he stressed at the time. “Canceling venue contracts based on the demands of one very vocal group, without consideration for the views and rights of the Christians who contracted for the venue and thousands of other Christians who support our work, does far more to harm and divide society than simply letting the events go on as planned.”
Victory And Overwhelming Support
Over the next few years, one by one, courts ruled in favor of BGEA, which strongly agreed that the tour was unfairly discriminated against. In Glasgow, Sheriff John McCormick wrote a 280-page ruling in which he called the attack on Graham’s tour a “thinly veiled exercise in virtue signaling.”
“The law cannot endorse an outcome whereby a mainstream Christian religious gathering cannot be held because some members of the community, however vehemently, disagree with religiously based beliefs to which they take objection,” McCormick wrote. “Such objectors in a democratic society undoubtedly have a right to freedom of expression and of assembly to protest against other’s religious views. What they do not have is a right to silence them or to stop religious assemblies from being held and from making welcome all who would come and hear the Good News preached by Franklin Graham.”
Graham highlighted that the purpose of the lawsuit was an effort to “preserv[e] of religious freedom in the UK—particularly the right for Christians to share the Gospel in the public square.”
Evangelist Will Graham, Vice President of BGEA and son of Franklin Graham, praised the Lord for the victories in the legal and spiritual battle.
“The U.K. tour was originally scheduled for 2020 but became a lightning rod of controversy when secularists attempted to block us from preaching the truth of the Gospel,” he wrote. “While we regularly face challenges to the proclamation of the Gospel, we are thankful that God continues to provide victories, in the courts and in the hearts of those who seek Him.”
‘Billy Graham Defense Fund’
The legal victories, including a case surrounding the unlawful removal of a bus advertisement for a previous event in 2018, awarded BGEA $650,000.
Speaking at his 2024 “God Loves You Tour” in the UK this week, Graham announced the creation of “the Billy Graham Defense Fund.”
“We’re going to use these funds that came from this battle against cancel culture to help other Christians who may be threatened into silence,” he told the audience. “This is a victory, not just for us, but for all Christians and churches across the UK.”
“There are so many problems in our society, and people are looking for hope. We know that true hope can only be found in Jesus Christ, so we need to support one another in getting the Good News of Jesus Christ out, whatever it takes,” Graham declared.
