With nearly 13 million members and 47,000 churches, the Southern Baptist Convention is the nation’s largest Protestant denomination — and one of its most reliably conservative. From marriage to religious liberty to the sanctity of life, Southern Baptists have been a consistent force for biblical values in the public square.
So why is their own public policy arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), working against them?
That’s the question faithful Baptists are being forced to ask ahead of this year’s SBC annual meeting in Dallas, where once again the topic of abortion will take center stage. For decades, Southern Baptists have passed resolution after resolution affirming that preborn children are human beings made in the image of God — and deserving of the same legal protections as anyone else.
And yet, the ERLC, under President Brent Leatherwood, signed onto a 2022 letter that directly opposed a Louisiana bill aimed at doing exactly that. The bill, supported by pro-life advocates and Southern Baptists in the state, would have applied existing homicide laws to protect the unborn.
The bill was moving forward — until the ERLC, along with several national pro-life organizations, issued a letter condemning it. Their main objection? That the bill might “criminalize or punish women” who have abortions. The letter characterized women as “victims” and rejected any legal consequence for willful participation in abortion.
Let that sink in. While Southern Baptists were actively supporting equal protection for all humans — including the unborn — the ERLC helped kill that very effort. The bill failed just days before a floor vote, despite previously having the support needed to pass.
Leatherwood has since claimed that the letter wasn’t aimed at the Louisiana bill specifically. But the damage was done, and worse, the same letter has been used again — in Missouri, Kentucky, and North Dakota — to torpedo similar pro-life efforts.
This isn’t a small mistake. It’s a pattern.
In 2021, Southern Baptists overwhelmingly passed a resolution affirming equal protection for the unborn. So what exactly is the ERLC doing when it contradicts that clear message from the pews?
The ERLC was supposed to amplify the convictions of Southern Baptists in the political arena — not silence them. And this isn’t an isolated issue. From supporting mosque construction to endorsing red flag gun laws, the ERLC has repeatedly wandered off script from what most Southern Baptists expect of their representatives.
But abortion is different. This is not about political theory or interfaith niceties. This is about life and death. Millions of unborn children are still at risk, even after Roe v. Wade was overturned. In fact, some reports show abortion rates are actually rising again — even in so-called “pro-life” states — thanks to legal loopholes that equal protection bills would close.
If the ERLC won’t back the clear, biblical position of its own denomination on protecting life, then perhaps it’s time Southern Baptists stop funding it. Reform it, replace it, or remove it — but don’t ignore it.
The Southern Baptist Convention should be known for standing up for the voiceless, not for standing in the way. If the ERLC can’t align with that mission, Southern Baptists have both the right and the responsibility to find something better.