SBC President Willy Rice Urges Pastors to Engage Politically on Immigration, Abortion, and Human Sexuality

SBC President Willy Rice is urging pastors to increase their political engagement ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Rice, who serves as the pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, was recently elected as the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. His call for greater political involvement comes amid discussions about key issues such as immigration, abortion, and human sexuality and gender identity.

During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Rice emphasized the historical role of pastors in shaping American political discourse. He pointed to the nation’s founding as an example of how religious leaders have influenced political movements. “Throughout American history, pastors have had a strong voice at key moments in American political history, even in the revolutionary times—maybe especially in the founding of our country,” Rice said.

Rice noted that in recent years, many conservative Christians—particularly those who identify with historic Christian orthodoxy—have been encouraged to remain silent on political matters. “Some of those voices came externally from pressure saying, ‘You shouldn’t mix religion and politics,’” he explained. “But some of those voices came internally from those who said, ‘In order to be faithful in our mission, we needed to decouple, divorce ourselves as it were, from some controversial political issues.’”

He observed that those on the “theological and political left” have remained politically active, often more so than their counterparts on the right. “And in fact, statistics show that people on the political and theological left are actually more politically engaged than those on the right,” Rice said. “So what you had was, for a period of time…an almost vacuum that kind of developed, a silence that was there with a lack of Christian leaders leaning in. Now, some of that has changed in recent years as people have found their voice again and engaged.”

Rice asserted that pastors have a responsibility to engage in the political process because many political issues are deeply rooted in theology and morality. “Should pastors engage in the political process? They absolutely should,” he stated. “Because there are many political issues that are, at their heart, theological issues and moral issues that strike at the very center of what we believe to be true and what we believe people need to know in order to live according to the teachings of Scripture.”

Rice’s remarks reflect a broader trend within the SBC to reinvigorate political engagement among its leaders and members. As the nation prepares for the midterms, his call for pastors to step up politically aligns with the denomination’s emphasis on moral and theological clarity in public life.

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