Episode 189: A New Christianity for the New South: Paul Sanchez on William Louis Poteat and Liberal Religion in the Baptist South

**A New Christianity for the New South: Paul Sanchez on William Louis Poteat and Liberal Religion in the Baptist South** Can science and faith coexist? In the early twentieth-century Baptist South, that question was explosive — and few embodied it more than William Louis Poteat. In this episode, Chad sits down with Dr. Paul Sanchez of Oklahoma Baptist University to discuss his new book, *A New Christianity for the New South*, which examines the life and legacy of Poteat: biologist, devout Baptist, and influential president of Wake Forest College who insisted that modern science and Christian faith need not be enemies. Paul and Chad trace how Poteat became an unlikely champion of theological liberalism in a region that largely resisted modern intellectual currents — and how debates over evolution, biblical interpretation, education, and social order unsettled both the Baptist Church and Southern society. They explore why the New South's rising professional class praised Poteat for modernizing the region's image, why his critics resented his progressive theology, and what his story reveals about the broader modernization of the American South. Dr. Paul Anthony Sanchez (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Ruth Dickinson Chair of Religion and Assistant Professor of Religion and History in the Herschel H. Hobbs School of Theology and Ministry at Oklahoma Baptist University. He is also the author of *California Dreaming: Evangelical Christianity and American Culture in the Golden State* (forthcoming, Eerdmans). **Links:** - 🎙️ Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AHOCT - 🌐 A History of Christian Theology: https://www.ahistoryofchristiantheology.com - 📖 *A New Christianity for the New South* (USC Press): https://uscpress.com/New-Christianity-for-the-New-South - 👤 Dr. Paul Sanchez at Oklahoma Baptist University: https://www.okbu.edu/directory/paul-sanchez - 𝕏 Follow the podcast: @theologyxian | 📘 facebook.com/ahistoryofchristiantheology