The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention serves as a political lobbying arm of the SBC’s Cooperative Program. In theory, it is supposed to represent Southern Baptists’ political interests. In practice, it has capitulated on most issues of substance. It famously opposed pro-life legislation in Louisiana that sought to abolish abortion. In 2024, although wrapped in ambiguous language, its legislative agenda includes more of the same liberal subversion.
Abortion
The language on abortion is weak. They do try to react to the abortion pills, mifepristone.
Ending the Proliferation of Chemical Abortions: Chemical abortion is a method that uses an abortifacient to stimulate uterine contractions and end the pregnancy in a process similar to miscarriage. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, chemical abortions made up 53% of all abortions in 2021. As many states severely restricted or banned access to surgical abortion following the Dobbs decision in 2022, this number is likely now much higher. Because these drugs not only take the life of a preborn child but also pose serious threats to the women who take them, the ERLC has previously asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to categorize the abortion pill mifepristone as an “imminent hazard to the public health.” However, the FDA under the Biden administration has moved to increase access by permanently allowing these abortion pills to be delivered by mail. In January of 2023, the FDA moved to allow local retail pharmacies to dispense these drugs in states where it is legal, furthering the accessibility of these life-taking drugs and putting more women and preborn children at risk. The ERLC continues to push back against mail-order abortion drugs and supports federal legislation, such as the SAVE Moms and Babies Act, which would codify regulatory standards into federal law, protecting both preborn children and mothers from harm caused by such medication.
Even this section that has an updated paradigm on the issue of abortion prioritizes the mother murdering her child over the victim of an abortion. Logically, this priority is all about making abortion safe, legal, and rare.
The Southern Baptist Convention is weak on abortion, but you can bet their position on legalized sports betting is robust.
Amnesty
In 2018, the Southern Baptist messengers passed a resolution calling for amnesty for illegal immigrants. The ERLC would build and flesh this out now.
Support a Permanent Solution for Dreamers: With litigation on its way to the Supreme Court that will likely end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, these young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. by their parents remain in an unstable situation. These immigrants broke no law, and yet they remain without permanent legal status. Now young adults, “Dreamers”—many of whom have families of their own with children who are U.S. citizens—are workers, students, and positive contributors to our communities. The ERLC will continue to urge Congress to act to provide a legislative pathway to permanent status for these individuals.
The ERLC is openly calling for amnesty for illegal aliens who allegedly entered the country as children. This is followed up with a similar open borders policy where the ERLC calls for the expansion of Joe Biden’s refugee resettlement program.
Rebuild the Refugee Resettlement Program: Though President Biden set an ambitious goal of resettling 125,000 refugees in fiscal year 2023, the U.S. only successfully resettled about 60,000 individuals. While that is much lower than the goal, it is actually much higher than previous years. Additionally, in 2023, the Biden administration launched a pilot program allowing for private sponsorship of refugees known as Welcome Corps. Though more must still be done to rebuild the infrastructure needed to quickly resettle those who are persecuted, including many brothers and sisters in Christ, these are encouraging trends and opportunities for Christians to engage those who arrive in our communities. We will continue to advocate for fully restoring the refugee resettlement program and America’s legacy as a beacon of hope to those fleeing persecution. As part of that advocacy, the ERLC has urged Congress to give priority refugee status to Uyghurs and Hong Kongers fleeing persecution from the Chinese Communist Party. Additionally, the ERLC has urged Congress to maintain the longstanding, bipartisan Lautenberg Amendment in fiscal year 2024 appropriations which provides a vital refugee pathway to religious minorities, including many evangelicals, in former Soviet Union countries and Iran.
Under the guise of protecting persecuted Christians, the ERLC is mostly advocating a policy that imports Muslims into the United States, and they know this.
Gun Control
In 2023, the ERLC spearheaded the effort to suppress the Nashville Manifesto and mobilized pastors to support gun control in Tennessee.
Combat the Epidemic of Mass Shootings and Gun Violence: 2023 was one of the deadliest years in the U.S. for mass shootings and gun violence. In 2018, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention gave support for “preventative measures that would reduce gun violence and mass shootings while operating in accordance with the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution,” and in 2022, messengers urged lawmakers “to take concrete steps, towards solutions that uphold the dignity and value of every human life, especially the most vulnerable among us, and to minimize the threat of gun violence throughout our society.” In many instances, commonsense steps can be taken to increase opportunities for intervention that would prevent those who are struggling from hurting themselves or others. The ERLC will advocate for these types of measures that prevent the loss of innocent life to the evil of gun violence and mass shootings and provide help to those suffering severe mental distress.
Although it is intentionally vague, the ERLC is using liberal buzzwords such as “gun violence” and “commonsense steps,” terms used to advocate gun control. The ERLC’s past support for gun control in Tennessee is indicative of the current context of the language in their document.
Conclusion
Southern Baptists have been dominated by liberals for several conventions to the point where the ERLC is basing its policies on liberal resolutions rubber-stamped by unwitting messengers.
