Southern Baptists grapple with race, gender, sex and God in pivotal annual meeting

There's a political fight brewing inside the nation's largest Protestant denomination as the Southern Baptist Convention gathers in Nashville this week for its annual meeting.

On one side is a hardcore vanguard of conservatives seeking to beat back what's viewed as a move toward "wokeness." On the other is the SBC establishment that's adopted a more conciliatory approach on progressive social issues such as Black Lives Matter, critical race theory and ordaining female ministers -- all in an attempt to attract a broader group of adherents. The battle, which culminates in a vote for a new president on Tuesday, is similar to the current cultural debate raging across the country over questions of race, gender and equality. It also comes as the SBC, like most Christian denominations in the US, faces shrinking membership and an increasingly secular America.