NASHVILLE (BP) – The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s 2025 was highlighted by impactful Supreme Court amicus briefs, a new emphasis of the Psalm 139 Project, and a variety of new church resources, events and advocacy work.
ERLC Interim President Gary Hollingsworth expressed his thankfulness for the work of the entity and called serving in his position “an honor.”
“As I reflect on all the Lord has accomplished through this entity in 2025, I am both humbled and grateful to be part of a team so committed to engaging the culture with the hope of the Gospel,” said Hollingsworth, who was unanimously elected as interim president in September.
Several notable ERLC highlights and updates took place throughout the year.
2025 Public Policy Agenda
To begin the year, the ERLC announced its policy priorities for 2025 by publishing the entity’s annual federal public policy agenda, released on Jan. 16.
The 2025 Public Policy Agenda was divided into the ERLC’s four main focus areas: Life, Religious Liberty, Marriage and Family, and Human Dignity.
The agenda features 42 policy items, framed in light of the transition from President Biden’s administration to President Trump’s administration, articulating that this transition provides great opportunity for significant policy change. The agenda cites the Baptist Faith and Message 2000and past SBC resolutions within each section of policy priorities, and guides the ERLC’s policy work throughout the year.
Supreme Court advocacy
Among the ERLC’s major policy priorities for the year were five U.S. Supreme Court cases which were decided this June. Each of the five rulings represented a victory for Southern Baptist policy priorities.
The cases involved a variety of Southern Baptist areas of concern including upholding religious liberty, protecting minors from pornography, defunding Planned Parenthood and protecting minors from harmful gender transition treatments.
In each of the cases, the ERLC was actively involved by joining amicus briefs, including two they authored themselves alongside Baptist state conventions in Tennessee and Texas. The ERLC also released explainer articles in anticipation of each case and in response to each ruling.
2025 cases engaged by the ERLC can be found online.
Across State Lines initiative
This year, the ERLC announced their new “Across State Lines” pro-life initiative, which focuses on providing ultrasound equipment and subsequent training to pregnancy resource centers in states where abortion is legal and readily accessible.
The emphasis works in tandem with the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project, which funds these ultrasound placements and the necessary training. Across State Lines will focus on placing ultrasound machines in states where abortion is legal, often partnering with Baptist state conventions and other entities to make the placements.
Thus far, multiple ultrasound placements have been made through the Across State Lines initiative, including in Alaska and Vermont.
Church guides released
The ERLC released two practical guides for churches on the topic of artificial intelligence and gambling.
Both guides, produced by the ERLC’s research team, offer a theological and ethical framework and practical scenarios about how Christians and churches can faithfully address issues that arise in their congregations and communities. Both of the guides are also available in Spanish.
Advocacy for Nigeria
The ERLC continued its long-standing advocacy in support of Christians suffering for their faith in Nigeria, as they continue to experience intense and violent persecution. The ERLC has advocated for Nigeria to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for several years since the Biden administration removed it in 2021. A CPC designation against another country doesn’t require any United States action. It does, however, authorize the U.S. government to take further steps, such as sanctions and negotiations, to pressure the offending nation to protect religious freedoms.
At their April meeting, ERLC trustees selected Christians in Nigeria as the recipients of their John Leland Religious Liberty Award, which is given to a person or a group that has been “a courageous champion of religious liberty both in the United States and around the world.”
As targeted violence against followers of Christ in Nigeria mounted throughout the year, the ERLC continued to advocate for the designation.
On Oct. 31, President Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for tolerating religious freedom violations especially against Christians, citing the need to counter the devastation incited by radical insurgents in Nigeria and to discourage such persecution.
The ERLC commended President Trump for this long-awaited action.
Presidential search committee begins work/interim president named
Following the departure of ERLC President Brent Leatherwood in July, ERLC trustees named the members of their presidential search team and elected Gary Hollingsworth, retired South Carolina state convention leader and longtime pastor, as the entity’s interim president.
Hollingsworth was named to the post by ERLC trustees at their meeting on Sept. 16 and officially began his work on Oct. 1.
The search committee, chaired by Mitch Kimbrell, senior pastor of Christ Memorial Church in Williston, Vt., comprises six total members. The committee released a prayer guide for Southern Baptists to utilize as they continue their search for the entity’s permanent leader.
State convention engagement
The ERLC continued to strengthen its relationship with state conventions across the country throughout the year.
The ERLC provided a variety of practical guides for churches, partnered with state conventions through the Psalm 139 Project, hosted a group of state ethnic leaders for a meeting in their Nashville office and attended a number of Baptist state convention meetings, with several staff members speaking on stage.
Defunding Planned Parenthood
Southern Baptists long-held desire for the government to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of abortions, finally came to fruition this July when a budget reconciliation bill known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law. This is the first time in U.S. history that a piece of federal legislation will defund abortion providers.
Abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood are listed in the bill as prohibited entities that cannot receive federal payments, including Medicaid reimbursements. The bill also included several other Southern Baptist policy priorities, such as an increase in the Child Tax Credit.
The ERLC has long-advocated for the defunding of Planned Parenthood, including launching a campaign calling on Congress to defund the organization that gathered more than 30,000 signatures from pro-life advocates. The entity listed defunding Planned Parenthood as their highest legislative priority at the beginning of the year.
SBC Annual Meeting events
The ERLC hosted two events during the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas.
The first event discussed the role of Southern Baptists in the public square with a group of public officials including U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), Ambassador-designate Mark Walker and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX).
The second event featured a conversation with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti discussing the Supreme Court case in which he was the defendant just days before the monumental ruling was handed down.
Trips to Washington
This year, the ERLC hosted several pastor advocacy trips to Washington, D.C. The trips gathered groups of pastors from across the country for meetings with Congressional leaders, administration officials and coalition partners.
Topics for the advocacy meetings included discussing Southern Baptist policy priorities for the upcoming budget reconciliation bill (specifically defunding Planned Parenthood) and hand-delivering signatures calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Meetings also consisted of advocacy in support of pro-life priorities, like opposing increased access to mifepristone (a drug commonly used in medication abortions) and regulating the IVF industry, as well as discussing challenges facing our nation’s current immigration system.
The ERLC hosted a meeting in D.C. with a group of SBC Ethnic Fellowship leaders and elected officials.
ERLC Podcast
The ERLC Podcast covered several different topics throughout the year including the importance of the entity’s policy work in D.C., how Southern Baptists can make an impact on each branch of government, the importance of the ERLC’s partnership with state conventions and more.
Hollingsworth reflected on the past year, stating, “2025 has been a year to celebrate, and we remain committed and steadfast in our mission: to diligently serve pastors and fellow Southern Baptists as they bring God’s Word to bear on issues of moral importance in our culture. We ask for your prayers for our leadership and for God’s continued guiding hand to be with us for many years to come.”
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