"A Christian Looks
At the Religious Right"
Southern Baptists and Partisan Politics in 1996
It is no secret for those who monitor Religious Right movements that Southern Baptists, once champions of religious liberty, are now up to their necks in the Religious Right. Sparked by the Fundamentalists takeover of the national convention and influenced by Richard Land of the SBC Christian Life Commission, Southern Baptists are immersing themselves deeper and deeper into partisan politics.
Land uses his leadership to attack traditional separation of church and state landmark rulings. He has even endorsed the taking of state funds to run Christian schools. Many Religious Right leaders are acquainted with Richard who uses his national newsletter to advertise Religious Right leadership. Land is also pushing the Religious Right Amendment to the Constitution that would overturn separation concepts.(1) Land has been a featured speaker at Religious Right gatherings. He uses his position as head of the CLC to promote Religious Right activists like Nancy Schaefer and Beverly LaHaye.(2 )The CLC has even reversed its historical position by promoting the concept that accepting tax funds for church ministries is a reasonable option.(3)
The nation was shocked with the revelation that 2nd Baptist Church in Houston was engaged in partisan politics. Americans United had filed a suit with the IRS about the issue. Currently the IRS is investigating the allegations of direct political activity by the church. Barry Lynn of Americans United says the church was training the congregation to take over the Republican Party Precinct in Harris county.(4) Pat Robertson offered his assistance by sending attorney Jay Sekulow and saying on national TV that Barry Lynn was lower than a child molester for taking this action.
Land is publicly critical of the predecessors at the CLC who held to traditional views regarding church and state. His legislative lobbying has placed him on opposite sides with groups like the Texas CLC and the Baptist Joint Committee. Land was highly critical of the Texas Baptist Convention for its failure to fall in line with the national convention. Land claimed it would be the downfall of the Texas organization.(5) Land also ran a feature article on Russ Polson an evangelists from Longview, Texas. Russ peddles a group of videos on President Clinton similar to Jerry Falwell's activities. Polson encourages churches to purchase the videos and show them in the church. The videos accuse the President of everything from drug trafficking to homicide.(6) Religious Right figures share a virtual hatred for the Clinton Administration.
Southern Baptist .Ed McAteer organized the National Affairs Briefing in Memphis in January 1996. One feature of the meeting that passed out John Birch Society magazines, was the invitation given to Larry Pratt to speak. Pratt was so extreme in his politics that even Pat Buchanan dropped him from his list of supporters. Other Southern Baptists at this rally were Adrian Rogers, Tim LaHaye Nancy Schaefer, Jesse Helms and Land. The setting was filled with national Religious Right leadership. At least two of the speakers are being sued by the Federal Election Commission for partisan political activity.(7)
Baptist Book stores, now under control of Fundamentalists, are stocking Religious Right works. David Barton, the national leader who is the spearhead of the anti-separation movement, has his books listed. One of his books is entitled, THE MYTH OF SEPARATION. Susan Lokard of Brentwood, Tennessee complained in a letter to the editor in a magazine about Baptist Bookstore policies. She deplored the fact that Hillary Clinton's book was not available while Marilyn Quayle's manuscript was.(8)
Led by the example of Houston Second Baptist, other Southern Baptist ministers are getting into secular partisan politics. In my own region the Republican candidates for office are deeply aligned with Christian Coalition organizations. My interviews with them expose obvious Theocracy tendencies. Many of them are from Southern Baptist churches with pastors endorsing them. The Republican seeking the U.S. Congress seat bills himself with Reconstructionist verbiage. His name is Brian Babin who runs on the "Restore America" slogan. Brian had a letter sent out to area pastors by his own pastor Charles Haney. Pastor Haney caused quite a stir in his church by bringing Brian down in front of his church and laying hands on him as a form of political endorsement. Brian has been spreading some questionable information about his Democratic opponent who happens to be a Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher and deacon. Babin pulled a controversial stunt by showing up at his opponent's church with U.S. Senator Phil Graham, Babin and his political team wanted to speak at his opponent's home church. This placed the pastor in a difficult situation. Second Baptist Church in Lake Jackson,Texas sent out a letter telling citizens not to vote for Southern Baptist Bill Clinton.
Rehoboth Baptist Church in Atlanta Georgia, once home to Home Mission Board President Larry Lewis, is advertising an interesting item in Jerry Falwell's Newspaper. The video is the personal testimony of candidate Jack Kemp as filmed from the pulpit of their church.
Perhaps the furthest out of all the Right Wing Activist Baptist pastors is Rick Scarborough of First Baptist church in Pearland, Texas. At the National Coalition rally I attended Tom DeLay of the U.S. Congress told the audience to follow Rick's example who took over his local school board, county and city governments and was going after the state. Rick does not hide such partisan activities. He even bragged about his action in Jerry Falwell's newspaper and in his personal testimony as delivered through a fundamentalists Baptist paper.(9) Scarborough's political advisory board is lined with Religious Right figures and notably David Barton.(10) Rick's abrasive actions have angered local citizens in the area of the church. It has also drawn investigative action by government agencies. It is no doubt that the 1996 elections will bring with it further church participation in secular partisan activity. Americans United warned churches not to hand out the Coalition voter guides which they say are obviously partisan. Pat Robertson just sent out a letter assuring churches of their legal right to hand them out. The courts are still dealing with this issue. It will be interesting to see how much deeper Southern Baptist will be drug into the political arena.
Rick Scarborough's political activists testimony was given at the annual SBC meeting in 1996. His story was also featured along side of Peter Marshall's interview in SBC Life.(11) Marshall is the Christian Coalition's leading national figure who assaults traditional church/state views. At the national Coalition rally I attended in 1996 Pat Buchanan told the audience about all the churches he spoke at in Louisiana. I would be interested to know the names of those churches. Southern Baptists are certainly coming to the forefront of the new Religious Right.
In 1999, the Southern Baptist Convention President Paige Patterson as well as Richard Land and the President of Southern Seminary all called upon President Clinton to resign. A mere two decades ago, whenever Richard Nixon resigned the White House, no SBC leader would have dared to step out on a limb and take a stand on the issue. This adds further proof to the involvement of the Convention with the Republican Party at the national level.
Bibliography
Richard Land, ed. LIGHT, Sept.-Oct., 1996, pgs. 1-9.
Tom Strode, "Hastings Approved at CLC Trustee Meeting", LIGHT, May-June, 1996, pg. 10.
Gerald Hutchinson, "Point Counter Point", LIGHT, Jan., Feb., 1996, pg. 8.
Rebecca Weiner, "Group Accuses Church of Politicking", HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Mar. 20, 1996, pg. 14A.
Grady Cothen, THE NEW SBC, Smyth & Helwys, Macon, GA, 1995, pg. 165.
Russ Polsen, The Biblical Center for Morality, P.O. Box 5626, Longview, TX, 75608, Summer 1996
Don Wildmon, ed., NFA Journal, Nov., Dec., 1995. pg. 32.
Susi Lockard, "Book Stores Questioned", BAPTIST TODAY, April 18, 1996, pg. 8.
Walter Carpenter, ed., TEXAS BAPTIST, Aug. 1996, pg. 2.
Rick Scarborough, "When to Say Enough is Enough", NATIONAL LIBERTY JOURNAL, 1996, pg. 6.
Morris Chapman, ed., SBC LIFE, June/July, 1996, pgs. 13-17.