‘Safari for Souls’: Billy Graham, US Evangelicalism, and the Cold War in Africa in 1960

Join us for our latest Seminar!

Tuesday 6 May 2025, 3.30–5pm BST
Faculty of Divinity, West Road, Cambridge,
and online

Speaker:
Professor Uta Balbier, University of Oxford

Abstract
In 1960, American evangelist Billy Graham toured nine African countries preaching the Gospel to
around 600,000 people during a revival tour nicknamed ‘Safari for Souls’. Aiming at local Christian
churches and forging strong alliances with missionaries on the ground, the revival tour stood
firmly in the tradition of the US missionary enterprise of the 19th century.

However, Billy Graham’s “Safari for Souls” was much more than just a traditional evangelistic campaign: it reflected postcolonial realities, demonstrated US geopolitical interests, and was shaped by increasing global campaigns and conversations about racial justice. Closely monitored by the US State Department,
underpinned by a strong anti-Communism, and powerfully displaying Western modernity, the
‘Safari for Souls’ was a manifestation of America’s Spiritual Cold War abroad.

Professor Uta Balbier is Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of
St. Anne’s College. Her most recent book is ‘Altar Call in Europe: Billy Graham, Mass Evangelism,
and the Cold-War West’ (Oxford, 2022).

For a Zoom link, please email: centre[at]cccw.cam.ac.uk