Southern Baptist Convention
Christian denomination / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian body in the United States.[1][2] The SBC is a cooperation of fully autonomous, independent churches with commonly held essential beliefs that pool some resources for missions.[3][4][5]
Southern Baptist Convention | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | SBC; GCB |
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Baptist |
Theology | Evangelical Fundamentalist |
Polity | Congregational |
President | Clint Pressley |
Region | United States |
Origin | May 8–12, 1845 Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
Separated from | Triennial Convention (1845) |
Separations | |
Congregations | 47,198 (2022) |
Members | 12,982,090 (2023)
Weekly attendance = 3,800,000 (2022) |
Missionary organization | International Mission Board |
Aid organization | Southern Baptist Disaster Relief |
Other name(s) | Great Commission Baptists |
Official website | sbc |
In 1845, the Southern Baptists separated from the Triennial Convention in order to support slavery, which the southern churches regarded as "an institution of heaven".[6][7] During the 19th and most of the 20th century, it played a central role in Southern racial attitudes, supporting racial segregation and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy while opposing interracial marriage.[8] Beginning in the late 1970s, a conservative movement began to take control of the organization. By the 1990s, this movement had succeeded in taking control of the leadership of the SBC.[9] In 1995, the organization apologized for racial positions in its history.[10] Since the 1940s, it has spread across the United States, with tens of thousands of affiliated churches[8] and 41 affiliated state conventions.[11][12][13]
Churches affiliated with the association are evangelical in doctrine and practice, emphasizing the significance of the individual conversion experience, which is affirmed by the person having complete immersion in water for a believer's baptism.[13] Other specific beliefs based on biblical interpretation can vary by congregational polity, to balance local church autonomy with accountability against abuses by ministers and others in individual churches.[14] The association forbids women from becoming pastors,[15] and denounces same-sex marriage as an "abomination".[16]
Self-reported membership peaked in 2006 at roughly 16 million.[17] Membership has contracted by an estimated 13.6% since that year, with 2020 marking the 14th year of continuous decline.[18] Mean organization-wide weekly attendance dropped about 27% between 2006 and 2020.[17][19] The association reported increased participation and a slowing of the rate of overall membership decline for the year 2023. For the same year, nearly 13 million members were reported.[20][21][22]