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Do not fill this in! ==History== {{Further |Baptists in the United States}} ===Colonial era=== [[File:First Baptist Church, South of Broad, Charleston, SC (49550230557).jpg|thumb|[[First Baptist Church (Charleston, South Carolina)|First Baptist Church]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina]]]] Most early Baptists in the British colonies came from England in the 17th century, after conflict with the [[Church of England]] for their dissenting religious views.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Origins of the Particular Baptists|url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/origins-of-the-particular-baptists/|access-date=2020-07-21|website=The Gospel Coalition|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1638, [[Roger Williams]] founded the first Baptist church in [[British America]] at the [[Providence Plantations]], the first permanent European American settlement also founded by Williams in Rhode Island. The oldest Baptist church in the South, [[First Baptist Church (Charleston, South Carolina)|First Baptist Church]] of [[Charleston, South Carolina]], was organized in 1682 under the leadership of [[William Screven]].<ref>{{Citation | title = Baptist Pioneers in America | publisher = Mainstream Baptists | url = http://www.mainstreambaptists.org/mbn/pioneers.htm | access-date = 3 Feb 2013}}.</ref> A Baptist church was formed in [[Virginia]] in 1715 through the preaching of [[Robert Norden]] and another in [[North Carolina]] in 1727 through the ministry of [[Paul Palmer (minister)|Paul Palmer]]. The Baptists adhered to a [[congregationalist polity]] and operated independently of the state-established [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] churches in the South, at a time when non-Anglicans were prohibited from holding political office. By 1740, about eight Baptist churches existed in the colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, with an estimated 300 to 400 members.<ref name="Southern Baptist Beginnings">{{cite web|url= http://www.baptisthistory.org/sbaptistbeginnings.htm|title= Southern Baptist Beginnings|first= Robert A|last= Baker|publisher= Baptist History & Heritage Society|year= 1979|access-date= 2012-10-28|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121018074627/http://www.baptisthistory.org/sbaptistbeginnings.htm|archive-date= October 18, 2012}}</ref> New members, both black and white, were converted chiefly by Baptist preachers who traveled throughout the South during the 18th and 19th centuries, in the eras of the [[First Great Awakening|First]] and [[Second Great Awakening]]s.{{sfn|Taylor|1859|pp=57, 60, 71, 83}} Black churches were founded in Virginia, South Carolina, and [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]] before the [[American Revolution]]. Some black congregations kept their independence even after whites tried to exercise more authority after [[Nat Turner's Rebellion]] of 1831.{{Sfn | Raboteau | 2004 |p=178–79}} ===American Revolution period=== Before the American Revolution, Baptist and [[Methodist]] evangelicals in the South promoted the view of the common man's equality before God, which embraced slaves and free blacks. They challenged the hierarchies of class and race and urged planters to abolish slavery. They welcomed slaves as Baptists and accepted them as preachers.{{sfn|Miller|Smith|1997}} During this time, there was a sharp division between the austerity of the plain-living Baptists, attracted initially from yeomen and common planters, and the opulence of the Anglican planters, the slave-holding elite who controlled local and colonial government in what had become a slave society by the late 18th century.{{sfn|Kolchin|1993}} The gentry interpreted Baptist church discipline as political radicalism, but it served to ameliorate disorder. The Baptists intensely monitored each other's moral conduct, watching especially for sexual transgressions, cursing, and excessive drinking; they expelled members who would not reform.{{sfn|Isaac|1974}} In Virginia and in most southern colonies before the American Revolution, the Church of England was the [[established church]] and supported by general taxes, as it was in England. It opposed the rapid spread of Baptists in the South. Particularly in Virginia, many Baptist preachers were prosecuted for "disturbing the peace" by preaching without licenses from the Anglican Church. [[Patrick Henry]] and [[James Madison]] defended Baptist preachers before the American Revolution in cases considered significant in the history of religious freedom.<ref>{{Citation | last = Ketcham | first = Ralph L | title = James Madison: A Biography | place = Charlottesville, VA | publisher = University of Virginia Press | orig-date = 1971 | format = paperback | year = 1990 | page = [https://archive.org/details/jamesmadisonbiog00ketc/page/57 57] | isbn = 978-0-8139-1265-3 | url = https://archive.org/details/jamesmadisonbiog00ketc/page/57 }}.</ref> In 1779, [[Thomas Jefferson]] wrote the [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]], enacted in 1786 by the Virginia General Assembly. Madison later applied his ideas and those of the Virginia document related to religious freedom during the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]], when he ensured that they were incorporated into the [[United States Constitution|national constitution]]. The struggle for religious tolerance erupted and played out during the American Revolution, as the Baptists worked to disestablish the Anglican churches in the South. The Baptists protested vigorously; the resulting social disorder resulted chiefly from the ruling gentry's disregard for public need. The vitality of the religious opposition made the conflict between "evangelical" and "gentry" styles a bitter one.