Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Formation: May 8–12, 1845

Founders: William B. Johnson; Wilson Lumpkin; James B. Taylor; A. Docrey; R. B. C. Howell

Overview

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is an organized network of more than forty-seven thousand autonomous Baptist churches that cooperate at state, regional, and national levels. The name also refers to the body’s annual meeting of delegates. Though membership showed some decline by the beginning of the 2020s, the SBC remained one of the largest Baptist groups in the United States, boasting just over fourteen million members according to 2020 data. Unlike the Catholic Church, the SBC does not exercise direct administrative control over its member churches. Rather, it simply functions as a cooperative organization through which individual churches can pool resources to support their joint interests. However, the SBC is guided by a central administrative organization located in Nashville, Tennessee. Each of the SBC’s member churches functions as autonomous local congregations of baptized followers that are independently responsible for managing their own administrative affairs.

The SBC upholds a particularly conservative approach to Christianity. Members of the SBC are deeply devoted to Christian scripture as found in the Bible. SBC members also hold the Christian sacrament of baptism in particularly high regard and are strongly committed to evangelism. However, the staunch conservativism of the SBC is often a source of controversy. Given that the mid-nineteenth century founding of the SBC was the result of a split between Northern and Southern Baptists over the issue of slavery, the organization has frequently been criticized over claims of racism. The SBC also receives some criticism for its clearly stated rejection of same-sex marriage, as well as its espoused views on gender roles and abortion.

History

Baptists first arrived in the American colonies after fleeing England to escape religious persecution in the seventeenth century. The first Baptists to set foot in the colonies settled in New England in the 1630s and the Middle Colonies in the 1680s. By the end of the century, Baptists began to settle in the Southern Colonies as well. However, the early spread of the Baptist faith in the South was slow. It was not until a wave of spiritual revival swept through the American colonies about 1740 that the number of Southern Baptists began to surge.

Another important milestone in the development of the Baptist faith in the colonies was the establishment of Baptist associations. Though they built separate churches, American Baptists—like their English ancestors—were interested in building a wider fellowship that would allow them to carry out Christian tasks that were only possible by joining forces under a united banner. To that end, the first Baptist association in America was founded near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1707. The second was established in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1751. More associations soon followed. On May 18, 1814, a group of messengers representing Baptists across the country met in Philadelphia and formed a national foreign mission “society” known as the General Missionary Convention. Societies of this type were broader Baptist organizations created to focus on a particular branch of Christian ministry. Because the General Missionary Convention met every three years, it was also referred to as the Triennial Convention. While its primary objective was supporting and overseeing missionary work abroad, the Triennial Convention also effectively served as the first national Baptist denomination.

In the years after the Triennial Convention was formed, it became clear that there were considerable cultural and political differences between Baptists from different parts of the country. Such differences were evident between Northern and Southern Baptists. By the mid-nineteenth century, these two branches of the Triennial Convention were becoming increasingly divided over the issue of slavery. While Northern Baptists were largely in favor of abolition, Southern Baptists mostly supported its continuation. Eventually, this division pushed the Triennial Convention to its breaking point. In May 1845, a group of nearly three hundred Southern Baptist leaders agreed to leave the Triennial Convention and form a separate body. This decision led to the creation of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Beliefs & Practices

The beliefs of Baptists who are a part of the SBC are spelled out in a special document called the Baptist Faith and Message. This document serves as a guide to the main spiritual tenets of the SBC. These tenets touch on things like God, scripture, baptism, evangelism, religious liberty, and family.

Like other Christians, members of the SBC believe in a single God that appears in the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In terms of scripture, members believe the Bible was divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of himself to humankind. The SBC also believes that humans were created in God’s image and that Jesus Christ died for their sins.

Few aspects of spiritual life are more important to members of the SBC than baptism. The SBC membership views baptism as an act of obedience that symbolizes the believer’s faith in Christ, death to sin, burial of a person’s previous life, and their resurrection to new life in Christ. According to Baptist tradition, baptism is a sacrament undertaken by consenting adults that involves full immersion in water. The SBC membership also believes in the importance of education, stewardship, and evangelization.

