In the years following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, influential American Baptist minister John Leland wrote, “The notion of a Christian Commonwealth should be exploded forever.”
A personal and professional acquaintance of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Leland advocated for and greatly influenced the inclusion of the religion clauses in the First Amendment, which guarantees the protection of religious liberty, freedom of conscience, and the separation of church and state.
Today, Leland may find it perplexing that 235 years later, Americans—including Baptists and other Christians overly drawn to political power—need the reminder of this precious protection from tyranny and oppression.
Yet, in 2024, in an effort to counter the swirling, dangerous political winds promulgated by those promoting Christian nationalism, the Southern Baptist Convention messengers passed a resolution reaffirming the Baptist distinctives of liberty of conscience and opposition to any form of a state church.
Opposing Christian nationalism
As should be understood clearly, Christian nationalism is neither good for Christianity nor for the nation, and it should be condemned soundly by gospel-oriented believers, as well as by supporters of the U.S. Constitution.
The SBC resolution, titled “On Defending Religious Liberty,” clearly affirms: “[We] oppose any effort to establish a state religion of any nation, including the United States of America; that we refute the idea that God has commanded any state to establish any religion or any denomination; …
“[We] oppose any effort to establish a state religion of any nation, including the United States of America; that we refute the idea that God has commanded any state to establish any religion or any denomination … we object to any suggestion that our historic, God-given distinctive of religious liberty should be abandoned in favor of a state-mandated religion.”
Although the resolution faced opposition during debate at the convention, messengers eventually reaffirmed long-held Baptist distinctives with its passage.
As a previous Baptist generation once wrote in Beliefs Important to Baptists: “The church should not seek to use the state for its purposes. The state should not commandeer the church for political ends. The state should not favor one religion above another.”
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
However, the debate over the 2024 resolution again reveals the subset of Baptists who favor Christian nationalism, which would lead to the eradication of religious liberty for everyone except those who hold to a narrow worldview. That is why affirming this resolution is still an important action for the denomination. What comes next will be equally important.
Failings and continuing challenge
Past iterations of Christian nationalism always have failed, because Christian nationalism is not in line with the values of the United States. Instead, Christian nationalism rejects liberty of conscience and individual autonomy in favor of autocratic control and coercion.
Christian nationalism also has failed because religious leaders have refused to surrender to the attempted coopting and distortion of Christian theology, which Christian nationalism seeks in exchange for temporal political power.
Thankfully, the passage of this resolution at least reveals a majority of SBC messengers at this year’s convention do not endorse Christian nationalism.
And yet, the resolution was made because of the growing concern Christian nationalism again has found oxygen in our body politic and within our churches.
The question remains whether the American people at large, and American Christians in particular, are equipped with the fortitude to confront and defeat this current threat to religious and political freedom.
With certain media outlets and social media able to present Christian nationalism in a tempting light, it is incumbent on Christians committed to the gospel and supportive of the U.S. Constitution to not shy away from responding to the bombastic voices and tactics of those promoting Christian nationalism.
Now is the time for churches to equip their members with reasons why Christian nationalism should be rejected soundly.
Reject Christian nationalism
As John Leland stated: “The very tendency of religious establishments by human law, is to make some hypocrites, and the rest fools; they are calculated to destroy those very virtues that religion is designed to build up; to encourage fraud and violence over the earth. It is error alone, that stands in need of government to support it; truth can and will do better without.”
Additionally, Leland exclaimed: “Government should protect every man in thinking and speaking freely, and see that one does not abuse another. The liberty I contend for, is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration, is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest, to grant indulgence; whereas, all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians. Test oaths, and established creeds, should be avoided as the worst of evils.”
However, some have ceased heeding this advice as they grasp for temporal power.
As Tim Alberta wrote in The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: “The crisis of American evangelicalism comes down to an obsession with that worldly identity. Instead of fixing our eyes on the unseen … we have become fixated on the here and now … we have made deals with the devil.”
Baptists and fellow like-minded Americans today must reject the dangers of Christian nationalism and continue the quest for a “more perfect union.” Liberty of conscience, religious freedom and democracy are not inevitable. They take hard work to defend and promote—work Baptists throughout history have been on the forefront of defending and supporting.
The SBC resolution is one small step in that defense. It is now incumbent upon us to continue to cherish and defend religious liberty for people of all faith and no faith. It is the American ideal. It is the Baptist way.
Jack Goodyear is dean of Dallas Baptist University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.