They Pledged to Stop Sex Abuse. Instead, They Targeted Women.

Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in New Orleans – and its main order of business was to tighten the reins on what women can, and can’t, do in the church. It’s the result of a years-long push from the SBC’s ultraconservative wing to reverse what it calls a “liberal drift.” As the nation’s largest Protestant denomination prepares to crack down on gender roles, what does that mean for American evangelicals – and for the rest of us? 

Guest: Beth Allison Barr is a history professor at Baylor University. She’s also the author of “The Making of Biblical Womanhood.”

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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