Resolved: The SBC Is Less Political Than You Think

The Southern Baptist Convention wraps up its annual meeting in St. Louis today. To those of us who study or closely follow the relationship between religion and politics, the SBC can seem like like a very political institution.

Critics say the SBC is little more than “the Republican Party at prayer,” charging that many white evangelicals uncritically sacralize GOP policies and candidates.

Even in the public mind, white evangelical Protestantism has become almost synonymous with conservative political activism. In fact, we can attribute some of the increase in religious disaffiliation to people looking at the marriage of conservative Christianity and Republican politics and saying, “If that’s what religion is, then count me out.”

In a later post, I will talk more about the ways in which the SBC engages with politics and public policy.

But here I want to argue that, in general, Southern Baptist life is not overly concerned with politics at all.

Since the Roman Catholic Church, America’s largest religious group, is much less concerned with the norms of democracy and lay decision-making than Protestant sects, the SBC’s annual meeting is the nation’s largest religious policymaking gathering.

The United Methodist Church, America’s 2^nd largest Protestant denomination, has a General Conference every four years. For comparison, this week’s SBC had about 10 times more delegates than The UMC’s quadrennial gathering last month.

Whereas The UMC and other mainline denominations have official positions on many social and political issues, the SBC’s polity and emphases are quite different. There is no “Southern Baptist Church” or “Southern Baptist position” on issues. The SBC is just an network of mostly-autonomous local churches.

While mainline denominations’ conferences often consider dozens or even hundreds of pieces of legislation, SBC messengers usually vote on fewer than 10 resolutions. As opposed to motions, which call for action, these resolutions are “not used to direct any entity of the Southern Baptist Convention to specific action other than to communicate the opinion or concern expressed.”

Media coverage of denominational meetings understandably focus disproportionately on politics. A general news audience will be more interested in Southern Baptists’ social views and political priorities than, say, agency reports or Cooperative Program allocations.

And, perhaps due in part to socialization or self-selection, the men in visible leadership positions in SBC entities are often quite interested in politics. This interest/emphasis can heighten public perception that the denomination is unduly preoccupied with secular politics.

But in reality, only one SBC agency, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, is principally concerned with giving voice to Baptist priorities in the public square. The ERLC has a staff of about 25 and an annual budget of around $3 million.

To put that in perspective, the SBC has six seminaries and two mission boards employing thousands of people at a cost of nearly $200 million a year. The overwhelming majority of Cooperative Program giving supports world mission ministries and theological education.

To sit through a session of the annual meeting is to hear reports, elect officers, and conduct the church’s business affairs. You could never mistake a SBC annual meeting for a political convention or rally.

And while there are very lively political discussions among SBC leaders and some, like the Reverend Dr. Al Mohler, talk about politics frequently, very few SBC leaders are principally concerned with politics. Over many years, the denomination has had much more consequential and wide-ranging debates about matters of church doctrine and ministry than about parties or issues.

The gospel has political implications. People of good faith and good will can disagree about them. I have opinions about these questions, and have pushed Southern Baptists on them in person and in print.

If you think the Southern Baptist Convention is all about politics, you simply don’t know what you’re talking about.

Links to a few of my published pieces on Southern Baptists and politics:

An Honest Assessment of the Southern Baptist Convention (The Washington Post)

The Southern Baptists’ Challenge On Race (The Washington Post)

Evangelicals Must Confront the Ethical Dilemma of Partisanship (Religion News Service)