The Alliance of Baptists
and homosexuality

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History of the Alliance of Baptists:

A painful conflict raged within the Southern Baptist Convention for decades between moderates and fundamentalists. In the late 1980s, the fundamentalist faction was able to effectively gain control of the denomination by electing a succession of presidents to head the SBC who were theologically very conservative. They moved quickly moved to consolidate their position. One technique was to require loyalty oaths from all of its employees including teaching staff at its educational institutions.

Dozens of congregations representing more progressive Baptist beliefs left the Southern Baptist Convention in early 1987 and formed a new denomination: the "Southern Baptist Alliance." ₁ Their original covenant specified both traditional Baptist religious freedom and liberal methods of biblical interpretation by affirming:

"the freedom of the individual, led by God's Spirit within the family of faith, to read and interpret the Scriptures, relying on the historical understanding by the church and on the best methods of modern biblical study." ₂

They support both individual and congregational freedom by affirming:

"...the freedom and accountability of every individual in matters of faith; the freedom of each congregation under the authority of Jesus Christ to determine its own ministry and mission; and religious freedom for all in relationship to the state." ₃

Initially, they considered themselves as "members of the Southern Baptist family." They used this phrase in their 1990 "Statement of Racism and Repentance" in which they noted that"

....there is a significant sin in our own heritage for which we have never publicly repented. One of the precipitating factors in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention was the protection of the institution of slavery and of slave owners in the South. The sins of slavery and of condoning slavery committed by Southern Baptists are a spiritual blight upon the relationships between African-Americans and whites in the south which has lasted unto this generation. The time is long overdue for Southern Baptists to repent of these sins....we call upon our fellow Southern Baptists meeting in convention in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 11-13, to help cleanse our denomination of the blight of racism by adopting a similar statement of confession and repentance." ₄

Since then, they appear to have looked upon themselves more as progressive Baptists than as part of the Southern Baptist family. In 1992, they changed their name to "The Alliance of Baptists."

The Alliance joined the National Council of the Churches of Christ (NCC) in the year 2000. The NCC is an umbrella group of mainline and liberal Christian denominations.

The Alliance formed a partnership with the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 2002. The UCC is often considered the most liberal of the major Protestant denominations.

Current status and recent activity:

The Alliance of Baptists is a Christian denomination currently consisting of over 120 congregations. Their head office is in Washington DC. ₅ Some of their recent growth has been caused by decisions of individual congregations of the American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC/USA) to affiliate with the Alliance. Some regional units of the ABC/USA have been excluding congregations which belong to the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) -- a gay-positive organization. ₅

Decisions at their annual meetings concerning sexual orientation:

1995: The Alliance accepted a report of a special task group on human sexuality and "...essentially declared ourselves a welcoming and affirming group as to sexual orientation." ₆

2004: At their annual meeting on 2004-APR in Dayton OH, the Alliance adopted a "Statement on Same Sex Marriage" which:

Their statement says, in full:

"Affirming that our federal and state constitutions exist to protect the rights of minorities from the tyranny of the majority and in the context of the current debate over same-sex marriage, we of the Alliance of Baptists decry the politicization of same-sex marriage in the current presidential contest and other races for public office. We specifically reject the proposed amendments to the constitution of the United States and state constitutions that would enshrine discrimination against sexual minorities and define marriage in such a way as to deny same-sex couples a legal framework in which to provide for one another and those entrusted to their care.

As Christians and as Baptists, we particularly lament the denigration of our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender sisters and brothers in this debate by those who claim to speak for God. We affirm that the Alliance of Baptists supports the rights of all citizens to full marriage equality, and we affirm anew that the Alliance will 'create places of refuge and renewal for those who are ignored by the church'." ₇

2005: At their 2005-APR convocation at Furham University in Greenville, SC:

"In the Jesus movement, 'there is no longer Jew or Greek ... slave or free ... male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus...Some day, some blessed day, the same will be said of gay and straight. We are on the right side of history.....My personal observation is that when churches make progress toward inclusiveness of those of same-sex orientation it nearly always happens in a congregational context, that is to say, when the well-being of fellow church members is the issue. As Baptists we surely can understand this and respect it...." ₆

References used:

1. Michael Foust, "Churches endorsing homosexuality could be excluded in N.C.," Baptist Press, 2005-NOV-11, at: http://www.bpnews.net/
2. R. Albert Mohler Jr., "FIRST-PERSON: Alliance of Baptists affirms same-sex 'marriage'," 2004-APR-30, at:  http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/
3. "What we believe," Alliance of Baptists, undated, at: http://www.allianceofbaptists.org/
4. "A Call to Repentance: A Statement on Racism and Repentance," Southern Baptist Alliance, 1990-MAR-10, at: http://www.allianceofbaptists.org/
5. Postal address: Alliance of Baptists, 1328 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.
   Phone: 202.745.7609. Toll-free number: 866.745.7609.
6. Stan Hasley, "The State of the Alliance. An Annual Report Presented to the Alliance of Baptists," 2005-APR-02. Download at: http://www.allianceofbaptists.org/
7. "Statement on Same Sex Marriage," The Alliance of Baptists, 2004-APR-17, at: http://www.allianceofbaptists.org/.

Copyright © 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally posted: 2005-NOV-13
Latest update: 2005-NOV-13
Author: B.A. Robinson