Please forgive the Enquirer-esque subject line. Of course, I actually know nothing of the religious beliefs of Dr. Hayek, but I strongly doubt that he was a Baptist of any sort, let alone a Southern Baptist. Not, however, because his philosophy made it impossible. As I’ve hinted before, I know of no religious beliefs as compatible with classical liberalism as Baptist (at least, properly understood).
In recently discussing The Road to Serfdom with Ben, he pointed out a passage I had not previously noticed which illustrates a part of this.
What our generation is in danger of forgetting is not only that morals are of necessity a phenomenon of individual conduct but also that they can exist only in the sphere in which the individual is free to decide for himself and is called upon voluntarily to sacrifice personal advantage to the observance of a moral rule. …Only where we ourselves are responsible for our own interests and are free to sacrifice them has our decision moral value. We are neither entitled to be unselfish at someone else’s expense nor is there any merit in being unselfish if we have no choice.
I suppose that, in order to make clear how this relates to Baptist belief, I’d better explain a little bit about Baptist belief.