Southern Baptists split over politics

The phone number in Page’s back pocket: It belongs to a representative of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is making a strong push to court evangelicals.

Page and others talk about keeping lines open to Democrats. But that is fraying over an initiative led by former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to unite Baptists from various denominations across racial lines to counter conservative SBC influence.

“When I met Carter, everyone said, ‘It’s political, it’s political,’” said the Rev. Wade Burleson of Enid, Okla.

“I went to determine whether it was nonpolitical. If there were an ounce of politics, I wouldn’t participate. My question is, ‘Why do we yell and scream when Democrats are political, but are silent about our own political involvement?’”

Like evangelicals as a whole, Baptists remain divided on which candidate to support, though the focus is heavily on Republicans.

Richard Land, one of the nation’s most politically influential Southern Baptists, said he has been sought out by Republican campaigns (Huckabee, McCain, Duncan Hunter) and Democratic ones (Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama). He has met some and plans to meet others, but does not endorse candidates.

‘A magnetic personality’
Land and other evangelicals accepted an invitation to meet with Romney, whose Mormonism worries some evangelicals. Land said he advised Romney to give a speech laying out how this faith would shape his presidency, much the same way John F. Kennedy spoke to a ministers group in Houston to allay Protestant fears of a shadow Vatican presidency.

“I said to him, ‘Governor, I personally don’t think the Mormonism is a deal-killer. But the only person who can convince millions of Americans to vote for a Mormon president is Mitt Romney,’” said Land, who heads the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission.

The name generating perhaps the most excitement among Southern Baptists is someone who hasn’t even entered the race yet: Fred Thompson of Tennessee, the actor and former senator.

“Another Southern Baptist called Fred Thompson the Ronald Reagan of the South, and I think he has some of that appeal,” said SBC executive committee president Morris Chapman, adding he hasn’t settled on a candidate yet. “He is a magnetic personality. He seems to articulate his opinions clearly. He seems to be unflappable.”

Chapman sees the debate about political engagement, partisanship and evolving agendas as healthy.

“We are most of the time intent on expressing our convictions — the moral and ethical issues that face us as a nation,” he said. “And some diversity is not bad. It adds to the fabric of who Southern Baptists really are.”

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