Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie (Religion & American Culture)

Alabama Baptists are a complex people. Although regarded as conservativein both politics and theology, many Baptists became leaders of the 1890sagrarian revolt, devoted partisans of the social gospel early in the 20thcentury, and ardent advocates of the New Deal. Complexity has also characterizedthe denomination's race relations. For nearly five decades half its memberswere slaves, while many other members owned slaves. Thus, interaction ofblack and white Baptists created a unique religious setting in which peoplewho were members of the same churches interpreted the gospel of liberationin dramatically different ways. After the Civil War, Baptist churches inthe South divided into white and black congregations. Only white congregationsremained part of the Southern Baptist Convention, whose members are knownas Southern Baptists. Black congregations became part of the National BaptistConvention, and their history is a separate story deserving future study. Despite social and cultural conflict Alabama Baptists helped tame achaotic frontier, sustained a sense of community, created opportunitiesnot available in secular society, shaped Alabama politics, and obtainedreligious dominance seldom matched in U.S. history. Wayne Flynt's balanced, exhaustively researched book is the first aboutAlabama Baptists to be written by a professional historian. Publicationin 1998 marks the 175th anniversary of the Alabama State Baptist Convention. Alabama Baptists Provides The Definitive History Of The Dominant Religious Group Within The State Of Alabama From The First Decade Of The 19th Century To The Present. Alabama Baptist Chronology -- 1. Confronting The Frontier, 1800-1845 -- 2. Taming The Frontier, 1800-1845 -- 3. The Work Of The Gospel, 1845-1860 -- 4. War And Reunion, 1860-1874 -- 5. Building A New South, 1875-1890 -- 6. Revolt At The Forks Of The Creek, 1890-1900 -- 7. Progressivism And Baptists, 1900-1920 -- 8. The Ballyhoo Years Alabama-style, The 1920s -- 9. The Great Depression, 1930-1939 -- 10. War And Remembrance, 1940-1954 -- 11. Racial Religion, 1955-1970 -- 12. Race And Politics During The 1970s -- 13. The Fundamentalist Controversy In Alabama, 1980-1998. Wayne Flynt. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 687-705) And Index. This text provides a history of the dominant religious group in Alabama. For nearly 50 years, half the Baptists were slaves, while many other members owned slaves. After the Civil War, the Baptist churches divided, and only white congregations remained part of the Southern Baptist Convention.