Former President Jimmy Carter is leaving the Southern Baptist Church after 60 years of service. The reason? Gender equality.

Last week, he released an open article entitled “Losing My Religion For Equality”, where the man whose “faith is a source of strength and comfort … to hundreds of millions of people around the world,” said he’s finally fed up with the church’s derogatory views of women.

It was “an unavoidable decision” when, on the grounds that “Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, [Southern Baptist leaders] ordained that women must be ’subservient’ to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.” He said it was painful to sever ties, but he could no longer participate in such a rigorously sexist organization.

Carter’s criticism extends beyond just the Southern Baptists, saying that many faiths hold prejudicial views of women.

“The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable,” Carter says. “The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. … [It] excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.” [1]

Aside from being the 39th President of the United States, a former officer in the U.S. Navy, and offering consistent religious service as a deacon and Bible Study leader, Carter is also a member of The Elders. This group, assembled by former South African president Nelson Mandela, is an assembly of global peacemakers, who have recently focused on the relationship between human rights and religion.

Carter was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, during which he maintained that God was a still a major presence in his life: “I worship Jesus Christ, whom we Christians consider to be the Prince of Peace.” [2]

Carter offers no reason to believe he will denounce Christianity altogether, but he believes that many misguided people are making unjustifiable discriminatory choices in the name of their higher power.

It’s an unequivocal display of backbone and humility for such a staunch Christian to stand up and initiate change. Faith and feminism are too often considered to be polar opposite mentalities. And with successful books like Lorraine Murray’s “Confessions of an Ex-Feminist”, it’s obvious that gap is continuing to widen. There is no doubt that change is necessary, and Christian activists like Jimmy Carter are perhaps the best equipped to take on the challenge.

Sources:

[1] “Losing My Religion For Equality” (Jimmy Carter) The Age Online. July 15, 2009

[2] “Jimmy Carter – Nobel Lecture” (The Nobel Foundation) NobelPrize.org. Oslo, December 10, 2002

[3] “Biography of Jimmy Carter” WhiteHouse.gov

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