{{sfn|Beeman|1978}} Scholarship suggests that the evangelical movement's strength determined its ability to mobilize power outside the conventional authority structure.{{sfn|Kroll-Smith|1984}} ===National unification and regional division=== {{Main |Triennial Convention}} In 1814, leaders such as [[Luther Rice]] helped Baptists unify nationally under what became known informally as the [[Triennial Convention]] (because it met every three years) based in [[Philadelphia]]. It allowed them to join their resources to support [[mission (Christian)|missions]] abroad. The [[American Baptist Home Mission Society|Home Mission Society]], affiliated with the Triennial Convention, was established in 1832 to support missions in U.S. frontier territories. By the mid-19th century, there were many social, cultural, economic, and political differences among business owners of the North, farmers of the West, and [[Planter (American South)|planters]] of the South. The most divisive conflict was primarily over the issue of slavery and secondarily over missions.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/baptistsinameric00arms/page/187|title=The Baptists in America|last1=Armstrong |first1=O. K. |date=1979|publisher=Doubleday|last2=Moore Armstrong |first2=Marjorie |isbn=0-385-14655-8|location=Garden City, N.Y.|oclc=4983547|page=[https://archive.org/details/baptistsinameric00arms/page/187 187]}}</ref> ====Divisions over slavery==== {{see also|Christian views on slavery}} The issues surrounding slavery dominated the 19th century in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Baptists in America: A History {{!}} Reviews in History|url=https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/1940|access-date=2020-07-21|website=reviews.history.ac.uk|language=en}}</ref> This created tension between Baptists in northern and southern U.S. states over the issue of [[manumission]]. In the two decades after the American Revolution during the [[Second Great Awakening]], northern Baptist preachers (as well as the [[Quakers]] and [[Methodists]]) increasingly argued that slaves be freed.{{Sfn | Heyrman | 1998 | pp = 10–18, 155}} Although most Baptists in the 19th century south were [[yeomen]] farmers and common planters, the Baptists also began to attract major planters among their membership. The southern pastors interpreted the Bible as supporting slavery and encouraged paternalistic practices by slaveholders. They preached to slaves to accept their places and obey their masters, and welcomed slaves and free blacks as members, though whites controlled the churches' leadership, and seating was usually segregated.{{Sfn | Heyrman | 1998 | pp = 10–18, 155}} From the early 19th century, many Baptist preachers in the South also argued in favor of preserving the right of ministers to be slaveholders.<ref name= historiographicalstudy>{{Cite journal| last = Shurden | first = Walter B. | title = The origins of the Southern Baptist Convention: a historiographical study | journal = Baptist History and Heritage | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | date = January 1, 2002 | url = http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-94160891.html}}</ref> [[File:Gillfield Baptist Church.jpg|thumb|[[Gillfield Baptist Church (Petersburg, Virginia)|Gillfield Baptist Church]] was the largest Black American congregation within the Portsmouth Association of the [[Triennial Convention]], preceding the north–south split and formation of Southern Baptists]] Black congregations were sometimes the largest in their regions. For instance, by 1821, Gillfield Baptist in [[Petersburg, Virginia]], had the largest congregation within the Portsmouth Association. At 441 members, it was more than twice as large as the next-biggest church. Before Nat Turner's Rebellion of 1831, Gillfield had a black preacher. Afterward, the state legislature insisted that white men oversee black congregations. Gillfield could not call a black preacher until after the [[American Civil War]] and emancipation.{{Sfn | Raboteau | 2004 | p = 188}} After Turner's rebellion, whites worked to exert more control over black congregations and passed laws requiring white ministers to lead or be present at religious meetings. Many slaves evaded these restrictions. The Triennial Convention and the Home Mission Society adopted a kind of neutrality concerning slavery, neither condoning nor condemning it. During the "Georgia Test Case" of 1844, the [[Georgia Baptist Convention|Georgia State Convention]] proposed that the slaveholder [[Elder (Christianity)|Elder]] James E. Reeve be appointed as a [[missionary]]. The [[International Mission Board|Foreign Mission Board]] refused to approve his appointment, recognizing the case as a challenge and not wanting to violate their neutrality on slavery. They said that slavery should not be introduced as a factor into deliberations about missionary appointments.{{sfn|Early|2008|pp=100–101}} In 1844, [[University of Alabama]] president [[Basil Manly Sr.]], a prominent preacher and major planter who owned 40 slaves, drafted the "Alabama Resolutions" and presented them to the Triennial Convention. They included the demand that slaveholders be eligible for denominational offices to which the Southern associations contributed financially. They were not adopted. Georgia Baptists decided to test the claimed neutrality by recommending a slaveholder to the Home Mission Society as a missionary. The Home Mission Society's board refused to appoint him, noting that missionaries were not allowed to take servants with them (so he clearly could not take slaves) and that they would not make a decision that appeared to endorse slavery. Southern Baptists considered this an infringement of their right to determine their own candidates.