Southern Baptist Head Urges Christians to Engage Politically

By: Sarah Wagner
October 5, 2026

Southern Baptist Convention President and Pastor Willy Rice urged pastors across the nation to engage politically ahead of the midterm elections.  His comments come as some pastors refrain from politics and many Christians fail to show up at the ballot box.

“Should pastors engage in the political process?  They absolutely should,” he said.  “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 flourish personally and as a culture.”

“I think the pastors need to step up.  I think throughout American history, pastors have had a strong voice at key moments in American political history,” Rice added, detailing their role in the American Revolution.

Explaining that many on the left are more politically engaged than conservative Christians, Rice said, “Now, the interesting thing is that those on the theological and political left did not [withdraw], and they had no intention of doing so.  And in fact, statistics show that people on the political and theological left are actually more politically engaged than those on the right.  So what you had was, for a period of time, I felt like you had an almost a vacuum that kind of developed, a silence that was there with a lack of Christian leaders leaning in.”

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The above article is about this interview on Fox News: https://americanfaith.com/southern-baptist-head-urges-christians-to-engage-politically/