Southern Baptist Convention Releases List of Hundreds of Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Thursday, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention released a previously secret 205-page list of hundreds of pastors and church workers who had been accused of sexual misconduct, mainly from 2000 to 2019.
The list was published after the May 22 release of a 288-page report by investigative firm Guidepost Solutions, which found a pattern of silencing sexual abuse survivors and rejecting reforms. The investigation, which was ordered by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee in 2021, led to the resignation of executive committee president and CEO Ronnie Floyd in October 2021.
Several reports said the news caused “turmoil” among Southern Baptists nationwide. Baptist leaders addressed the release of the list in a statement, saying, “Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us.” While their membership is declining, Southern Baptists are the country’s largest Protestant Christian group, making up 4.5% of the U.S. population in 2018.
Coverage was common across the spectrum, particularly in local outlets in states like Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Sensational language like “bombshell” and “apocalypse” was common in coverage throughout the week; one article in Christianity Today (Lean Right) compared the Southern Baptist Convention to the mafia.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Southern Baptists Release List of Alleged Sex AbusersLeaders of the Southern Baptist Convention published a 205-page list Thursday evening of hundreds of ministers and other church workers it described as being “credibly accused” of sexual abuse.
The list’s public release is one of the first definitive steps the denomination’s leadership has taken in the wake of a nearly 300-page report about its handling of alleged sexual abuse over the last 20 years.
From the Right
Southern Baptist Convention releases alleged abusers list for churches to 'proactively' protect the vulnerableThe Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee publicly released a list of alleged sexual abusers, urging churches to use the list "proactively" to protect the vulnerable, in the wake of an exhaustive report into sexual abuse and decades of cover-ups in the denomination.
The list, which the committee submitted to Guidepost Solutions as it compiled its 288-page investigative report, runs to 205 pages of names, with some names and claims redacted.
From the Center
She spent decades warning Southern Baptists about abuse. This week's revelations brought ‘no joy.’For two decades, Christa Brown has stared down evil, has sacrificed endlessly to stop Southern Baptist predators and expose leaders who helped keep them in pulpits.
“For evil to become systemic, it needs a whole lot of enablers,” she said. “And systemic evil is the most destructive kind, with the most victims, because it is so disguised. It is the evil that smiles at you, and behind the scenes is just devastating people.”
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