<ref name=Cathcart>{{Citation | url = http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/staughton/triennial.htm | title = The Baptist Encyclopedia | editor-first = William | editor-last = Cathcart | edition = rev | place = Philadelphia | year = 1883 | publisher = William Carey University | access-date = April 25, 2007 | page = 1077}}.</ref> From the southern perspective, the northern position that "slaveholding brethren were less than followers of Jesus" effectively obligated slaveholding Southerners to leave the fellowship.<ref>{{cite news |first = Dayne |last = Sherman |date = 2012-06-24 |title = Southern Baptist Convention in black, white |url = http://hammondstar.com/articles/2012/06/26/opinion/columnists/8231.txt |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130125090835/http://hammondstar.com/articles/2012/06/26/opinion/columnists/8231.txt |archive-date = 2013-01-25 |newspaper = Sunday Star |location = Hammond, [[Louisiana|LA]] |pages = 4A, 5A |access-date = 2012-06-24 }}</ref> This difference came to a head in 1845 when representatives of the northern states refused to appoint missionaries whose families owned slaves. To continue in the work of missions, the southern Baptists separated and created the Southern Baptist Convention.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.abc-usa.org/what-we-believe/our-history/ |publisher=American Baptist Churches USA}}</ref> ====Missions and organization==== [[File:First Baptist Church, Augusta GA 20160703 1.jpg|thumb|Original location of [[First Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia)|First Baptist Church]] in [[Augusta, Georgia]]]] A secondary issue that disturbed the Southerners was the perception that the American Baptist Home Mission Society did not appoint a proportionate number of missionaries to the South. This was likely a result of the society's not appointing slave owners as missionaries.<ref>{{Citation | first1 = Walter B | last1 = Shurden | first2 = Lori Redwine | last2 = Varnadoe | title = The origins of the Southern Baptist Convention: A historiographical study | journal = Baptist History and Heritage | year = 2002 | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | pages = 71–96}}.</ref> Baptists in the North preferred a loosely structured society of individuals who paid annual dues, with each society usually focused on a single ministry.{{Sfn | McBeth | 1987}}{{Page needed | date = December 2013}} Baptists in Southern churches preferred a more centralized organization of churches patterned after their associations, with a variety of ministries brought under the direction of one denominational organization.{{Sfn | McBeth | 1987 | p = 505}} The increasing tensions and the discontent of Baptists from the South over national criticism of slavery and issues over missions led to their withdrawal from national Baptist organizations.<ref name="Southern Baptist Beginnings" /> The Southern Baptists met at the [[First Baptist Church of Augusta]] in May 1845.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.christianindex.org/1128.article | title = First Baptist Church building landmark restoration | publisher = Christian index | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131211171614/http://www.christianindex.org/1128.article | archive-date = December 11, 2013 }}.</ref> At this meeting, they created a new convention—the Southern Baptist Convention. They elected [[William Bullein Johnson]] (1782–1862) as its first president. He had served as president of the Triennial Convention in 1841,<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Bullein Johnson |url=https://sbhla.org/biographies/william-bullein-johnson/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=Southern Baptist Historical Library & Archives |language=en-US}}</ref> though he initially attempted to avoid a schism. ===Formation and separation of Black Baptists=== [[File:Former First African Baptist Church.jpg|thumb|[[First African Baptist Church (Lexington, Kentucky)|First African Baptist Church]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky]]]] [[African American]]s had gathered in [[Black church|their own churches]] early on, in 1774 in [[First Baptist Church (Petersburg, Virginia)|Petersburg, Virginia]],{{Sfn | Raboteau | 2004 | p = 137}} and in [[First African Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia)|Savannah, Georgia]], in 1788.<ref name="Love">{{cite news| first= Emanuel King |last=Love|url = http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/love/menu.html |title=History of the First African Baptist Church, from its Organization, January 20th, 1788, to July 1st, 1888. Including the Centennial Celebration, Addresses, Sermons, etc.|publisher= The Morning News Print|year= 1888| access-date= 2006-12-08}}</ref> Some were established after 1800 on the frontier, such as the [[First African Baptist Church (Lexington, Kentucky)|First African Baptist Church]] of [[Lexington, Kentucky]]. In 1824, it was accepted by the Elkhorn Association of Kentucky, which was white-dominated. By 1850, First African had 1,820 members, the largest of any Baptist church in the state, Black or white.<ref name=Nutter>{{Citation | url = http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/ky.fayette.fbc.black.lex.html | first = HE | last = Nutter | title = A Brief History of the First Baptist Church (Black) Lexington, Kentucky | year = 1940 | access-date = Aug 22, 2010}}.