What Next - They Pledged to Stop Sex Abuse. Instead, They Targeted Women.
What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Slate Podcasts
4.3 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 20 June 2023
⏱️ 29 minutes
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Summary
Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in New Orleans – and its main order of business was to tighten the reins on what women can, and can’t, do in the church. It’s the result of a years-long push from the SBC’s ultraconservative wing to reverse what it calls a “liberal drift.” As the nation’s largest Protestant denomination prepares to crack down on gender roles, what does that mean for American evangelicals – and for the rest of us?
Guest: Beth Allison Barr is a history professor at Baylor University. She’s also the author of “The Making of Biblical Womanhood.”
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When was the last time you called yourself a Southern Baptist? |
| 0:11.0 | Oh, that's a really good question. |
| 0:16.7 | The last time I called myself officially a Southern Baptist was probably in 2003 or 2004. |
| 0:28.3 | My fellow son, Barr, teaches a history at Baylor University, a history of religion. |
| 0:34.3 | And while she doesn't call herself a Southern Baptist now, some of her strongest memories |
| 0:39.2 | from childhood revolve around the church. |
| 0:43.0 | But I also have a lot of memories that I now understand better where I begin to see changes |
| 0:52.2 | in the Southern Baptist Church that I grew up in. |
| 0:54.9 | Like what? |
| 0:56.5 | Like women, not being as visible. |
| 1:03.2 | Women were some of Beth's favorite religious teachers. |
| 1:06.8 | Her mom taught Bible study. |
| 1:08.5 | Beth had friends who were missionaries. |
| 1:10.9 | She's been thinking about all those mentors over the last week, as her childhood church held |
| 1:15.5 | its annual governing meeting. |
| 1:18.0 | Nearly 2,000 people showed up. |
| 1:20.2 | And the main topic of conversation was women. |
| 1:23.1 | I watched the whole thing. |
| 1:25.9 | It's like you can't help yourself. |
| 1:27.9 | Yeah, by Wednesday, I was ready to not be watching it anymore. |
| 1:35.0 | But I watched every bit or moment of Tuesday. |
| 1:39.0 | Tuesday was the day when the Southern Baptist Convention voted on whether they'd cut ties |
... |
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