ERLC President Brent Leathwood Resigns Following Years of SBC Division
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president resigned Thursday, nearly two months after the entity survived a vote at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting to cut its funding.
Brent Leatherwood led the ERLC from 2021 to 2025, enduring multiple attempts by critics dissatisfied with its direction to remove him or slash the entity’s funding. The ERLC also survived a vote in 2024 to cut its funding.
The ERLC is the official voice of the Southern Baptist Convention on moral, social, and public policy issues.
“It has been an honor to guide this Baptist organization in a way that has honored the Lord, served the churches of our Convention, and made this fallen world a little better,” Leatherwood said, according to Baptist Press. “I believe gratitude is at the heart of conservatism.
“That means I will always be thankful for the opportunity provided to me by our churches -- for the support they have offered and the resources they have sacrificially given to this entity.”
Leatherwood led the ERLC during much of the Trump era, a time marked by deep divisions among conservatives—both nationwide and within the denomination. His supporters rejected charges that the entity had drifted leftward.
At this year’s annual meeting, 57 percent of messengers voted not to defund the ERLC. Had the measure passed, it would have required a second vote at the 2026 meeting to take effect. In 2024, the ERLC not only survived a vote, but Leatherwood himself was fired and then rehired in a series of wild events by the board, which said the former board chairman had acted alone in dismissing him.
“In all of our advocacy work, we have sought to strike a balance of conviction and kindness, one that is rooted in Scripture and reflective of our Baptist beliefs,” he said. “That has meant standing for truth, without equivocation, yet never failing to honor the God-given dignity of each person we engage. By conducting ourselves in accordance with what is articulated in 1 Peter 3:15-16, our ministry has helped the world clearly understand that Jesus Christ reveals a better way to live rather than the angry, self-absorbed, and cruel model that is so often served up by our modern culture.”
A news release from the ERLC listed some of the entity’s accomplishments under Leatherwood, including:
—Leading an effort to defund Planned Parenthood.
—Authoring amicus briefs before the Supreme Court that “resulted in wins for the protection of children from ‘gender transition’ procedures and from online pornography.”
—Placing 40 ultrasound machines in pregnancy resource centers across the country.
—Delivering a letter to the Trump transition team “with policy priorities for President Trump’s first 100 days, several of which were enacted.”
—Sponsoring the Evangelical Statement in Support of Israel following the deadly terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023.
Miles Mullin, ERLC vice president and chief of staff, will serve as acting president until a permanent successor is named.
“Brent has led the commission well and demonstrated loving courage in the face of a divisive and increasingly polarizing culture in America,” said trustee chairman Scott Foshie. “While biblical values have been under attack, Brent has been a consistent and faithful missionary to the public square. We are thankful for his commitment to the Lord and to this commission.”
Photo credit: ©ERLC; used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published August 01, 2025.