</ref> In 1861, it had 2,223 members.<ref name=Spencer>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DXzZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA657 | first = John H | last = Spencer | title = A History of Kentucky Baptists: From 1769–1885 | volume = II | place = Cincinnati, OH | publisher = JR Baumes | year = 1886 | page = 657 | access-date = Aug 23, 2010}}.</ref> [[File:First African Baptist Church - Savannah, Georgia.JPG|thumb|[[First African Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia)|First African Baptist Church]], [[Savannah, Georgia]], constructed 1856]] Southern whites generally required Black churches to have white ministers and trustees. In churches with mixed congregations, seating was segregated, with Blacks out of sight, often in a balcony. White preaching often emphasized Biblical stipulations that enslaved people should accept their places and try to behave well toward their masters. After the [[American Civil War]], another split occurred when most [[freedmen]] set up independent [[Black church|black congregations]], regional associations, and state and national conventions. Black people wanted to practice Christianity independently of white supervision.{{sfnm |1a1=Brooks |1y=1922 |2a1=Raboteau |2y=2004}} They interpreted the Bible as offering hope for deliverance, and saw their own exodus out of enslavement as comparable to [[the Exodus]],{{sfn|Raboteau|2004}} with abolitionist [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] as their [[Moses]].<ref>{{cite book |pages=5–7 |title=A Voice from Harper's Ferry. A Narrative of Events at Harper's Ferry; with incidents prior and subsequent to its capture by John Brown and his men |first=Osborne Perry |last=Anderson |author-link=Osborne Perry Anderson |location=Boston |year=1861 |publisher=Published by the author |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUxp11UMkBMC }}</ref> They quickly left white-dominated churches and associations and set up separate state Baptist conventions.<ref name="docsouth.unc.edu" />{{sfn|Brooks|1922}} In 1866, Black Baptists of the South and West combined to form the Consolidated American Baptist Convention.{{sfn|Brooks|1922}} In 1895, they merged three national conventions to create the [[National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.|National Baptist Convention, USA.]]<ref name="docsouth.unc.edu" />{{sfn|Brooks|1922}} With more than eight million members, it is today the largest African American religious organization and second in size to the Southern Baptists. Free Black people in the North had founded churches and denominations in the early 19th century that were independent of white-dominated organizations. In the [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction era]], missionaries both Black and white from several northern denominations worked in the South; they quickly attracted tens and hundreds of thousands of new members from among the millions of [[freedmen]]. The [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] attracted more new members than any other denomination.<ref name="docsouth.unc.edu">{{Cite web |title=The Church in the Southern Black Community: Introduction |url=https://docsouth.unc.edu/church/intro.html |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=University of North Carolina}}</ref> White Southern Baptist churches lost Black members to the new denominations, as well as to independent congregations which were organized by freedmen. During the [[civil rights movement]], most Southern Baptist pastors and members of their congregations rejected [[racial integration]] and accepted [[white supremacy]], further alienating African Americans.<ref name="The Southern Baptists 2012">{{Citation | title = The Southern Baptists: Luter's turn: By electing a black leader, the church shows how far it has come | newspaper = [[The Economist]] | date = March 17, 2012}}.</ref> According to historian and former Southern Baptist [[Wayne Flynt]], "The [Southern Baptist] church was the last bastion of segregation."<ref>{{cite news|title=Social change and the Southern Baptists|url=https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21676796-bittersweet-tale-prejudice-overcome-and-enduring-deep-south-love-sinner|access-date=25 October 2015|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=24 October 2015}}</ref> But it has been acknowledged that the SBC integrated seminary classrooms in 1951.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/13/676333342/southern-baptist-seminary-confronts-history-of-slaveholding-and-deep-racism|title=Southern Baptist Seminary Confronts History Of Slaveholding And 'Deep Racism'|first=Tom|last=Gjelten|publisher=NPR|date=December 13, 2018|access-date=January 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/08/02/im-a-black-pastor-heres-why-im-staying-in-the-southern-baptist-convention/|title=I'm a black pastor. Here's why I'm staying in the Southern Baptist Convention| first=William Dwight Sr. | last=McKissic |newspaper=Washington Post|date=2 August 2017|access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref> In 1995, the convention voted to adopt a resolution in which it renounced its racist roots and apologized for its past defense of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]], [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]], and [[white supremacy]].