Many Baptists bodies arose in the United States because of conflict over theological differences, with one of the major points of contention being Calvinism. Non-Calvinists, or Arminian Baptists, took the name Free Will Baptists, and the beginnings of that movement in America can be traced back to General Baptists who left John Clarkeís church in Newport, Rhode Island, in the 1650s; to Paul Palmer, who formed†General Baptist churches in North Carolina in the 1720s; and to Benjamin Randall, who organized a Free Will Baptist church in New Hampshire in 1780. Today there are four Free Will Baptist national bodies: the National Association of Free Will Baptists, Original Free Will Baptists, Independent Free Will Baptist Association, and Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Churches. The largest of these bodies, the National Association of Free Will Baptists, had 2,400 churches in 42 states and 14 foreign countries.

Calvinist Baptists have also formed numerous bodies, including Old Time Missionary Baptists, Duck River Baptists, Enterprise Baptists, United Baptists, Reformed Baptists, Sovereign Grace Baptists, and Primitive Baptists. Many of these groups, which are mostly independent associations, are small, are located in rural areas, and do not cooperate with state or national conventions. The Primitive Baptists, which are further divided into Old Line, Predestinarian, Universalists, Old Regular, Regular, and Two-Seed-in the Spirit Predestinarian, have about 68,000 adherents and 2,000 churches. In addition to holding Calvinist beliefs, most Primitivists are anti-mission, reject an educated clergy, do not have Sunday schools or musical instruments and practice foot washing.

While theological differences contributed to the formation of a large number of Baptist groups, Seventh Day Baptists formed as a result of their Saturday worship practice. In America, the first Seventh Day Baptist Church formed in 1671, and nearly 100 years later, the group organized a national body, called the General Conference.Today, this group has 98 churches with approximately 4,900 members.

The organization of Baptist churches in the United States by ethnic groups has exploded in the last few decades, especially among Hispanic Baptists. About 1,200 congregations affiliated with the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas. While the majority of Hispanic Baptists continue to reside in Texas, Hispanic Baptist churches are quickly being formed in many areas of the country. For example, in North Carolina, the Hispanic population is the fastest growing ethnic group, and Baptists have responded. Today over 135 Hispanic Baptist churches have been organized in North Carolina, compared with only 88 churches in the state in 2000.

Korean Baptists have also experienced significant growth. Koreans formed their first Baptist church in the United States in Washington, D.C., on May 6, 1956. Today more than 760 Korean Baptist churches and missions have been organized, including some large churches.

African Americans comprise the largest ethnic group of Baptists within the United States. Made up of four large national bodies and several smaller ones, this community has more than 16 million members. Most African American Baptists belong to churches that affiliate with one of the four large national African American Baptist conventions: the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (7.5 million members); the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (3.5 million members); the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., (2.5 million members); and the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America (2.5 million members.) In addition, African American Baptists also make up approximately 47 percent of the 1.4 million members of the American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC), which makes this the sixth largest Baptist body in the United States the most racially inclusive American Protestant denomination.

The largest Baptist denomination in the United States continues to be the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which has 16 million members and approximately 42,000 churches, including 9,330 ethnic congregations. The SBC currently sponsors more than 10,000 missionaries, who serve within the United States and in 153 nations.

The conservative shift within the SBC in the last 30 years led to the organization of several new Baptist groups, including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), which was founded in 1990. The national CBF has over 1,900 partner churches, 19 state and regional organizations, and 150 global mission field personnel. In addition, the CBF has established partnerships with 15 theology schools and seminaries, with a combined enrollment of 2,000.

Given the increasing ethnic diversity and divisions over theology, governance, and worship styles, one may ask what unites Baptists in the United States. The answer is that Baptists continue to agree on their most important doctrine, the centrality of Jesus as Savior and Lord. They are also united around their commitments to biblical authority, regenerate church membership, believerís baptism by immersion, and local church autonomy. Despite the great disunity regarding theology, worship styles, leadership patterns, and ecumenism, these core beliefs unite Baptists.

Pamela R. Durso is associate executive director-treasurer of the Baptist History and Heritage Society in Atlanta.

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