SBC Votes to Advance Constitutional Ban on Women Pastors at Orlando Meeting

The Southern Baptist Convention took a major step toward formally banning women from pastoral roles on June 10, 2026, when more than 8,000 messengers gathered in Orlando voted 6,028 to 2,026 in favor of the Truth and Unity Amendment.

The amendment, introduced by Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, would add language to the SBC constitution excluding any church that "affirms, appoints, or endorses a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, specifically preaching to the assembled congregation."

Because the measure changes the SBC constitution, it must pass a second two-thirds majority vote at the 2027 annual meeting in Nashville before it becomes permanent.

The SBC already holds a faith statement limiting the office of pastor to men, but supporters of the amendment argued the constitution needed clearer enforcement language. Several prominent congregations, including Saddleback Church in California, were disfellowshipped in recent years for having women in pastoral roles.

Critics called the vote damaging. Baptist Women in Ministry, which represents female ministers across the denomination, said it was "heartbroken" by the outcome and reported a rise in harassment and doxxing of women clergy in the weeks leading up to the vote.

Alongside the amendment vote, messengers elected Florida pastor Willy Rice as the next SBC president and passed resolutions condemning political violence, antisemitism, and the mistreatment of immigrants.

The 2026 meeting drew one of the largest messenger counts in recent years, reflecting the intensity of debate over gender roles that has divided the denomination for more than a decade.