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Article: The Baptist State Convention of South Carolina and desegregation, 1954-1971.
- Article from:
- Baptist History and Heritage
- Article date:
- March 22, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Baptist History and Heritage Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the Civil Rights era, leaders of the Baptist State Convention of South Carolina, the state's largest white denomination, sought to persuade Baptists to accept desegregation, but they were frequently forced to retreat by vocal, black-belt segregationists. Denominational leaders appealed to the primary commitments Southern Baptists held to Scripture, evangelism, law and order, and education to convince them to accede to racial change. Most Southern Baptists were moderate segregationists, but they reluctantly adjusted to the demise of Jim Crow in the 1960s as its maintenance became incompatible with their primary commitments. Although few Baptists sought integration, in ...