As questions surrounding religious liberty continue to generate conversation in the modern political sphere, Baptists have consistently and historically affirmed their belief in religious freedom for all.
In his book Baptists and Religious Liberty, William M. Pinson Jr. writes, “Baptists, when true to their beliefs and heritage, will always support efforts to provide religious liberty for all people” (143).
In March 2026, we conducted a national survey of 1,500 Christians, asking for their views on several topics related to faith, media, and politics.
Eighty percent of the 196 respondents who self-reported as Southern Baptist indicated a commitment to the principle of religious liberty for all; however, that commitment didn’t always line up with their responses to questions related to houses of worship in their communities.
Houses of worship
In the survey, we asked participants to indicate whether they would oppose, be indifferent to, or support the building of mosques, synagogues, and churches in their town.
Southern Baptists demonstrated more opposition to a Muslim group wanting to build a mosque (29 percent) than to a Jewish group wanting to build a synagogue (8 percent) or a Christian group wanting to build a church (1 percent).
Conversely, 71 percent were in support of a church being built, 43 percent would support a synagogue, and 28 percent were in support of a mosque being built in their town.
Southern Baptists were more indifferent to a synagogue being built (49 percent) than to a mosque (43 percent) or a church (28 percent).
Religious liberty for all
In a different question, participants were asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement “I believe in religious liberty for all people” on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
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The majority of respondents (80 percent) agreed with the statement, with 37 percent strongly agreeing. Thirteen percent neither agreed nor disagreed. Less than 7 percent disagreed, with 2.6 percent strongly disagreeing that religious liberty is for all people.
The number of Southern Baptists agreeing with the statement, “I believe in religious liberty for all people,” is consistent with the centrality of religious liberty to Baptist doctrine.
Why some Baptists oppose mosques and synagogues
We asked those who oppose the building of a mosque, synagogue, or church in their town to elaborate with a written response.
Ten of the 196 respondents indicated they would oppose mosques and synagogues being built in their town, while being indifferent to or supporting a church being built. The following statements were given as a reason they would oppose mosques and synagogues:
- “I wouldn’t want any body [sic] other than Americans to do anything in the us [sic].”
- “USA is a Christian country.”
- “Jesus is the way truth and life.”
- “I will not support a religion that I do not believe is truth.”
- “I don’t support other religions in america [sic].”
- “Oppose.”
- “We are a small town.”
- “Too many terrorists from Muslim countries.”
- “I dont [sic] believe in their religion.”
- “Nothing in particular.”
These responses are generally representative of the comments for the larger group who opposed the building of mosques or synagogues in their town.
Categories of opposition
While the sample size is small, it is worth noting that of these 10 responses, eight were offered by respondents who rated their level of agreement with religious liberty for all as either “agree” or “strongly agree.”
Some are opposed to mosques and synagogues in general (responses 6 and 10). Others express a logistical opposition (response 7). For these, the primary opposition has to do with the size of their town, though support for a church being built was unaffected by town size.
Some are opposed for nationalistic reasons (responses 1, 2, 5, and 8). There is an assumption Christianity is the standard religion of the United States, and other religions come from other countries, which for some implies some level of personal or societal danger.
Still others are opposed as a matter of conviction (responses 3, 4, and 9). These responses communicate opposition based on the notion that if Christianity is true and Islam and Judaism are false, then a Christian should not support something they know to be false.
Southern Baptists, a group unapologetically committed to religious liberty, ought to ask themselves: Is opposition to religious groups building houses of worship consistent with belief in religious liberty for all? If not, which groups get to access the freedoms promised by the federal government and historically advocated for by Baptists?
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