The process of denominational cohesion within the Southern Baptist Convention, 1845-1927

Abstract

This study explores the organizational development of the Southern Baptist Convention from its beginnings during the sectional polarization of the ante bellum period to the completion of denominational structures in 1927. This work challenges the presentation of the Convention as solely the outgrowth of a southern cultural consensus. In the years between the Civil War and the turn of the century, Baptists in the South exhibited a diversity that strained the structural integrity of the Convention. During these uncertain years, the disparate elements contended over issues of doctrine, polity, and representation within the Convention. A trend toward cohesion began slowly in the 1880s. This process resulted from events within and outside the Southern Baptist Convention. Northern Baptist mission agencies reduced their commitment in the South during this period while the Southern Baptist Convention concurrently strengthened its influence in the region. Motivated by a desire to effectively steward available resources, Southern Baptists took steps toward organizational centralization. In the years prior to World War I, members of the Convention slowly yielded a portion of their cherished autonomy in return for greater evangelical influence. Financial crisis and the fundamentalist/modernist debate during the 1920s forced Southern Baptists to complete their denominational structure in 1927.