<ref name=":10">{{cite web |title=Resolution on racial reconciliation on the 150th anniversary of the Southern Baptist Convention |url=http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/899 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408064550/http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/899 |archive-date=April 8, 2014 |access-date=April 8, 2014 |publisher=Southern Baptist Convention}}</ref>{{sfnm |1a1=Priest |1a2=Priest |1y=2007 |1p=275 |2a1=Priest |2a2=Nieves |2y=2007 |2p=339}} This marked the denomination's first formal acknowledgment that racism had played a profound role in both its early and modern history. [[File:President George W. Bush meets with the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention in the Oval Office, Oct. 11, 2006.jpg|thumb|right|U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] meets with the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2006 in the [[Oval Office]] at the [[White House]]. Pictured with the President are [[Morris Chapman]], left, [[Frank Page (Southern Baptist)|Frank Page]] and his wife Dayle Page.]] ===Increasing diversity and policy changes=== [[File:2015-05-07 Fred Luter Elizabeth Luter (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Fred Luter Jr.]] was the first African American president of the Southern Baptists]] By the early 21st century, numbers of ethnically diverse congregations were increasing among the Southern Baptists. In 2008, almost 20% were estimated to be majority African American, Asian, or Hispanic and Latino. The SBC had an estimated one million African American members.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021503772.html | last = Salmon | first = Jacqueline L | title = Southern Baptists Diversifying to Survive: Minority Outreach Seen as Key to Crisis | newspaper = The [[Washington Post]] | date = Feb 15, 2008}}.</ref> It has passed a series of resolutions recommending the inclusion of more black members and appointing more African American leaders.<ref name="The Southern Baptists 2012" /> At its 2012 annual meeting, it elected Pastor [[Fred Luter]] of the [[Franklin Avenue Baptist Church]] as its first African American president. He had earned respect by showing leadership skills in building a large congregation in New Orleans.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/fred_luter_jr_of_new_orleans_e.html | last = Pope | first = John | title = The Rev. Fred Luter Jr. of New Orleans elected first black president of Southern Baptist Convention | newspaper = [[The Times-Picayune]] | date = June 19, 2012}}.</ref> The SBC's increasingly national scope inspired some members to suggest a name change. In 2005, proposals were made at the SBC Annual Meeting to change the name to the more national-sounding "North American Baptist Convention" or "Scriptural Baptist Convention" (to retain the SBC initials). These proposals were defeated.<ref>{{Citation | title = Annual meeting | url = http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc99/min615ev.htm | publisher = Southern Baptist Convention | contribution = Tuesday Evening | date = June 15, 1999 | access-date = August 3, 2007 | archive-date = May 6, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090506235234/http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc99/min615ev.htm }}.</ref> The messengers of the 2012 annual meeting in New Orleans voted to adopt the descriptor "Great Commission Baptists". The legal name remained "Southern Baptist Convention", but affiliated churches and convention entities could voluntarily use the descriptor.<ref name=":7">{{Citation | url = http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38113 | last = Foust | first = Michael | newspaper = News | title = Wrap-up: Historic meeting sees messengers elect 1st black president, approve descriptor | publisher = [[Baptist Press]] | date = June 21, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120627032721/http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38113 | archive-date = June 27, 2012 }}.</ref> Almost a year after the [[Charleston church shooting]], the denomination approved a resolution that called upon member churches and families to stop flying the [[Confederate flag]].<ref>{{cite web |date=June 14, 2016 |title=Resolution 7: On Sensitivity and Unity Regarding the Confederate Battle Flag |url=http://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/resolution-7-on-sensitivity-and-unity-regarding-the-confederate-battle-flag |website=The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission}}</ref> The church approved a resolution, "On Refugee Ministry", encouraging member churches and families to welcome refugees coming to the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/southern-baptist-refugee-resettlement-trump-ban-muslim-immigration-165244/|title=Southern Baptists Vote to Support Refugee Resettlement After Trump Says to Ban All Muslim Immigration|date=June 15, 2016}}</ref> In the same convention, [[Russell D. Moore|Russell Moore]] of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission quickly responded to a pastor who asked why a member should support the right of Muslims living in the U.S. to build mosques. Moore responded, "Sometimes we have to deal with questions that are really complicated... this isn't one of them." Moore said that religious freedom must be for all religions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/06/16/482268688/southern-baptists-split-with-trump-on-refugee-resettlement|title=Southern Baptists Split With Donald Trump On Refugee Resettlement|website=NPR|date=June 16, 2016|last1=McCammon|first1=Sarah}}</ref> From February to June 2016, the denomination collaborated with the National Baptist Convention, USA on racial reconciliation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Loller |first=Travis |title=Southern Baptists to talk racial unity at annual meeting |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2016/06/10/southern-baptists-talk-racial-unity/85724250/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=2016-02-12 |title=SBC celebrates racial reconciliation progress |url=https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/sbc-celebrates-racial-reconciliation-progress/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=Baptist Press |language=en-US}}</ref> SBC-GCB and NBC presidents [[Ronnie Floyd]] and Jerry Young assembled 10 pastors from each convention in 2015, discussing race relations; in 2016, ''[[Baptist Press]]'' and ''[[The New York Times]]'' revealed tension among National Baptists debating any collaboration with Southern Baptists, quoting NBC President Young:<ref name=":12" /> {{Blockquote|text=I've never said this to Dr. Floyd, but I've had fellows in my own denomination who called me and said: "What are you doing? I mean, are you not aware of the history?" And I say, obviously I'm aware. They bring up the issue about slavery and that becomes a reason, they say, that we ought not to be involved with the Southern Baptists. Where from my vantage point, that's reverse racism. I do understand the history, and I understand the pain of the past...But what I'm also quite clear about is, if the Gospel does anything at all, the Gospel demands that we not only preach but practice reconciliation.|title=|author=Dr. Jerry Young, NBC USA}} After an initial resolution denouncing the [[Alt-right|alt-right movement]] failed to make it the convention floor, the denomination officially denounced the alt-right movement at the 2017 convention.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|title=Southern Baptists denounce white supremacy - CNN Video|date=June 15, 2017 |url=http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/06/15/southern-baptists-condemn-alt-right-orig-gr.cnn/video/playlists/being-moody-sponsored/|access-date=2017-06-16}}</ref> On November 5, 2017, [[Sutherland Springs church shooting|a mass shooting]] took place at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sbc.net/church/9045-78161/first-baptist-sutherland-springs|title=Southern Baptist Convention > First Baptist Sutherland Springs|website=www.sbc.net|language=en|access-date=2018-01-12|archive-date=January 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112221445/http://www.sbc.net/church/9045-78161/first-baptist-sutherland-springs|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting/index.html|title=At least 26 people killed in shooting at Texas church|author1=Dakin Andone |author2=Kaylee Hartung |author3=Darran Simon|work=CNN|access-date=2018-01-12}}</ref> It was the deadliest shooting to occur at any affiliated church in its history and, in modern history, at an American [[place of worship]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/deadliest-church-shooting-in-american-history-strikes-sutherland-springs-texas|title=Deadliest Church Shooting in American History Kills at Least 26|last=Weill|first=Kelly|date=2017-11-05|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=2018-01-12}}</ref> In 2020, the denomination's convention was canceled due to [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19]] concerns and eventually rescheduled for June 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2021 SBC Annual Meeting to remain in Nashville, shift venues|url=https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/2021-sbc-annual-meeting-to-remain-in-nashville-shift-venues/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=www.baptistpress.com/|date=April 15, 2021|publisher=Baptist Press|language=en-US}}</ref> In a ''Washington Post'' story dated September 15, 2020, Greear said some Southern Baptist Convention leaders wanted to change the official name of the church to "Great Commission Baptists" (GCB), to distance the church from its support of slavery and because it is no longer just a Southern church.<ref name="name change">{{cite news|url=https://greensboro.com/news/national/leaders-may-drop-southern-from-baptist-churches-for-racial-and-regional-inclusion/article_66ea53a8-f84b-11ea-9eff-9f5d723fef04.html|title=Leaders may drop 'Southern' from Baptist churches for racial and regional inclusion|last=Quillin|first=Martha|work=[[News & Observer]]|date=September 16, 2020|access-date=September 17, 2020}}</ref> Since then, several leaders and churches have begun adopting the alternative descriptor for their churches.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Leonardo |date=2020-09-15 |title=More So. Baptists embracing alternate 'Great Commission Baptists' name in wake of racial unrest |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/more-so-baptists-embracing-alternate-great-commission-baptists-name-in-wake-of-racial-unrest.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=The Christian Post |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Castronuovo |first=Celine |date=2020-09-15 |title=Southern Baptist Convention leaders dropping 'Southern' from name over slavery connection |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/news/516480-southern-baptist-convention-leaders-dropping-southern-from-name-over-slavery/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref> === Sexual abuse scandal === {{Main|Sexual abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches}} In 2018, investigations showed that the SBC suppressed reports of [[sexual abuse]] and protected over 700 accused ministers and church workers.