WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service
February 13, 2019
By Daniel Burke
Since 1998, about 380 Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct, according to a sweeping investigation by two Texas newspapers.
The Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News also found that in the past 20 years, more than 700 victims have been abused, with some urged to have abortions and forgive their abusers.
The newspapers said their investigation included “examining federal and state court databases, prison records and official documents from more than 20 states and by searching sex offender registries nationwide.”
In Texas alone, the newspapers interviewed police and district attorneys in 40 counties.
“Ultimately, we compiled information on 380 credibly accused officials in Southern Baptist churches, including pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers and volunteers,” the newspapers said. “We verified that about 220 had been convicted of sex crimes or received deferred prosecutions in plea deals.”
Of those 220, 90 remain in prison and 100 are registered sex offenders, according to the report.
The investigation comes as other religious bodies, including the Catholic Church, face accusations of widespread sexual abuse of its members, especially children, over decades.
Churches are autonomous
But unlike the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations, the Southern Baptist Convention is a collection of 47,000 autonomous churches, with little power to force churches to comply with policies.
“The SBC presents no governing policies to churches because the SBC is not a governing organization; it is a service organization. Each church is self-governing,” said Sing Oldham, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention.
“However, the Convention has consistently called on churches to report immediately to law enforcement any known or suspected instance of sexual abuse in a church context and has provided resources to inform churches of ways to help protect their congregants,” Oldham added.
With about 15 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
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