Southern Baptist Convention Continues to Exclude Women Pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention has finalized the expulsion of two churches with female pastors, Saddleback Church in Southern California and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, despite appeals from their leaders. The convention is also set to vote on a proposal to amend its constitution to more strictly ban women from leadership roles. The move is seen as part of an ultraconservative wing's efforts to reverse what it sees as a liberal drift in the denomination, and some critics warn that it could alienate women and have significant implications for the denomination itself.