Andrew Walker / The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has formally called for the reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex “marriage” across the US.
In a resolution adopted June 10 during the denomination’s annual meeting, delegates — referred to as “messengers” — endorsed a wide-ranging statement affirming traditional Christian views on gender, marriage, and family, Baptist News Global reported. The resolution passed without amendments or significant opposition.
Titled “On Restoring Moral Clarity through God’s Design for Gender, Marriage and the Family,” the statement identifies same-sex “marriage” as a key legal and cultural issue.
“Legal rulings like Obergefell v. Hodges and policies that deny the biological reality of male and female are legal fictions, undermine the truth of God’s design, and lead to social confusion and injustice,” the statement reads.
It further calls for “the overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God’s design for marriage and family.”
The resolution was drafted by the SBC’s Resolutions Committee, chaired by Andrew Walker of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It references biblical texts such as Genesis 1 and 2 to affirm that God created humans as male and female, and that marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman.
The document also includes statements opposing in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, and transgender ideology.
“The normalization of transgender ideology — especially the participation of biological males in girls’ sports and the medical transition of minors — represents a rebellion against God’s design for male and female,” the statement reads, “inflicts unjust harm on children and women, employs coercive language control, and undermines fairness, safety, and truth.”
The SBC also adopted other resolutions on topics such as sports betting, pornography, and chemical abortion pills.
The resolution on gender, marriage, and family emphasized the role of the family as “the foundational institution of human society” and expressed concern over declining fertility rates and the redefinition of marriage and gender.
While SBC resolutions lack formal doctrinal or legal weight, Baptist News Global noted increasing efforts to use them to shape the denomination’s theology and political engagement.
