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Article: The origins of the Southern Baptist Convention: a historiographical study: the purpose of this paper is to describe how white Baptist church historians of the South have interpreted the founding of the Southern Baptist Convention since 1845.
- Article from:
- Baptist History and Heritage
- Article date:
- January 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 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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It is, therefore, an exercise in historiography. Most non-Southern Baptist church historians would doubtless ask, "Is it not obvious that slavery was the decisive factor in the formation of the SBC?" The answer: "No, it has not been obvious to white Southern Baptist church historians that slavery was the primary issue in the formation of the SBC." Indeed, not until the last quarter of the twentieth century have these Baptist historians said without qualification that slavery was the fundamental cause of the SBC.
This investigation is limited to white Baptist church historians of the South in order to demonstrate changing patterns of interpretation by this group ...