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Fuller |first=Thomas |date=2022-08-13 |title=Southern Baptist Convention Says It Faces Federal Investigation for Sexual Abuse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/us/southern-baptist-convention-sexual-abuse.html |access-date=2022-09-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 2022, a report indicated church leaders had stonewalled and disparaged clergy sex abuse survivors for nearly two decades;<ref name=":5">{{cite web |author1=Bharath, Deepa |author2=Holly Meyer |author3=David Crary |date=May 22, 2022 |title=Report: Top Southern Baptists stonewalled sex abuse victims |url=https://apnews.com/article/baptist-religion-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-southern-convention-bfdbe64389790630488f854c3dae3fd5 |access-date=May 22, 2022 |website=Associated Press}}</ref> reform efforts had been met with criticism or dismissal from other organization leaders;<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Shellnutt |first=Kate |date=2022-05-22 |title=Southern Baptists Refused to Act on Abuse, Despite Secret List of Pastors |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/may/southern-baptist-abuse-investigation-sbc-ec-legal-survivors.html |access-date=2022-05-26 |work=[[Christianity Today]]}}</ref> and known abusers had been allowed to keep their positions without informing their local churches.<ref name=":6">{{cite web |author=Sexual Abuse Task Force Team |date=May 22, 2022 |title=Guidepost Solutions' Report of the Independent Investigation |url=https://www.sataskforce.net/updates/guidepost-solutions-report-of-the-independent-investigation |access-date=May 22, 2022 |website=SATaskforce.net}}</ref> On August 12, 2022, the denomination announced that it was facing a federal investigation into the scandal.<ref name=":NYTimesFedsInv" /> On February 10, 2019, a joint investigation by the ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'' and the ''[[San Antonio Express-News|San Antonio Express]]'' found that there had been over 700 victims of sexual abuse by nearly 400 Southern Baptist church leaders,<ref name="Chron1">{{cite news |last1=Downen |first1=Robert |last2=Olsen |first2=Lise |last3=Tedesco |first3=John |date=February 10, 2019 |title=20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Southern-Baptist-sexual-abuse-spreads-as-leaders-13588038.php |access-date=February 11, 2019 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]]}}</ref><ref name="Chron3">{{Cite news |date=2019-06-03 |title=More Abuse of Faith: Southern Baptist churches harbored sex offenders |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Abuse-of-Faith-Southern-Baptist-churches-13912529.php |access-date=2020-07-21 |website=Houston Chronicle |last1=Tedesco |first1=By John }}</ref> pastors, and volunteers over the previous 20 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Kristine |last2=Wang |first2=Amy B. |date=February 10, 2019 |title='Pure evil': Southern Baptist leaders condemn decades of sexual abuse revealed in investigation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/02/10/pure-evil-southern-baptist-leaders-condemn-decades-sexual-abuse-revealed-investigation |access-date=March 31, 2019 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name="Chron1" /><ref name="Chron3" /> In 2018, the ''Houston Chronicle'' verified details of hundreds of accounts of abuse. It examined federal and state court databases, prison records, and official documents from more than 20 states and researched sex offender registries nationwide.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Downen |first1=Robert |last2=Olsen |first2=Lise |last3=Tedesco |first3=John |date=February 10, 2019 |title=20 years, 700 victims: SBC sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Southern-Baptist-sexual-abuse-spreads-as-leaders-13588038.php |access-date=February 11, 2019 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]]}}</ref> The ''Chronicle'' compiled a list of records and information (current as of June 2019)<ref name="Chron3" /><ref name="Chron2">{{Cite web |last1=Olsen |first1=Lise |last2=Downen |first2=Robert |last3=Tedesco |first3=John |last4=Rubio |first4=Jordan |last5=Dempsey |first5=Matt |last6=Lee |first6=Joyce |last7=Gleason |first7=Rachael |title=Abuse of Faith: A Chronicle Investigation |url=https://projects.houstonchronicle.com/2019/southern-baptist-abuse |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213050334/https://projects.houstonchronicle.com/2019/southern-baptist-abuse/ |archive-date=February 13, 2019 |access-date=March 31, 2019 |website=[[Houston Chronicle]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Chron4">{{Cite web |title=Abuse of Faith: Search our database |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/investigations/abuse-of-faith/database/ |access-date=2020-07-21 |website=Houston Chronicle |language=en}}</ref> listing church pastors, leaders, employees, and volunteers who have pleaded guilty to or were convicted of sex crimes.<ref name="Chron4" /><ref name="Chron2" /><ref name="Chron3" /> On June 12, 2019, during their annual meeting, convention messengers, who assembled that year in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], approved a resolution condemning sex abuse and establishing a special committee to investigate sex abuse, which will make it easier for churches to be excommunicated from the convention.