FAITH, POLITICS, AND THE MISGUIDED MISSION OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION A Dissertation by DUSTIN ALAN WOOD Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, James Arnt Aune Committee Members, Jennifer Jones Barbour Charles Conrad Leroy Dorsey Craig Kallendorf Head of Department, Kevin Barge May 2013 Major Subject: Communication Copyright 2013 Dustin Alan Wood ABSTRACT The Southern Baptist Convention has experienced both tremendous growth and intense turmoil in its relatively short history. After experiencing increasing internal conflicts throughout the late twentieth-century, a decade-long battle over the direction of the denomination resulted in a permanent schism within the Convention. The Shift, as I name it, forever altered the landscape of the Southern Baptist Convention. Notably, The Shift witnessed an apparent replacement of traditional Southern Baptist church-state separationism in favor of overt involvement in partisan politics. In this dissertation, I provide a historical sketch of the Southern Baptist Convention and explore the denomination‘s evolving positions on church and state by analyzing the Southern Baptist political rhetoric at the individual, agency, and Convention levels after The Shift. Considering the work of H. Richard Niebuhr, I argue that Southern Baptist participation in politics can be understood as an attempt to transform culture to a biblical worldview. However, drawing from the work of Richard Hofstadter and Kenneth Burke, I argue that the Convention struggles to achieve its goal because its political rhetoric is characteristic of the paranoid style and employs scapegoating to blame others for society‘s ills. This dissertation reveals that the Southern Baptist Convention suffers from a rhetorical problem of audience. I argue that while the denomination‘s political rhetoric galvanizes its conservative base, it alienates non-religious individuals, members of other religious faiths, and even some within the Southern Baptist Convention. I conclude that ii in order to be a transformative agent in society, the Southern Baptist Convention‘s political rhetoric must undergo a shift in topoi that has more universal appeal. Namely, I argue that the denomination needs to return to its ―Old Rhetoric‖ and, in doing so, appeal to choice, freedom, religious liberty, free exercise, and free expression. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to Dr. James Arnt Aune. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would have been impossible without the care of many special individuals. I would like to thank my committee chair and mentor, Dr. James Arnt Aune, for his wisdom and guidance throughout this project. You provided a great example of what it means to be a teacher, scholar, and life-long learner. I would also like to thank my dissertation committee members, Dr. Jennifer Jones Barbour, Dr. Charles Conrad, Dr. Leroy Dorsey, and Dr. Craig Kallendorf, for their thoughtful insight and close reading. I am especially grateful for Dr. Jones Barbour‘s role in helping me see this project to its end. I would also like to thank my colleagues and the faculty and staff of the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University. Thank you for fostering a positive environment for my growth as a scholar. Thanks, also, to my students. The classroom was always a welcomed respite from reading and writing. I would also like to thank my family and friends. Each of you has played an important role in shaping who I am. Thanks to my brother, Shane, for your encouragement; your imagination is inspiring. Thanks to my parents, Stephen and Stephanie; you challenged me to pursue my dreams. You were my first teachers, and I am forever grateful for what you taught—and continue to teach—me. Finally, thank you to my wife, Heather. Thank you for partnering with me on this journey. Thank you for your many sacrifices along the way. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I could not have completed this dissertation without your love and support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 The Study of Religious Communication ............................................................. 3 The Southern Baptist Convention in Scholarship ............................................... 7 Focus, Rationale, and Limitations ....................................................................... 12 Preview of Chapters ............................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER II GROWTH AND DIVISION .......................................................... 17 Baptist Beginnings: An Overview ....................................................................... 17 The Birth of a Denomination .............................................................................. 23 Brewing Controversies ........................................................................................ 27 The Shift: A Struggle for the Denomination ....................................................... 30 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..…. 52 CHAPTER III EVOLVING AND TRANSFORMING ......................................... 55 Evolving Positions on Church and State ............................................................. 56 Christ and Culture Paradigms ............................................................................. 62 Christ and Culture Rhetorics ............................................................................... 67 Transforming Culture through Political Rhetoric ............................................... 74 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 86 CHAPTER IV PARANOIA AND PURIFICATION ............................................. 88 Paranoid Style and Victimage ............................................................................. 89 Individual Level Paranoia and Purification ......................................................... 98 Convention Level Paranoia and Purification ...................................................... 119 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 134 vi Page CHAPTER V CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 136 The Legacy of The Shift: A Rhetorical Problem ................................................ 137 Future Scholarship ............................................................................................... 151 NOTES……………………………………………………………………………… 155 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 189 vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION On June 19-20, 2012, members of the Southern Baptist Convention convened in New Orleans, Louisiana for the denomination‘s 167th annual meeting. The meeting would prove historic on two accounts. In 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention was founded, in large part, over the issue of slavery. Southern Baptists, unlike Baptists in the North, defended the right for their church members to own slaves. More than 150 years later at its annual meeting in 2012, the Convention elected its first African American president, Pastor Fred Luter of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. Luter ran unopposed and his election was well received by those attending the Convention.1 For Southern Baptists, Luter‘s election served as a humbling reminder of the Convention‘s racist past while providing a hope for the future of race relations within the denomination.2 In stark contrast to the peaceful election of Fred Luter, the 167th annual meeting would also prove momentous over a fiercely contested decision. Leading up to the Convention some Southern Baptists had expressed concern over image problems associated with the denomination and the naming complications for ―Southern‖ Baptist churches not located in the Southern United States. Citing these perceived problems, they recommended a denominational name change of sorts. Voting on the proposed name change—a descriptor ―Great Commission Baptists‖—was placed on the agenda for the 2012 Convention. If passed, Southern Baptist churches and agencies would have 1 the option of adopting the ―Great Commission Baptists‖ descriptor. The tone of the debates at the Convention, however, seemed to imply that an approval of the motion would mean a mandatory name change for all affiliates of the denomination. Arguments against the motion primarily centered on the historical use of the name ―Southern Baptist Convention,‖ but some vehemently rejected the proposal on other grounds. For example, Richard Tribble of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Decatur, Illinois declared the name change motion to be ―divisive in nature and character.‖3 After nearly an hour of debate on the Convention floor, a vote was taken and the motion for the name adoption passed, earning 53 percent of the vote.4 The tensions over the noncompulsory name descriptor at the 2012 Convention is emblematic of the denomination‘s history of internal disputes.