Perspective: Methodists could learn something from Southern Baptists’ historic conservative takeover
Adama Brown-Hathaway and the Rev. Jay Williams, center, both of Boston, join in prayer with Ric Holladay of Kentucky during the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church on Tuesday in St. Louis. By Jonathan Merritt March 1 at 3:37 PM For years, mainline Protestant denominations in America have creeped toward theological and political liberalism on hot-button issues such as race, gender and sexuality.
Allowing for diversity of thought in a religious institution has well-documented benefits, and creating religious echo chambers can be organizationally deleterious. As social psychologist Christena Cleveland argues in her book, “Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart," religious homogeneity promotes groupthink, pollutes our interactions with “the other,” and lulls the faithful into complacency by surrounding them only with what’s familiar and similar.
For example, when William Dembski, a leading scholar of the conservative intelligent design movement, suggested that Noah’s flood was not worldwide but rather geographically limited, his job at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was threatened, and he was forced to recant. One of its most revered leaders and theologians, Paige Patterson, was fired in 2018 as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, weeks after audio recordings surfaced in which Patterson said abused wives should avoid divorce, pray for their violent husbands and “be submissive in every way that you can.”
The SBC also has failed to address a sex abuse crisis that is just coming to light. An investigation published in February by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News alleged more than 700 victims of sexual misconduct, ranging from unwanted advances to rape. More than 100 youth pastors and numerous other Baptist ministers were charged or convicted of sex crimes. Many perpetrators moved their employment to other churches.
Last year, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary released a sweeping report admitting its deep historic involvement in racism and slavery. But the report was quick to state that current leaders are not responsible for past sins and offered no tangible steps for further change.
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