The SBC teaches that in education there should be an appropriate balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Where stewardship is concerned, the SBC holds that the faithful are obligated to serve God to the best of their ability with their time, talents, and material possessions. As to evangelization, the SBC teaches that it is the duty of all believers to spread the word of God to people of all nations and to bring others to God. In terms of religious liberty, the SBC strongly believes in both a free church and free state. That is, neither should interfere in the affairs of the other. However, the SBC does hold that it is acceptable for church and state to overlap in some matters, such as in the offering of prayers at civic functions.

The most controversial aspects of the beliefs espoused by the SBC are those relating to sexuality, marriage, gender roles, and the sanctity of life. The SBC specifically classifies homosexuality as sinful. Accordingly, the SBC also rejects the concept of same-sex marriage, holding that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. As it pertains to gender roles, the SBC teaches that women, while not necessarily inferior to men, are expected to be subservient to their male counterparts, especially in marriage. Finally, like other Christian groups, the SBC holds that human life is sacred from the moment of conception and strongly opposes abortion.

By 2021, amid reports indicating that the SBC had experienced particularly sharp declines in membership over recent years, some analysts argued that the SBC's commitment to conservative beliefs may be behind the decision for some people to leave. After the nationwide protests around racial injustice in mid-2020, media coverage indicated that several Black pastors had chosen to leave following a statement made later that year by the SBC's seminary presidents regarding their position that critical race theory is not compatible with the SBC's biblical teachings. After the delegates' annual meeting set for 2020 had to be canceled due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the 2021 meeting that took place in June 2021 was considered to have been especially tense as it involved resolutions pertaining to such increasingly contentious issues as abortion and critical race theory as well as the election of a new president; in the end, the candidate considered more moderate proved victorious.

Bibliography

Baker, Robert A. “Southern Baptist Beginnings.” The Baptist History & Heritage Society, 1979, www.baptisthistory.org/baptistorigins/southernbaptistbeginnings.html. Accessed 3 June 2019.

“Basic Beliefs.” Southern Baptist Convention, 2019, www.sbc.net/aboutus/basicbeliefs.asp. Accessed 3 June 2019.

Carter, Joe. “9 Things You Should Know About the Southern Baptist Convention.” The Gospel Coalition, 8 June 2014, www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-the-southern-baptist-convention. Accessed 3 June 2019.

Casanova, Amanda. “The Most Well-Known Protestant Denomination: 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Baptists.” Christianity.com, 27 Apr. 2018, www.christianity.com/church/denominations/the-most-well-known-protestant-denomination-10-things-everyone-should-know-about-baptists.html. Accessed 3 June 2019.

Downen, Robert. “The Southern Baptist Convention, Explained.” Houston Chronicle, 9 Feb. 2019, www.chron.com/news/investigations/article/The-Southern-Baptist-Convention-explained-13588217.php. Accessed 3 June 2019.

Graham, Ruth. "Southern Baptists Narrowly Head Off Ultraconservative Takeover." The New York Times, 15 June 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/06/15/us/southern-baptist-convention-president-ed-litton.html. Accessed 16 July 2021.

“Position Statements.” Southern Baptist Convention, 2019, www.sbc.net/aboutus/positionstatements.asp. Accessed 3 June 2019.

Shellnutt, Kate. “After Major Investigation, Southern Baptists Confront the Abuse Crisis They Knew Was Coming.” Christianity Today, 11 Feb. 2019, www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/february/southern-baptist-abuse-investigation-houston-chronicle-sbc.html. Accessed 3 June 2019.

“Southern Baptist Convention.” Theopedia, 2019, www.theopedia.com/sbc. Accessed 3 June 2019.

"2020 Southern Baptist Convention Statistical Summary." Annual Church Profile Statistical Summary, Lifeway Christian Resources, 23 Apr. 2021, blog.lifeway.com/newsroom/files/2021/05/ACP‗Summary‗2020.pdf. Accessed 16 July 2021.