Pro-Theocracy SBC Endorses Overturning Same-Sex Marriage

If one is looking for modern day Pharisees, a good place to start is the Southern Baptist Convention ("SBC"), a denomination that came into existence due to the racism and pro-slavery stance of its adherents who broke away from northern Baptists.  Then as now, cherry picked bible verses were used to justify the condemnation and mistreatment of others.  At the launch of the denomination, a few bible passages were used to justify the chattel ownership of other humans.  Now, the same method is being used to attack LGBT individuals and to advocate for the overturning of same sex marriage as is being reported by the New York Times.  Never mind that the SBC has a sex abuse problem second only perhaps to to the Roman Catholic Church.   And while bloviating constantly about the "sanctity of marriage," Protestants in the Bible Belt have the highest divorce rate of any religious group in America. In addition, much of the SBC membership supports GOP reverse Robin Hood policies that are the anthesis of Christ's social gospel message. Hypocrisy and selfishness are indeed a hallmark of the SBC which views any restriction on the ability of its members to inflict their beliefs on all and to abuse and mistreat others as persecution.  Here are highlights from the Times on the SBC's latest theocratic effort:

Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to call for the overturning of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, with strategists citing the successful effort that overturned the right to legal abortions as a possible blueprint for the new fight.

The denomination has long opposed gay marriage, but Tuesday was the first time its members have voted to work to legally end it. Expanding on conservatives’ success in overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, the vote signals growing evangelical ambitions to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruling that was handed down 10 years ago this month.

Baptists, he said, are taking the long view, inspired by the tactics of the anti-abortion movement. Roe v. Wade granted a constitutional right to abortion that stood for nearly 50 years before activists and legal strategists defeated it, powered by support from Christian conservatives.

[T]he meeting is being closely watched as a snapshot of evangelical sentiment on a range of political, theological and cultural issues.

The measure opposing same-sex marriage was part of a sweeping and unusually long resolution under the title, “On Restoring Moral Clarity through God’s Design for Gender, Marriage, and the Family.” It includes calls for defunding Planned Parenthood, for “parental rights in education and healthcare,” and ensuring “safety and fairness in female athletic competition,” a reference to the debate over transgender women in women’s sports.

The resolution is nonbinding, but suggests that evangelicals have long-term ambitions to dismantle an institution that many Americans now accept as a basic right. Southern Baptists who supported the resolution acknowledged that same-sex marriage has wide support.

The resolution also echoes the language of pronatalism that has taken hold in many conservative circles, including those influencing the second Trump administration. The resolution that passed on Tuesday criticizes the pursuit of “willful childlessness” and refers to the country’s declining fertility rate as a crisis. That language goes beyond Baptists’ traditional support of general “family values,” embracing a cultural agenda that encourages larger families as a matter of civilizational survival. Baptist theology does not oppose birth control per se.

Other resolutions passed on Tuesday called for banning pornography, and condemning sports betting. “We denounce the promotion and normalization of this predatory industry in every athletic context,” the gambling resolution stated. It called on corporations involved to “cease their exploitative practices,” on policymakers to curtail sports betting, and on Christians to refuse to participate.

Like many Christian denominations, it is broadly in decline, with about 12.7 million members in 2024, a 2 percent decline from the year before. But church attendance and baptisms were up, suggesting an ongoing vitality in the pews.

Passing the resolution against same-sex marriage could suggest to policymakers that conservative Christians have the will to sustain long-term opposition to positions without much popular support, including from some conservative politicians.

Last year, the convention adopted a resolution opposing the use of in vitro fertilization, frustrating many Republicans who wanted to reassure voters that their opposition to abortion would not endanger widely popular fertility treatments.

They will also discuss a constitutional amendment cracking down on women pastors, which failed to pass last year but seems to have gained support.

In short, the SBC is anti-women's rights, gay rights, and modernity in general.