Whats the difference between the American Baptists and the Southern Baptists?
Unfortunately here’s no simple answer to this commonly asked question. In 18th century America, Baptists were a loose collection of mostly independent congregations sharing beliefs in adult baptism and individual religious experience (see the FAQ on what Baptists believe). An on-going argument over slavery finally caused a division among the Baptists and a number of churches in southern states formed their own Baptist Association, which condoned the ownership of slaves. Since Civil War years, the two Baptist groups have become separate denominations with a tendency for Northern (now American) Baptists to be somewhat more liberal in their theological outlook. Baptists are independent folk, however, and since each church is autonomous, each congregation has its own personality, sense of mission, and theological perspective. Current trends in Southern Baptist leadership seem to be widening the gap between the two denominations by placing a greater emphasis on biblical inerrancy, a stricte
