Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tolerances

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest Protestant denomination in the world. It has a long history and in the twentieth century had a remarkable social presence. The SBC actively worked against segregation and promoted temperance. Until the 1980s it had relatively progressive policy of sex-education. It also has one of the narrowest views of homosexuality of any mainstream Christian Church. There is nary a mention of homosexuality in the SBC until Anita Bryant’s 1977 campaign to ban lesbian and gay teachers from Florida schools. The SBC passed resolutions in support of Bryant that year, and slowly began to articulate its position on homosexuality. The tone of statements on sexuality from the Church’s main social issued body, the Christian Life Commission, were surprisingly pastoral – gentle even – in the 1980s. Unlike fellow Southern Baptist Jerry Falwell, the CLC seems to have promoted a relatively sympathetic response to the AIDS crisis. However, eventually what is known variously as the Conservative revival, or Fundamentalist takeover, was manifest in the Commission’s sexual policy and, along with anti-abortion campaigning, anti-homosexual politics became the Commission’s principle preoccupation. Which is where the Church seems to be today. It promotes the ex-gay movement, opposes gay marriage, and opposes anti-discrimination legislation (ie actively supports discrimination).

I don’t know that the SBC has ever had a liberal attitude towards homosexuality. But its capacity for tolerance has certainly diminished over the past twenty years. They have gone from quietly and infrequently saying that homosexuality is condemned in the bible to loudly, frequently and publicly opposing gay law reform, effectively legitimating homophobia. So while more and more States here pass gay marriage and remove legislative discrimination against LGBT people, the largest Protestant denomination in the world hurtles in the opposite direction. And it is hard to imagine what could alter its course.