Southern Baptist Convention votes against ban on female pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention voted Wednesday against enshrining a ban on churches with female pastors.

While 61% of those who voted supported the ban, it needed a two-thirds majority to pass, according to CNN. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest protestant denomination in the U.S. and held its annual meeting in Indianapolis.

The church already limits the pastoral role to men, but the proposed ban would have extended to lesser positions such as associate pastorships or other ministries.

Opponents who voted against the ban said that they still agreed with the statement but insisted that the ban was unnecessary in light of the existing means of removing churches from the association.