The 25 Most Influential Protestant Leaders in the United States

"The 25 Most Influential Protestant Leaders in the United States" looks at twenty-five men and women who influenced the path of Protestantism in this country. To make the list, the person had to have spent a significant amount of time in the United States, even if they weren't born here (some examples of foreign-born leaders who made the list - Mother Ann Lee, George Whitefield and William Penn). The selection criteria was primarily focused on the impact these people had on Protestantism itself, but in a couple of cases, the impact was greater than just on Protestantism. The views of William Penn and Roger Williams, for example, on the freedom to worship as one chooses and the importance of separating church and state were later enshrined in the Constitution and in U.S. Law. Among those on the list: Billy Sunday, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Henry Ward Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Aimee Semple McPherson, Francis Asbury, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Billy Graham.