Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically
Willy Rice says issues like abortion and immigration are theological and moral matters
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically
Photograph: ChurchLeaders (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice has urged pastors to increase their political engagement.
- Rice stated that issues including abortion, marriage, gender identity, and immigration are theological and moral concerns.
- He believes pastors have historically held significant influence in American political discourse.
- Rice noted that some conservative voices have advised pastors to remain politically quiet.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 11 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 13 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
13 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 11 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice is calling on pastors to become more politically active ahead of the midterm elections. Rice, who also pastors Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, stated that issues such as abortion, marriage, gender identity, and immigration are theological and moral matters that pastors should address from the pulpit.
Rice told Fox News Digital that throughout American history, pastors have held a strong voice during significant political moments. He observed that in recent years, some conservative voices, both external and internal to the church, have encouraged pastors to withdraw from the political process. Rice also noted that individuals on the political and theological left are more politically engaged than those on the right.
Disagreement on engagement
The Gateway Pundit reported that Rice is "firing back against the absurd, un-American demands that pastors must ‘stay out of politics.’" ChurchLeaders reported that Rice noted "some conservative voices have encouraged pastors to be more quiet politically."
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports printed below mention Willy Rice's observation that people on the political and theological left are more politically engaged than those on the right. The centre-rated report included this detail.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 6 Oct 2026, 21:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Southern Baptist president calls on pastors to ‘step up’ ahead of midterm elections (Credit: Fox News)
The Gateway Pundit — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report from ChurchLeaders led with Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice calling on pastors to "step up" politically ahead of the midterm elections. It stated that Rice identified abortion, immigration, and human sexuality and gender identity as key issues. The report noted Rice's belief in the historical influence of pastors in American politics and his observation that some conservative voices have encouraged political quietude. It also included Rice's comment that those on the political and theological left are more engaged than those on the right.
Right
10 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice urging pastors to "step up" politically before the midterm elections. These reports highlighted Rice's assertion that abortion, marriage, gender identity, and immigration are theological and moral issues. Several outlets, including The Gateway Pundit and LifeNews.com, quoted Rice stating that pastors "absolutely should" engage in the political process because these issues strike at the core of beliefs. The Gateway Pundit also included Rice's observation that the political and theological left are more engaged than the right, and that conservative Christians have ceded too much political ground. Focus on the Family's report stated that "Christians in America would be well served if more pastors in churches shared the same convictions as Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Willy Rice."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically?
- Of the 11 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 9% are rated centre, 91% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 13. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 11 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically biased?
- Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically is one event reported by 13 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Southern Baptist leader urges pastors to engage politically?
- 13 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice calling for?
- Willy Rice is calling on pastors to become more politically engaged ahead of the midterm elections. He believes that issues such as abortion, marriage, gender identity, and immigration are theological and moral matters that require a pastoral voice.
- Why does Willy Rice believe pastors should engage politically?
- Rice argues that many political issues are fundamentally theological and moral issues that impact core beliefs and human flourishing. He also noted that pastors have historically played a significant role in American political history and that those on the left are more politically engaged.
- What specific issues did Willy Rice mention?
- Willy Rice specifically mentioned abortion, marriage, gender identity, and immigration as issues that are theological and moral in nature and should be addressed by pastors.
Read it at the source
13 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
1Right
10- When It Comes to Christians and Policy, Pastor Willy Rice Gets It (opens Focus on the Family in a new tab)
Focus on the Family — is Focus on the Family biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- SBC President Willy Rice Calls on Pastors To ‘Step Up’ Politically Ahead of Midterms (opens Christian News Now in a new tab)
Christian News Now — is Christian News Now biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Christian Leader: Pastors Must Speak Up on Election Issues, Condemn Abortion (opens LifeNews.com in a new tab)
LifeNews.com — is LifeNews.com biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Pastors Must Speak Up on Biblical Issues Before Midterms, SBC President Says - Charisma Magazine Online (opens mycharisma.com in a new tab)
mycharisma.com — is mycharisma.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Southern Baptist President Fires Back at Calls for Pastors to Stay Out of Politics — Urges Conservative Pastors to “Step Up” Before the Midterms Because Abortion, Marriage, Gender, and Immigration Are Theological Issues * The Gateway Pundit * by Jim Hᴏft (opens The Gateway Pundit in a new tab)
The Gateway Pundit — is The Gateway Pundit biased? Our profile of this outlet
- POLITICS: Southern Baptist Leader Urges Pastors to Get Political Before Midterms – The Beltway Report (opens U-S-NEWS.COM in a new tab)
U-S-NEWS.COM — is U-S-NEWS.COM biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Southern Baptist Leader Urges Pastors to Get Political Before Midterms (opens The Beltway Report in a new tab)
The Beltway Report — is The Beltway Report biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Southern Baptist president calls on pastors to ‘step up’ ahead of midterm elections (opens wfmd.com in a new tab)
Show 2 more
- Southern Baptist president calls on pastors to 'step up' ahead of midterm elections - NEW YORK TIMES POST (opens nytimespost.com in a new tab)
nytimespost.com — is nytimespost.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Southern Baptist president calls on pastors to 'step up' ahead of midterm elections (opens Fox News in a new tab)
Not rated
2- Political Issues Should Also Be Addressed From the Pulpit, Says American Pastor (opens vasarnap.hu in a new tab)
vasarnap.hu — is vasarnap.hu biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Southern Baptist President Fires Back at Calls for Pastors to Stay Out of Politics — Urges Conservative Pastors to “Step Up” Before the Midterms Because Abortion, Marriage, Gender, and Immigration Are Theological Issues - Politics, Policy, Political Views (opens Politics, Policy, Political News in a new tab)
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