Getting Right With God: Southern Baptists and Desegregation, 1945-1995 (Religion and American Culture)

This groundbreaking study finds Southern Baptists more diverse in their attitudes toward segregation than previously assumed.Focusing on the eleven states of the old Confederacy, Getting Right with God examines the evolution of Southern Baptists' attitudes toward African Americans during a tumultuous period of change in the United States. Mark Newman not only offers an in-depth analysis of Baptist institutions from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and state conventions to colleges and churches but also probes beyond these by examining the response of pastors and lay people to changing race relations.The SBC long held that legal segregation was in line with biblical teachings, but after the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision in favor of desegregating public institutions, some Southern Baptists found an inconsistency in their basic beliefs. Newman identifies three major blocs of Baptist opinion about race relations: a hard-line segregationist minority that believed God had ordained slavery in the Bible; a more moderate majority that accepted the prevailing social order of racial segregation; and a progressive group of lay people, pastors, and denominational leaders who criticized and ultimately rejected discrimination as contrary to biblical teachings.According to Newman, the efforts of the progressives to appeal to Baptists' primary commitments and the demise of de jure segregation caused many moderate and then hard-line segregationists to gradually relinquish their views, leading to the 1995 apology by the Southern Baptist Convention for its complicity in slavery and racism. Comparing Southern Baptists to other major white denominations, Newman concludes that lay Baptists differed little from other white southerners in their response to segregation. This groundbreaking study finds Southern Baptists more diverse in their attitudes toward segregation than previously assumed Focusing on the eleven states of the old Confederacy, Getting Right with God examines the evolution of Southern Baptists'attitudes toward African Americans during a tumultuous period of change in the United States. Mark Newman not only offers an in-depth analysis of Baptist institutions from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and state conventions to colleges and churches but also probes beyond these by examining the response of pastors and lay people to changing race relations. The SBC long held that legal segregation was in line with biblical teachings, but after the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision in favor of desegregating public institutions, some Southern Baptists found an inconsistency in their basic beliefs. Newman identifies three major blocs of Baptist opinion about race relations: a hard-line segregationist minority that believed God had ordained slavery in the Bible; a more moderate majority that accepted the prevailing social order of racial segregation; and a progressive group of lay people, pastors, and denominational leaders who criticized and ultimately rejected discrimination as contrary to biblical teachings. According to Newman, the efforts of the progressives to appeal to Baptists'primary commitments and the demise of de jure segregation caused many moderate and then hard-line segregationists to gradually relinquish their views, leading to the 1995 apology by the SBC for its complicity in slavery and racism. Comparing Southern Baptists with other major white denominations, Newman concludes that lay Baptists differed little from other white southerners in their response to segregation. This groundbreaking study finds Southern Baptists more diverse in their attitudes toward segregation than previously assumed Focusing on the eleven states of the old Confederacy, Getting Right with God examines the evolution of Southern Baptists attitudes toward African Americans during a tumultuous period of change in the United States. Mark Newman not only offers an in-depth analysis of Baptist institutions from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and state conventions to colleges and churches but also probes beyond these by examining the response of pastors and lay people to changing race relations. The SBC long held that legal segregation was in line with biblical teachings, but after the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision in favor of desegregating public institutions, some Southern Baptists found an inconsistency in their basic beliefs. Newman identifies three major blocs of Baptist opinion about race a hard-line segregationist minority that believed God had ordained slavery in the Bible; a more moderate majority that accepted the prevailing social order of racial segregation; and a progressive group of lay people, pastors, and denominational leaders who criticized and ultimately rejected discrimination as contrary to biblical teachings. According to Newman, the efforts of the progressives to appeal to Baptists primary commitments and the demise of de jure segregation caused many moderate and then hard-line segregationists to gradually relinquish their views, leading to the 1995 apology by the SBC for its complicity in slavery and racism. Comparing Southern Baptists with other major white denominations, Newman concludes that lay Baptists differed little from other white southerners in their response to segregation. University Alabama Press Contents 6 Preface 8 Acknowledgments 12 1. The Southern Baptist Convention and African Americans, 1845–1944 14 2. An Overview: Southern Baptists and Desegregation, 1945–1971 33 3. The Sociology of Religion and Social Change 48 4. Southern Baptists and the Biblical Defense of Segregation 61 5. Progressive Southern Baptists and Civil Rights 78 6. Public School Desegregation 100 7. Law and Order 123 8. “The Great Commission”: Evangelism at Home and Abroad 142 9. The Variety of the Southern Baptist Experience in Desegregation 163 10. The Major White Denominations and Race Relations, 1945–1971 181 11. An Overview: Southern Baptists and African Americans, 1972–1995 204 12. Conclusion 218 Appendix. Baptist State Convention Newspapers: Circulation 224 Notes 226 Bibliography 274 Index 288 ISBN-13:,9780817310608 1. The Southern Baptist Convention And African Americans, 1845-1944 -- 2. An Overview: Southern Baptists And Desegregation, 1945-1971 -- 3. The Sociology Of Religion And Social Change -- 4. Southern Baptists And The Biblical Defense Of Segregation -- 5. Progressive Southern Baptists And Civil Rights -- 6. Public School Desegregation -- 7. Law And Order -- 8. The Great Commission: Evangelism At Home And Abroad -- 9. The Variety Of The Southern Baptist Experience In Desegregation -- 10. The Major White Denominations And Race Relations, 1945-1971 -- 11. An Overview: Southern Baptists And African Americans, 1972-1995 -- 12. Conclusion -- App. Baptist State Convention Newspapers: Circulation. Mark Newman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [261]-274) And Index. Publisher Fact Sheet This groundbreaking study analyzes the evolution of Southern Baptists' attitudes toward African Americans during a tumultuous period of change in the United States