Religion and Politics

Southern Baptists Set to Elect 1st Black President for Convention with Roots in Slavery

Next week, the Rev. Fred Luter Jr. may become the first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention when the denomination’s delegates vote in New Orleans , the Associated Press reports. The denomination was founded in 1845 “out of a pre-Civil War split with northern Baptists over slavery and for much of the last century had a reputation for supporting segregation.” According to the article, Luter turned an inner-city church of 50 members into a church with the largest weekly attendance among Southern Baptist congregations in Louisiana.

Read at Associated Press

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