The Southern Baptist Convention & Civil Rights, 1954–1995
Conservative Theology, Segregation, and Change
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2021
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Publisher's Description
According to conventional wisdom, theological liberals led the Southern Baptist Convention to reject segregation and racism in the twentieth century. That's only half the story. Liberals criticized segregation before mainstream Southern Baptists. They created racially integrated ministry opportunities. They pressed the Southern Baptist Convention to reject segregation. Yet historians have discounted the role of conservative theology in the convention's shift away from racial segregation and prejudice. This book chronicles how conservative theology proved remarkably compatible with efforts toward racial justice in America's largest Protestant denomination between 1954 and 1995. At times conservative theology was even a catalyst for rejecting racial prejudice. Efforts to eradicate racism and segregation were, in fact, least successful when they appealed to the social gospel or appeared to draw from liberal theology.
Endorsements (3)
“Roach has rendered a valuable service to Southern Baptists and all Americans who are interested in a deeper understanding of how the nation’s longest Protestant denomination reckoned with their besetting problem of racism in their history and how they ultimately apologized for not having dealt with it more biblically in previous generations. Having been privileged to be a participant in the last chapter of the period Roach covers in his book, I can vouch for both his accuracy and his insight.”
“Roach provides a well-written, engaging overview of racial integration in the Southern Baptist Convention during the latter half of the twentieth century. He traces the impact of arguments drawn from a conservative biblical perspective and contrasts them with the ineffectiveness of arguments derived from a sociological perspective. Anyone interested in discussing racial issues within the SBC will find this book helpful.”
“This book tells an important story and tells it well. It is based on wide, careful research and is thoughtfully argued. It makes a vitally important contribution to the history of racism and segregation in the Southern Baptist Convention, and of its all-too-gradual rejection of those commitments. Roach is to be congratulated on a job well done.”
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