Baptists in America

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by Bill J. Leonard

Columbia University Press

Due/Published May 2005, 512 pages, cloth

ISBN 0231127022

From Little Dove Old Regular Baptist Church, up a hollow in the Appalachian Mountains, with its 25-member congregation, to the 18,000-strong Saddleback Valley Church in Lake Forest, California, where hymns appear on wide-screen projectors; from Jerry Falwell, Jesse Helms, and Tim LaHaye to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton, and Maya Angelou, Baptists are a study in contrasts. At first glance, Baptist theology seems classically Protestant in its emphasis on the Trinity, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the authority of Scripture, salvation by faith alone, and baptism by immersion. Yet interpretation and implementation of these beliefs have made Baptists one of the most fragmented denominations in the United States. Indeed, they are often characterized as a people who "multiply by dividing."
This book introduces readers to this fascinating and diverse denomination, offering a sociological portrait of a group numbering some thirty million members. Bill J. Leonard explores Baptist history, beliefs, practices, and disputes, as well as contributions to American culture and the religious landscape. Leonard also discusses the major controversial issues within the denomination, including race, the interpretation of scripture, the role of women in the church, the separation of church and state, religion and politics, ethics, and sexuality.