The head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s policy arm has resigned after nearly four years leading the staunchly conservative agency, which in recent years has fended off critics within the nation’s largest Protestant denomination seeking to push it even further to the right.
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission on Thursday accepted the resignation of its president, Brent Leatherwood, the agency confirmed.
The ERLC has advocated against abortion and transgender rights while promoting a strongly pro-Israel stance, a longtime evangelical priority, and an expansive view of religious liberty in the public square similar to how it’s been defined in recent U.S. Supreme Court cases.
Church representatives at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in June voted decisively to retain the commission — effectively a vote of confidence against efforts to abolish it. Some critics within the convention wanted it to take a harder-line stance on immigration and to endorse criminal penalties for women seeking abortions.
“In all of our advocacy work, we have sought to strike a balance of conviction and kindness, one that is rooted in Scripture and reflective of our Baptist beliefs,” Leatherwood said in a statement. “That has meant standing for truth, without equivocation, yet never failing to honor the God-given dignity of each person.”
Scott Foshie, chair of the commission’s trustees, credited Leatherwood for demonstrating “loving courage in the face of a divisive and increasingly polarizing culture in America.”
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Commission Vice President Miles Mullin was named acting president.
Leatherwood has led the agency for four years, first as acting president and then as president.
A year ago, the agency issued an embarrassing retraction of an announcement of Leatherwood’s firing after he complimented then-President Joe Biden — deeply unpopular among conservatives — for ending his reelection campaign.
It turned out that the chairman who announced Leatherwood’s firing had acted without a required vote of the board’s executive committee. The commission’s board subsequently gave Leatherwood a strong vote of confidence but cautioned against stirring unnecessary controversy.
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