Rethinking Faith & Southern Politics

On Tuesday, the Southern Baptist Convention lost one of its legends, the Rev. Adrian Rogers. Rogers is credited with driving the South’s most prominent religious group – and arguably the largest American Protestant denomination – on a rightward path toward fundamentalism. Beyond simply affecting their Church, Rogers and his contemporaries also helped changed the face of American politics as part of the convergence of religious and political conservatism. According to CNN:
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The conservative movement Rogers helped lead also pushed the denomination to stronger political opposition to abortion, homosexuality and the ordination of female pastors, said Bob Allen, a writer and commentator for the Baptist Center for Ethics, an independent Baptist organization headquartered in Nashville. "The Southern Baptist Convention today would be part of the religious right and 20 years ago it would have been more mainstream," Allen said. "I think it would also be fair to say the conservatives have developed pretty strong ties to the Republican Party." In 1992, members of the SBC who called themselves moderates broke away and formed the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. While Rogers may have been less well-known outside the SBC than some other Baptist leaders, "no one has been more influential inside the Southern Baptist Convention," Allen said.
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Particularly in the Bible Belt, the growth in influence of the SBC and allied conservative organization reshaped Southern politics. In Virginia – home to conservative Christian leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson – the rightward charge led many pastors, congregations, and church members into a more moderate stance. As the Richmond Times-Dispatch notes:
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The national fundamentalist shift prompted the formation of two statewide organizations. The Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia supported the shift more strongly than the moderate members of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, a statewide umbrella organization. The Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia left the Baptist General Association of Virginia, but both groups are part of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia, which broke away from the Southern Baptist Convention, created a different definition of what it means to be a Baptist. The organization remains affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Rick Clore, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia, said Rogers' work led members to examine their beliefs. About 360 churches belong to the group, which was formed in 1993 and supports the separation of church and state and the autonomy of local churches.
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Rev. Rogers’ passing provides yet another opportunity to consider the proper role of religion in public life. In the South, faith has always informed public policy decision-making and influenced civic behavior. As the news articles note, the entirety of the Baptist community in the South did not travel the conservative route. As such, progressives and centrists should continue to seek understanding of the hearts and minds of the Southern faith community in order to build a more inclusive “movement” here. In particular, if progressives can find common ground with moderate-leaning churchgoers – especially whites – who are unaffiliated with the more conservative elements, the opportunity to foster another paradigm shift in the region’s politics could be on the horizon.