Southern Baptists' vote to ban women pastors sparks outcry from advocates
Advocates report a recent uptick in alleged harassment against women ministers.
The Southern Baptist Convention's vote to advance a formal ban on women from serving as pastors has boosted concerns among advocates who say it could limit women's voices in the church and worsen harassment for women serving in the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
The amendment passed Wednesday with nearly 75% of 8,074 total votes by church delegates at the SBC's annual meeting, far surpassing the two-thirds majority needed to pass. A second vote will take place at the next SBC annual meeting in June 2027 for the amendment to be put into effect.
Its passage follows three failed votes on similar proposals to limit the role of women in the church at the past three SBC annual meetings. This year, the proposed amendment was introduced by one of the church's most influential leaders, Southern Baptist Seminary president Albert Mohler -- a move seen by many observers as the church placing additional urgency on the matter.
Language in the proposed amendment this year also places greater restrictions on women than in years past. Beyond banning women from holding the office of pastor, the amendment now prohibits women from performing the functions of a pastor, specifically "preaching to the assembled congregation." Critics say this could be interpreted to prohibit women from any leadership in the church.
The SBC did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
During a brief public discussion prior to the vote, Mohler and other Southern Baptist church representatives made appeals to "truth" and "unity" in their cases for the amendment.
"This amendment makes very clear that a church in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention doesn't have anyone other than a man as pastor in the office of pastor," Mohler said. "Truths consistent with what Baptists have believed, going all the way back to the 17th century, but it's because we believe those Baptists got it right according to Scripture."
Later in discussion, Southern Baptist Convention president Clint Pressley declined to clarify, when asked by an attendee, how the amendment might impact women's ability to serve in positions beyond pastor.
"The amendment says what it says," said Pressley.
Dr. Meredith Stone, the executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM), a national advocacy group supporting women across all Baptist denominations, reacted to the vote with disappointment.
"I am sad for the millions of women and girls who will have to hear how the SBC messengers cheered loudly when it was announced that over 6,000 people had voted to limit how they can express God's call on their life," she said in an interview with ABC News.
Leading up to the vote, BWIM told ABC News that they have seen a major uptick in reports of harassment against female ministers in the past year. Most recently, the group detailed a string of videos being released online that they say are targeting women in ministry and leading to their doxxing -- the malicious release of a person's private or identifying information -- and harassment. The SBC has not previously addressed these harassment reports.
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In response to this reported spike, BWIM released a slate of resources for women in ministry to protect themselves -- including ways to detect online harassment and remove their church's online profile.
Stone, who says she has experienced such harassment herself, told ABC News, "Many women are concerned about the safety of their churches, of people coming into their church buildings in order to make their view known, with how strong the rhetoric has been against this. There have been real concerns raised about women's safety."
Although the amendment is not yet in effect, Stone said its impact is still being felt now by women in ministry.
"Women in the Southern Baptist Convention are going to have to now navigate conversations with their churches about how this affects them, whether or not their church might be targeted if they are serving in ministry, ways in which they might be put in the center of a debate about who they are in the ways in which they're serving the church," Stone explained.
The vote came against the backdrop of conservative reform groups within the SBC, notably the Center for Baptist Leadership, seeing a major victory Tuesday in Florida pastor Willy Rice's election as the next Southern Baptist president. Rice has championed a resurgence of conservative values in the Southern Baptist church
"The Southern Baptist Convention has been moving in a more conservative directions for decades and this measure is just one additional example of that," Stone told ABC News.
During his introduction of the amendment, Mohler said, "There's a great line that divides liberal and biblical evangelicalism, and you can see it on this very issue."
"The culture is attacking gender on all fronts ... What better way to express our countercultural commitment to the goodness of God's Word than to affirm God's creation order related to the office of pastor," Colin Smothers, a Kansas pastor, said during public discussion.
Stone rejected the characterization of including women in ministry as a "political" or "liberal" move.
"For women to desire to minister and pastor is not a political statement. It is merely a statement of faith, a statement that God has called, and this woman will answer," Stone said. "There is nothing political about God's call."
-ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
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