Southern Baptists will gather this week in Nashville, and one of the issues that promises to be front and center is critical race theory and its role within the denomination.
In 2019 the SBC voted to allow the use of critical race theory and intersectionality (CRT/I) as analytical tools when addressing social dynamics. Inclusion of any kind of the Marxist ideologies has divided the denomination over the last two years – and it's heading for a showdown as Southern Baptist "messengers" meet in Nashville this week for their annual meeting.
Dr. Carol Swain is a Southern Baptist and a former professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University. Swain is among the sponsors of a resolution cancelling CRT in the Southern Baptist Convention and calling for a return to a biblical worldview. She recently spoke on American Family Radio about the controversial issue within the SBC.
"I believe the Word of God, our Holy Bible, has everything we need to get along across racial and ethnic lines," Swain stated. "God created one human race. We're all imbued with [God's] image."
She shared that she doesn't find it surprising this conflict would come up within the walls of the SBC. "[Within] the Southern Baptist Convention they have Democrats [and] they have Republicans. Some of the same conflicts that play themselves out in the political arena are playing themselves out in this forum," she acknowledged.
But Swain notes there's also a push to the Left from within the denomination.
"This is a man-made conflict. It's been brought into the church by – quote – 'progressive Christians,'" she added. "And you can predict [that] before every [meeting of the] Southern Baptist Convention, the Left always has a controversy that makes the headlines across the world that makes Christians look bad.
"They use black people, who tend to be more liberal, as an excuse to push their radical agendas. That's what's happening [here]."
The resolution Swain and other sponsors have submitted states that CRT/I emphasizes "a view of humanity that fails to properly recognize the sinful nature of man, focusing upon collective guilt as opposed to the emphasis on individual responsibility." In addition, it argues against the use of any analytical tools that "themselves [are] rooted in worldviews incompatible with the Word of God."
