HOW NOVEL: Southern Baptists encourage marrying younger, avoiding sexual sin.

The denomination has always believed that marriage is fundamental to a just, healthy and happy society. But in recent years, it has changed its messaging about when couples should get married.

The Southern Baptist Convention used to tell couples to wait until they reach financial stability, said Jon Akin, pastor of Fairview Church in Lebanon. “What we’ve communicated to our young people is finances are more important than sexual sin, and the Bible seems to say the exact opposite of that.”

Now, the denomination is emphasizing practical and theological reasons to marry younger. Marriage helps keep young people from sexual sin in the midst of their sexual maturity, Akin said, and helps them fulfill God’s design for men and women as complementary beings.

“Fulfill God’s design for men and women as complementary beings” means making babies. The advice isn’t just smart for couples, it’s smart for the denomination. Making babies early and often provides groups with a demographic edge.