The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s second-largest Christian faith, after the Catholic Church. With 13 million members in its flock, it is the most prominent denomination in the Protestant evangelical movement. Last week, church authorities released a damning independent report detailing decades of sexual assault by officials at all levels and the institutional cover-up that protected the abusers. It is a devastating indictment.
The external inquiry was commissioned by SBC leadership following outrage prompted by reporting by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. Over several months the newspapers’ journalists compiled a database listing more than 300 offenders and 700 victims. The report confirms the actual toll is far worse.
Investigators discovered that senior church officials maintained their own secret database of abusers, naming more than 700 offenders and the specific crimes they allegedly committed. It’s a vile catalogue. Even more stunning is that this register is confined only to those who came to the attention of law enforcement. We are left to wonder how many more perpetrators remain hidden.
Southern Baptist messengers will assemble for their annual convention in two weeks in Anaheim, California, near the original Disneyland, where they will discuss the crisis. The setting is rich with irony, given the church’s fierce support for Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ recent crusade against Disney in response to the company’s criticisms of Florida’s draconian “anti-grooming” legislation. DeSantis, a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, and his far-right allies attacked Disney for defending child groomers and paedophiles. The governor has made no comment about the SBC’s explosive revelations of proven child abuse.
Sexual assault scandals have been a recurring theme in other congregations too, including the United Methodists, America’s largest mainline Protestant faith, and the Mormons. Just last week a pastor in Indiana confessed to adultery from the pulpit and sought forgiveness from his parishioners. To everyone’s surprise, a woman walked to the stage, took the microphone and identified herself as his victim. She confronted the pastor, two decades her senior, for keeping her prisoner and taking her virginity when she was only 16 years old. In the wake of her remarks, church members flocked to offer their consolations. To the pastor. His victim was left alone with her family.
Then there is the unravelling of the Australian-based Hillsong megachurch, which, as Crikey has reported, saw “global pastor” Brian Houston step down in March in the wake of allegations. One of its founding figures also blew the whistle on the church’s culture, alleging senior members knew of the sexual “deviance” of founder Frank Houston for years before it became publicly known. Hillsong has been badly damaged in the US, with several churches withdrawing from the Hillsong “family” amid disclosures of the megachurch’s business tactics, which include the imposition of non-disclosure agreements and non-compete clauses.
In the pitched battle of America’s culture wars, Republicans bemoan the decline of Christian worship and blame the drift away from establishment religion for every ill in society. In defiance of the First Amendment, they seek to use the power of government to impose their version of Christian doctrine in every corner of the land. They have spent decades toiling towards this goal, and have installed a radical Supreme Court ready to enforce their wishes.
But with America’s largest religious faiths now exposed as guilty of systematic and institutionalised child molestation and concealment, enduring for decades, their theocratic vision is all the more malignant. Never has the chasm between Christian values and church practices been so clear. Their moral rot is indisputable.
It’s not just the churches. The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy after decades of systematic abuse. Bankruptcy did not liquidate the organisation. Instead, the process shielded its assets while a multibillion-dollar settlement was litigated to compensate survivors. The Boy Scouts of America lives on.
So too does USA Gymnastics. The sport was rocked when it emerged that hundreds of girls, including several Olympians, had been violated by coaches, officials and gym owners. National team doctor Larry Nassar was identified and convicted of multiple crimes. However, many other culprits also abused children. Hundreds of swimmers across America have suffered similar exploitation.
All these cases share a common pattern: institutional hierarchies requiring deference to superiors; authority figures targeting vulnerable children; lack of policies and procedures to prevent criminal conduct; disbelief, blaming and silencing of victims; trust and protection for perpetrators; and closed ranks to insulate the organisations from accountability and liability. Also men. Most of the leaders, and nearly all of the abusers, are men. Increasing the presence and power of women in these groups would be the single best step toward preventing future harm.
If a business were identified as a child abuse factory, we would expect it to be bankrupted overnight and its executives locked up. Yet when it comes to other entities, once the storm has passed and the sanctions have been imposed, we turn the other cheek. The churches sail forth, preaching piety without any shame. The sports and youth groups welcome a new wave of eager participants. And we let them.
Soon the Southern Baptists will apologise, beg forgiveness and promise redemption. Most of their adherents will accept this. And we will forget about it until the next scandal erupts.
