Southern Baptist Leader Urges Pastors to Get Political Before Midterms

Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice is urging pastors across the country to become more vocal participants in politics as the midterm elections approach, arguing that faith leaders have a long history of shaping American political life and should not shy away from it now.

Rice said many political issues are, at their core, theological and moral questions that speak to fundamental beliefs about human flourishing.

“Should pastors engage in the political process? They absolutely should. Because there are many political issues that are, at their heart, theological issues and moral issues that strike at the very center of what we believe to be true and what we believe people need to know in order to flourish personally and as a culture.”

“I think the pastors need to step up. I think throughout American history, pastors have had a strong voice at key moments in American political history,” Rice said.

Rice said he has seen many Christians urged in recent decades, by pressures both inside and outside the church, to pull back from political engagement and “be more quiet.” He argued that no such retreat has occurred on the theological and political left.

“Now, the interesting thing is that those on the theological and political left did not [withdraw], and they had no intention of doing so. And in fact, statistics show that people on the political and theological left are actually more politically engaged than those on the right. So what you had was, for a period of time, I felt like you had an almost a vacuum that kind of developed, a silence that was there with a lack of Christian leaders leaning in.”

He pointed to abortion, the definition of marriage, gender identity and immigration as issues he believes should guide how Christians vote, tying them to foundational religious teachings.

“These issues are deeply, profoundly theological issues. They go back to the creation; they go back to Genesis 1 and 2. They go back to our understanding of what it means to be a human being, and our understanding of what God’s creative purpose is for us as human beings.”

On immigration specifically, Rice said Christians often encounter what he called “manipulative” framing that pits compassion against enforcement of the law. He acknowledged immigration is a genuine challenge for believers but said that does not mean laws should go unenforced.

“There is a value of compassion, a value of wanting to care for the least of these people who are poor and oppressed and wanting to help,” he said, adding that Christians provide more charitable assistance than any other group in the country. “But there is also the importance of the rule of law. The protection of people who are in this country. And what you’ve had is sometimes a very cynical use by some people in power of trying to manipulate Christians by saying, since you must demonstrate compassion, therefore you must embrace open immigration, or you must not insist on the enforcement of the immigration laws.”

Rice drew a comparison to make his point about the limits of compassion as a political argument.

“That is very, very manipulative. No one would say that because you love people or care for people, you should leave the doors of your house unlocked, or you should open up the jail cells in your own community.”