The Southern Baptist Convention has passed a resolution calling on Christians to stop displaying the Confederate battle flag.
The resolution was first proposed by an African-American pastor, the Rev. Dwight McKissic. The proposal presented to thousands of delegates at the denomination’s annual meeting in St. Louis on Tuesday was less strongly worded than the original. It added a paragraph saying that the flag serves for some not as a symbol of racism but as a memorial to loved ones who died in the Civil War.
It also called on Christians to “consider prayerfully whether to limit, or even more so, discontinue” the flag’s display.
But on Tuesday, the convention approved a motion from the floor to remove the added paragraph and strengthen the language by calling on Christians to simply discontinue the flag’s use.
