Southern Baptist Convention passes resolution against Equality Act: bill would be “devastating” for religious liberty

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution Tuesday asserting that the Democrat-sponsored Equality Act would have a “devastating” effect on religious liberty, Christian Headlines reports. The SBC resolution against the Act was passed by an “overwhelming” majority at the Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, Christian Headlines reports.

Approved by the US House of Representatives, the Equality Act would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to a list of classes protected from discrimination under the 1964 Civil Rights Act in public places, education, and employment. The bill has yet to be passed by the US Senate.

“We strongly oppose the Equality Act and urge Congress to reject this dangerous legislation, which represents one of the greatest threats to religious liberty in our nation’s history,” the SBC resolution reads. According to the resolution, the Equality Act would “explicitly permit the government to place substantial burdens upon religious exercise without having to demonstrate any compelling justification in order to do so.”

In particular, the resolution says the Act would “force faith-based charities whose core religious beliefs about human dignity, sexuality, gender, and marriage shape their ministry policies” to “choose between freely exercising those core religious beliefs or abandoning their ministries.”

“We believe effective Gospel ministry to individuals who consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community requires that we speak to them and about them with respect and Christlike love, while holding firmly to our biblical convictions on these issues,” the resolution says.

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