Younger attendees at the event, a meeting of the country’s largest Protestant denomination, sported beards, stylish plaid and the occasional NPR tote bag. Speakers tackled topics including pornography, hookup culture, premarital sex, the decline of marriage, sexual abuse, divorce and - arguably the most contentious - homosexuality. The Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics and religious liberty commission (ERLC) was hosting its first leadership summit, which its new leader said he hoped would provoke a “frank conversation” on sexual ethics. Prominent evangelical Christian leaders met here this week to discuss a topic that’s typically taboo in Sunday church: sexuality.
