A leading Southern Baptist fundamentalist welcomed the Roe decision as correct
Evidence
When the Roe decision was handed down on January 22, 1973, W. A. Criswell, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, expressed his satisfaction with the ruling. … “I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person,” one of the most famous fundamentalists of the twentieth century declared, “and it has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the future should be allowed.” — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 93
Categorization
- SHARE: A striking, narrowly-interesting fact for anyone writing on the Religious Right or abortion politics.
- SEED: Seed for an essay on how political origin myths overwrite inconvenient historical memory among movements.
- XREF: connects to: Conservative Christians originally welcomed Roe v. Wade as advancing religious liberty — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 267; A leading Southern Baptist fundamentalist publicly supported Roe v. Wade in 1973 — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 91; Baptist leaders initially framed Roe as a victory for church-state separation — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 94 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- A leading Southern Baptist fundamentalist publicly supported Roe v. Wade in 1973
#expands(0.95) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 91 - Baptist leaders initially framed Roe as a victory for church-state separation
#expands(0.85) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 94 - The Religious Right’s founding narrative claims Roe v. Wade roused evangelicals from political passivity
#contradicts(0.80) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 89