380 Southern Baptist Leaders Sexually Abused 700 People over 20 Years

[JCFantasy23]

The Houston Chronicle published a more than 5,000-word article on Sunday – the first of three installments – detailing the acts of sexual abuse by several prominent Southern Baptist Convention pastors and leaders on more than 700 victims over 20-years.

The outlet notes that they took on this project in order to create a comprehensive list that details sexual abuse, assault and misconduct by SBC Church leaders after abuse victims demanded a list in 2007 and never got one.

According to the Houston Chronicle, since 1998, approximately 380 SBC leaders and volunteers “have faced allegations of sexual misconduct.” Of the 380 SBC leaders accused, 220 have been convicted, nearly 100 are still in prison and more than 100 are now registered sex offenders. While some leaders did serve jail time, the Houston Chronicle reports that others of them – some registered sex offenders – are still working in SBC churches today.

Source

 

[SaintCody777]

I understand sexual abuse of minors by priests is rampant in the Roman Catholic Chuch. However, knowing that church leaders may sometimes err, like the Corinthians did. This was NOT the reason why I left the Catholic Church.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

I'm honestly not surprised this sexual abuse of children hasn't been confronted until recently. I wasn't surprised about the Catholic Church and its own nasty history of sexual predator priests either.

 

[com7fy8]

700 victims over 20-years.

I have been told that every group has this problem, but they might make a point of reporting cases, instead of covering it up.

I am curious what percentage of victims are underage, versus attacks on adults. With a more ministers married, I suppose the problem could be more on adults.

380 SBC leaders accused

And how many is this, out of how many ordained ministers? And how does this compare with the percentage of Catholic priests . . . where there has possibly been more covering up?

While some leaders did serve jail time, the Houston Chronicle reports that others of them – some registered sex offenders – are still working in SBC churches today.

So, does this fit with the terms of their parole? Or have they somehow been sneaking around things?

 

[Basil the Great]

Human nature being what it is, we should not be surprised by this news story. Why would Baptist leaders be much different than Catholic priests? Yes, they can marry, but the ban on marriage only seems to play a small part in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis.

 

[com7fy8]

approximately 380 SBC leaders and volunteers “have faced allegations of sexual misconduct.”

And how many is this, out of how many ordained ministers?

more than 700 victims over 20-years.

According to an article I read, there are 47,000 SBC churches. So, we're talking about 380 ministers/volunteers predating on people, in 47,000 churches where there could be at least two ministers/volunteers per church. This is not good > about one predator per 100 church workers, or maybe less.

In the general population, there can be one victim in roughly a thousand people, per year, it seems from one source. But about twice as many offenses are not reported, it seems to be estimated. So, this could mean there is one case per three hundred people, each year, in the U.S.

This is per year. The SBC thing is over twenty years . . . for a hundred predators.

It looks like the Catholic thing is one in a hundred is a predator. In SBC, maybe it is one in three hundred ministers/volunteers. This is never good, but possibly there has been less coverup in SBC so it tends not to happen so much. But a number of SBC leaders did help to cover up, and they got in trouble.

 

[com7fy8]

the ban on marriage only seems to play a small part in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis.

My opinion > being single does not make a person a predator on children. Also, it seems there are predators who get married so they can use their own children as their supply.

But > what I consider > if you have an unmarried priesthood, this can make it easier for a single predator to get to have children available, by becoming a cleric. Because you do not have a lot of married clerics to fill pulpits, and so these pulpits are available to single men including predators.

By the way, the Catholic Church in the United States has roughly half a million priests - - and one in a hundred is reported to be a predator.

SBC has 380 assault cases over twenty years for 47,000 churches, and the offenders include pastors and deacons and others, not only pastors. So, in twenty years there is less than one assault per hundred churches . . . versus the one predator per a hundred priests. And I consider that the celibacy is not a coincidence, in case it is keeping married men from taking pulpits which single predators can take.