NEWS ADVANCE: Baptists likely to censure Disney over gay-partner policy

c. 1996 Religion News Service (RNS)-The Southern Baptist Convention is likely to censure the Walt Disney Co. for what Baptists consider the entertainment giant’s move away from its “pro-family” roots. At the heart of the issue is Disney’s decision last October to extend health insurance to partners of homosexual employees, a move many Baptists regard […]

c. 1996 Religion News Service

(RNS)-The Southern Baptist Convention is likely to censure the Walt Disney Co. for what Baptists consider the entertainment giant’s move away from its “pro-family” roots.

At the heart of the issue is Disney’s decision last October to extend health insurance to partners of homosexual employees, a move many Baptists regard as accommodating a lifestyle counter to biblical teaching.


A resolution critical of Disney is likely to come before the Southern Baptist Convention at its annual meeting June 11-13 in New Orleans.

“My guess is that there will be a resolution that passes,” said Bill Merrell, spokesman for the Southern Baptist Executive Committee.

Delegates representing the nation’s largest Protestant body-with 15.6 million members-also will elect a new president to a one-year term, take a final vote on a downsizing and restructuring plan, and possibly consider the volatile issue of women pastors.

A resolution committee still must determine details of any measure on Disney presented to the national body.

Southern Baptists in one state-Florida-already have chastised Disney, with a resolution approved in November condemning the company for a number of corporate decisions, including the one on health insurance.

During last year’s Florida Baptist State Convention, delegates requested that the Disney resolution be presented at the 1996 national meeting.

Barbara Denman, spokeswoman for the Florida Baptist group, expects the national body’s resolution to be similar to the Florida statement, which asked the 1 million state members to “seriously and prayerfully reconsider their continued purchase and support of Disney products.”


“It criticized a number of decisions that Disney made that we felt … were contrary to their pro-family stance in the past,” said Denman.

The Florida resolution also criticized Disney’s participation in “family-oriented cruises which promote the active use of alcohol and gambling,” “hosting of homosexual and lesbian theme nights at its theme parks” and production of “questionable material through subsidiary corporations.”

Disney subsidiaries include Miramax, which distributed, among other films, “Priest,” about a gay Roman Catholic cleric.

Disney did not immediately return calls Wednesday (June 5) seeking comment. When the Florida resolution passed last year, Disney spokesman John Dreyer told The Washington Times that the company regretted the Florida Baptists’ move, but he defended Disney as “the world’s leader in producing entertainment for the entire family.” He also said Disney had no official role in the gay-theme nights mentioned in the Florida resolution.

About 19,000 delegates, known as messengers, are expected to attend the New Orleans meeting.

Tom Elliff, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, Okla., is the only announced presidential candidate to succeed Jim Henry, an Orlando, Fla., pastor completing a second one-year term.

Elliff, a former missionary in Zimbabwe, is supported by a group of 80 leaders who represent the vanguard of the conservative resurgence that has reshaped the denomination since 1979.


Henry was not the favored candidate of that vanguard two years ago, but Elliff “apparently has the backing of a lot of the leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention,” said Herb Hollinger, spokesman for the national meeting.

Delegates will vote a second and final time on plans to streamline the nation’s largest evangelical denomination, dramatically reducing the number of its agencies from 19 to 12. The move is designed to enhance the effectiveness of the Baptists’ missionary work.

Hollinger said recent statements regarding women pastors by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Mark Coppenger may prompt proposed resolutions on the role of women in the denomination.

Coppenger called female pastors “one of the raging, raging heresies and confusions of the day.” Hollinger said the remark prompted “a lot of discussion” on an issue that has long divided Baptists: whether women should serve as pastors in Baptist churches.

Delegates to the 1984 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution denouncing women’s ordination, but Southern Baptist women continue to be ordained by some churches in the denomination.

So far, more than 1,300 Southern Baptist women have been ordained and more than 50 have served as pastors. As of March, 22 were serving as pastors.


“I think there may be some resolutions on both sides, one for, one against” women in pastoral roles, Hollinger said. “Whether the resolutions committee decides to bring one out … that’ll be interesting.”

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