Southern Baptist Convention Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Race === During the 19th and most of the 20th century, the organization supported [[Racism in the United States|white supremacy]], [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial segregation]], the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]], and the [[Lost Cause of the Confederacy|Lost Cause]].<ref name=":2b">{{Cite book |last=Newman |first=Mark |title=Getting Right With God: Southern Baptists and Desegregation, 1945-1995 |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8173-1060-8 |pages=IX of preface}}</ref> The organization also denounced [[Interracial marriage in the United States|interracial marriage]] as an "[[Abomination (biblical)|abomination]]", citing [[The Bible and slavery|the Bible]].<ref name=":2b" /> With the advent of the civil rights movement in the 20th century, it officially denounced racism and its white supremacist history.<ref name=":10" /> Following the election of the organization's first black president in the 21st century, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted the "Great Commission Baptists" descriptor, which began to gain prominent use among several churches desiring to sever themselves from its white supremacist history and controversies.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" /> Although racism and white supremacy were denounced, and efforts to reconcile with minorities have been made, racism has continued to persist among the denomination's churches and affiliated organizations. In 2012, an African American couple in [[Crystal Springs, Mississippi]] attending an affiliated church were prevented from being married in that church because they were black. The church's pastor was threatened with being voted out if he hosted the wedding at the church (the pastor performed the ceremony at a different church).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kenney |first=David |date=2012-07-27 |title=Black wedding banned by Baptist church |url=https://www.wlbt.com/story/19125864/black-wedding-banned-by-baptist-church |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=WLBT |language=en}}</ref> By November 2020, the six convention seminary presidents called [[critical race theory]] "unbiblical" and emphasized the need to turn not to secular ideas to confront racism, but to the Word of God in the love of Christ.<ref>Michael Gryboski, [https://www.christianpost.com/news/sbc-seminary-presidents-denounce-critical-race-theory.html Southern Baptist seminary presidents release statement denouncing critical race theory], christianpost.com, USA, December 01, 2020</ref> At least four African American churches left the denomination over the leadership's refusal to recognize critical race theory.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Several Black pastors break with the Southern Baptist Convention over a statement on race |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/12/23/black-pastors-break-southern-baptist-critical-race-theory/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page