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Forgotten belief in First Amendment haunts America, Baptists, Shurden says
...Shurden lamented the fact that sermons in a Baptist church on religious liberty, freedom of conscience and separation of church and state that once were “old hat” now cause a negative energy in the room that he called “sanctuary electricity.”

Even more discouraging, Shurden said, “sanctuary electricity will become sanctuary applause” if you preach sermons “that reinforce prejudices that the phrase ‘separation of church and state’ is not in the Constitution,” that “the First Amendment has been misinterpreted and taken too far,” or that “certain religious groups in this country need to conform to our particular religious customs.”

A group of four pastors, speaking in an April 15 panel discussion, said promoting religious liberty and church-state separation is becoming difficult even in moderate Baptist congregations.

"It seems to me that the first line of battle today for us as we wage a kind of battle for religious liberty is to keep our own people on board," said David Sapp, pastor of Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. "And I think that's probably radically different from other periods of Baptist history."

Both Sapp and Hardy Clemons, retired pastor of First Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C., said pastors need to be less fearful when talking to their congregations about their support for religious freedom.

"Look for times and places when you can articulate an advocacy for religious liberty," Clemons said. "Congregations will support us far more than we think they will. And those of you who are laity have enormous power to encourage your clergy to do precisely that."

Shurden, in his keynote address, said Baptists have become “an historically illiterate people” in regard to the First Amendment.

“With age, we Baptists have developed cataracts,” Shurden said. “Our denominational vision, once crystal clear on First Amendment issues, today is opaque. Impervious to the light of our denominational history and family commitments, we have blocked out heroic chapters of our very own story.”

Shurden said that part of the reason for Baptists’ cloudy vision is the subtle, ambiguous language used to describe the issues of the day, such as “faith-based charity,” “prayer in public schools” and “vouchers for taxpayers.”

In addition to forgetting their denominational story, Shurden suggested Baptists also have to address a stubborn secularism and a baffling pluralism.

“Historically, Baptists have been willing to take on secularism in the free market of ideas,” Shurden said. “They have done it with success. And they have done it without the aid and assistance of government.”...