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An op-ed entitled Losing my Religion for Equality by former President Jimmy Carter occasionally makes its way around the internet, drawing a mix of reactions and questions from readers. Did Carter really write this? Did he really leave the church? Doesn't he teach Sunday school? Carter, a third-generation Baptist who has taught Sunday school since the age of 18, turned to his faith often during his political career. In 1995, he reflected on how his faith guided him through his presidency, saying that there's no doubt that during my time as president I prayed more intensely and more fervently for God's guidance than at any other time in my life. In 2000, however, Carter found himself at odds with the Southern Baptist Convention as the group announced its opposition to women pastors. A few years prior, the group also added a declaration to its essential statement of beliefs stating that wives should be submissive to their husbands. Carter announced that he was severing ties with the organization and sent a letter to 75,000 Baptists across the country. According to The New York Times: The viral opinion piece Losing my Religion for Equality was published later in The Observer in July 2009. The entire op-ed can be read here. We've reproduced the first few paragraphs below: Carter truly wrote this letter/op-ed. However, the letter is often shared along with the claim that Carter renounced his faith. But that isn't the case. While Carter rejected the notion that women were subservient and severed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, he never turned his back on his own religion. In fact, Carter occasionally taught Sunday school at the Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, long after his viral op-ed was published.
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