Policy / Support Parental Rights

Support Parental Rights

Southern Baptists believe that children are a gift from the Lord, and that it is the responsibility of their parents to raise them with a biblical worldview. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 affirms that “children … are a blessing and heritage from the Lord …Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth.”

Southern Baptists have resolved to support parents in the education and upbringing of their children. In the resolution “On the God-Given Rights and Responsibilities of Parents,” Southern Baptists affirmed “that parents are the primary stewards of and decision-makers for their children, rather than teachers, doctors, or the state” and urged parents and churches to “to advocate for policies and practices that support and strengthen the family unit, recognizing it as the primary institution for the nurturing and upbringing of children.”

The ERLC is vocal about the right of parents to be made aware of new developments in their child’s self-identified gender and of exposure to sexual orientation and gender identity-related issues in the classroom. In recent years, these rights have been increasingly challenged in the realms of education, online access, and matters of gender and sexuality. In recent years, the ERLC has engaged numerous court cases challenging state and local laws that seek to indoctrinate children with gender ideology and mislead parents about what is happening in their child’s classroom.

Parents do not forfeit their children to the state when they put them on the school bus or drop them off in the carpool line. As the Supreme Court recently affirmed in Mahmoud v. Taylor, parents must be given an opt-out of curriculum that burdens their religious exercise. And if their child is experiencing doubt about their biological sex, parents should be deeply involved in assisting their children—not shut out by educators and administrators.

In line with the Southern Baptist view of the role of parents in raising their children, the ERLC has endorsed the Parents’ Rights and Responsibilities Act. This legislation would ensure that the federal government is unable to supersede the right of a parent to be informed of their child’s self-identified gender, including requests to be referred to by other pronouns and names while at their school. The ERLC urges Congress to pass this bill swiftly.