Franklin Graham has come top of a list of American Christian leaders 'who make a real impact on modern lives in 2015'.

The list, compiled by Newsmax, features church leaders, prominent Christians in popular culture, business and politics.

Graham, who is head of Samaritan's Purse, just beats his father, renowned evangelist Billy Graham, who is listed fifth, one place ahead of Rick Warren, leader of Saddleback Church, California.

There are other family duos on the list – with televangelist Joel Osteen second on the list and his wife Victoria, author of numerous books, at 18.

There's a strong contingent from the arts, and a number of leaders from Christian media.

Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the husband and wife team behind the hugely popular The Bible series, and A.D: The Bible Continues make a joint entry at number three.

Actor and filmmaker Kirk Cameron also makes the list, at number 55. Lead singer of Stryper and Boston is 39th on the list, and country music star Carrie Underwood comes in at 62.

In seventh position, Southern Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee is the highest ranking politician on the list, with fellow potential presidential candidate Rick Santorum at 36 and Sarah Palin listed 87th.

Among the Christian sports stars on the list are Tim Tebow at 37, golfer Bubba Watson at 59, retired Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs at 75, and New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher at 88.

Of course there are also numerous Church leaders and prominent Christian authors, including some who have gained a certain amount of notoriety in recent weeks, such Creflo Dollar, televangelist and leader of World Changers Church International, who is at 46th.

Mark Driscoll features at number 36, as the author of 'Real Marriage' (co-authored with his wife Grace) though is known more as the founder of Mars Hill church in Seattle, which closed down at the end of last year.

The website notes the importance of Pope Francis' popularity in raising the image of Catholic moral teaching in America. The Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl is fourth on the list and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York is listed 15th, with Cardinal Raymound Burke at 20.

From the world of business (and food), CEO of Chick-Fil-A, Dan C. Cathy is at 51, and the founder of Domino's Pizza, Tom Monaghan at 61.