<ref name="nprsexabuse">{{Cite news |last1=Neuman |first1=Scott |date=June 12, 2019 |title=Southern Baptists Vote To Hold Churches More Accountable For Mishandling Abuse Claims |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/06/12/731919189/southern-baptists-vote-to-hold-churches-more-accountable-for-mishandling-abuse-c |access-date=2020-07-21 |newspaper=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Burgess |first=Holly Meyer and Katherine |title=Southern Baptists gathered in Alabama amid a reckoning over sexual abuse. How they addressed the crisis. |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2019/06/12/southern-baptist-convention-resolutions-sbc-sexual-abuse/1429890001/ |access-date=2020-07-21 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref> The Reverend J. D. Greear, president of the convention and pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, called the move a "defining moment".<ref name="nprsexabuse" /> [[Ronnie Floyd]], president of the convention's executive committee, echoed Greear's remarks, calling the vote "a very, very significant moment in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention".<ref name="nprsexabuse" /> In June 2021, letters from former policy director [[Russell D. Moore]] to convention leadership were leaked. In the letters, Moore described how the convention had mishandled claims of sexual abuse.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pulliam Bailey |first1=Sarah |date=June 12, 2021 |title=Secret recordings, leaked letters: Explosive secrets rocking the Southern Baptist Convention |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/06/12/southern-baptist-convention-secret-infighting-meeting/ |access-date=June 12, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> On May 22, 2022, Guidepost Solutions, an independent firm contracted by the organization's executive committee, released a report detailing that church leaders had stonewalled and disparaged clergy sex abuse survivors for nearly two decades.<ref name=":5" /> This was the largest investigation undertaken in the convention's history at the time, with $4 million reportedly spent by the organization to fund the inquiry.<ref name=":1" /> The report also found that known abusers were allowed to keep their positions without informing their church or congregation.<ref name=":6" /> The report alleged that while the convention had elected a president, J. D. Greear, in 2018 who made addressing sexual abuse a central part of his agenda, nearly all efforts at reform had been met with criticism and dismissal by other organization leaders.<ref name=":1" /> On June 14, 2022, the denomination voted "to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse and launch a new task force to oversee further reforms" after a consultant exposed that "Southern Baptist leaders mishandled abuse cases and stonewalled victims for years".<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 15, 2022 |title=Southern Baptist Convention votes to create list of pastors, workers accused of sex abuse |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/southern-baptists-vote-create-list-pastors-workers-accused-sex-abuse-rcna33626 |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> The new task force will operate for one year, with the option to continue longer. On August 12, 2022, the organization announced that it was facing a federal investigation into the sex abuse scandal.<ref name="NYTimesFedsInv">{{Cite web |last=Fuller |first=Thomas |date=August 12, 2022 |title=Southern Baptist Convention Says It Faces Federal Investigation for Sexual Abuse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/us/southern-baptist-convention-sexual-abuse.html |access-date=August 12, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> As revelations of sexual abuse and lawsuits continued to emerge in 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southern Baptist Convention settles in abuse case against Paul Pressler, case dismissed |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2023/12/29/southern-baptist-convention-sbc-settles-abuse-case-against-paul-pressler/71133589007/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=Ruth |date=2023-11-07 |title=Why Southern Baptists are Furious Over a Sex Abuse Case in Kentucky |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/us/baptists-abuse-kentucky.html |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Downen |first=Robert |date=2023-12-29 |title=Southern Baptist Convention settles high-profile lawsuit that accused former leader of sexual abuse |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/29/southern-baptist-convention-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-settlement/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=The Texas Tribune |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Jeremy |date=2023-10-26 |title=Church sex abuse survivors 'sickened and saddened' by Southern Baptist Kentucky court filing |url=https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/church-sex-abuse-survivors-sickened-and-saddened-by-southern-baptist-kentucky-court-filing.html |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=al |language=en}}</ref> the SBC's Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force announced continued development of the database of sexual offenders.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southern Baptist Convention task force says development of sex abuse database continues |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2023/09/02/southern-baptist-convention-sex-abuse-database-update/70727865007/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Orleans |first=Kate Shellnutt in New |date=2023-06-14 |title=Southern Baptists Committed to Abuse Reform. What Happened? |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/june/southern-baptist-abuse-reform-response-task-force-database.html |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=News & Reporting |language=en}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page