(April 23, 2006)--A group of Baptist leaders has called on church members to "speak positively about public education” in response to a conservative movement to pull Baptist children out of public schools.

Fifty-six pastors and organizational leaders signed the letter supporting public schools.

Some are leaders from the conservative Southern Baptist Convention and others from the more moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

The letter was posted on the Web site of the Baptist Center for Ethics.

"We believe Baptists should recommit themselves to public education, not as a means toward converting school children, but because it is the right thing to do," the letter says.

"We believe public school children are God's children who deserve the nurture of a good society, the prospect for a good education and the equal opportunity for a good life."

Click Here To Read The Full Letter

The Nashville group often criticizes the conservative direction of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The letter says it's wrong for church leaders to urge their followers to abandon public schools in favor of homeschooling or private Christian academies.

The Southern Baptist Convention has passed resolutions supporting homeschooling and Christian education.

But it rejected a 2004 resolution made by a Houston lawyer calling for parents to remove their kids from public schools.

Yet the following year the Convention adopted a version of another resolution asking churches to investigate whether schools were promoting acceptance of homosexuality.

Click Here For Baptist Center For Ethics Web Site