In Dallas, Texas, the Southern Baptist Convention will be called upon to vote on resolutions that advocate for legal bans on pornography and a reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that legalized gay marriage.
The Convention will also be debating a ban on female pastors, and a defunding of their public policy branch due to refusals to support criminal charges for anyone who gets an abortion.
Related
Elon did WHAT
However, while many in the denomination support Donald Trump and the Republican Party, there are few agenda items addressing Trump’s policies.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
Southern Baptists have been extremely conservative since 1985, when conservative Christians dominated the voting body of the convention to push for right-wing political candidates. This trend continues today, with Southern Baptist leadership being predominantly older cisgender heterosexual conservative white men.
However, their support of conservative policies has harmed church attendance, with many members of marginalized groups releasing a statement that expressed concern over Trump’s draconian immigration crackdown, saying it has hurt church attendance and raised fears. “Law and order are necessary, but enforcement must be accompanied with compassion that doesn’t demonize those fleeing oppression, violence, and persecution,” they said.
Dwight McKissic, a Black pastor from Texas that generally aligns with conservative politics, criticized backlash to the comparatively progressive policy arm of the Southern Baptists, arguing that this is harming their popularity with the Black community.
“The SBC is transitioning from an evangelical organization to a fundamentalist organization. Fewer and fewer Black churches will make the transition with them,” he said on X. “Their entrenched opposition to women serving as associate pastors in any capacity and their inability to see even minimal beneficial value in the Critical Race Theory—make the SBC unappealing and on a collision course with many Black churches; and fewer Black churches will find the SBC attractive.”
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
