Southern Baptists Report Biggest Single Year Membership Drop In Decades.
2019 was the 13th straight year of decline for the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination.
I hope for another 13 years of losing membership!
Fuck 'em.
QuoteThe Southern Baptist Convention said it had 14.5 million members in 2019, down about 287,655 from the previous year. Membership dropped 2 percent, the largest single-year drop in more than 100 years
QuoteThe Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has been in a steady decline for nearly 15 years, hitting its peak in 2006 at 16.3 million. The convention has been in turmoil in recent years, spending the bulk of its annual meeting in 2019 on the issue of sex abuse after the Houston Chronicle published reports on the issue in Southern Baptist churches. The convention has also hosted controversies over an invitation for Vice President Pence to speak at its meeting, faced difficulty in passing a resolution to decry the alt-right and held theological debates over the role of God’s sovereignty.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/06/04/southern-baptists-see-historic-drop-membership/
Sounds awful. 2% is far, far too low!
I was once a Southern Baptist, but I got better.
I googled but still could not answer my question. I grew up with a Baptist grandmother, and was not familiar with the term Southern Baptist. Here in Virginia, there are Baptist churches everywhere, but I don't think I've ever seen a church sign calling itself "Southern Baptist." Should I just assume all are Southern Baptists. Or are none of them? My grandmother's church was Baptist, but it was simply called the Cicero Bible Church, so I'm not clear if this particular group of Baptists is special, or just the same old same old. Whatever kind of Baptist my grandmother was, she was kind, loving (except she hated Catholics), uneducated, and what I would call delusional, at least in that she believed the Devil was real and lurking about all the time. Is that delusional? It is to me.
Quote from: SGOS on June 06, 2020, 09:44:08 AM
I googled but still could not answer my question. I grew up with a Baptist grandmother, and was not familiar with the term Southern Baptist. Here in Virginia, there are Baptist churches everywhere, but I don't think I've ever seen a church sign calling itself "Southern Baptist." Should I just assume all are Southern Baptists. Or are none of them? My grandmother's church was Baptist, but it was simply called the Cicero Bible Church, so I'm not clear if this particular group of Baptists is special, or just the same old same old. Whatever kind of Baptist my grandmother was, she was kind, loving (except she hated Catholics), uneducated, and what I would call delusional, at least that believed the Devil was real and lurking about all the time. Is that delusional? It is to me.
I think this addresses your question: In short: Protestants are Christians that are not Catholics. Baptists are Protestants that baptize adults rather than infants. In the US, the term Baptist is also widely used as a synonym for evangelical Christian churches that belong to the Southern Baptist Convention.
I think the key element is the 'Convention'. If a church is a member then they are Southern Baptist. A quick search lead me to understand that there are at least 60 Baptist organizations, to maybe over 10,000. I guess it all depends upon your definition. But it is clear that they are not clear or do not agree on what it takes to be right with god. Surprise, surprise.
Quote from: SGOS on June 06, 2020, 09:44:08 AM
I googled but still could not answer my question. I grew up with a Baptist grandmother, and was not familiar with the term Southern Baptist. Here in Virginia, there are Baptist churches everywhere, but I don't think I've ever seen a church sign calling itself "Southern Baptist." Should I just assume all are Southern Baptists. Or are none of them? My grandmother's church was Baptist, but it was simply called the Cicero Bible Church, so I'm not clear if this particular group of Baptists is special, or just the same old same old. Whatever kind of Baptist my grandmother was, she was kind, loving (except she hated Catholics), uneducated, and what I would call delusional, at least in that she believed the Devil was real and lurking about all the time. Is that delusional? It is to me.
There are different kinds of Baptist (as distinct from Anabaptists ... like the Amish). They all stem from John Smyth in England in 1609). Roger Williams founded the first Baptist church in 1638 in the colonies (and founded Rhode Island colony ... he was anti-Puritan). All part of the English Protestant Reformation. There are many subsequent Black Baptists not associated with Southern Baptist. Texas Southern Baptists consider them selves superior to other Southern Baptists (are more theologically pure), so there are even internal divisions. I find the Devil more real than G-d, I see him anytime I watch the news (you see the Devil too, just a different one). Present American Leftists seem to me, ideological descendants of the Boston Puritans (who led the anti-slave movement) ... though by that time, most Boston Puritans had become Unitarians (one of the two components of the UU Church I presently attend).
Quote from: SGOS on June 06, 2020, 09:44:08 AM
I googled but still could not answer my question. I grew up with a Baptist grandmother, and was not familiar with the term Southern Baptist. Here in Virginia, there are Baptist churches everywhere, but I don't think I've ever seen a church sign calling itself "Southern Baptist." Should I just assume all are Southern Baptists. Or are none of them? My grandmother's church was Baptist, but it was simply called the Cicero Bible Church, so I'm not clear if this particular group of Baptists is special, or just the same old same old. Whatever kind of Baptist my grandmother was, she was kind, loving (except she hated Catholics), uneducated, and what I would call delusional, at least in that she believed the Devil was real and lurking about all the time. Is that delusional? It is to me.
We once had a guy here who said he belonged to the second baptist church of somewhere and he wanted to debate. I told him not to bother, bring us the winner. Surprisingly, he left.
Quote from: aitm on June 06, 2020, 02:39:11 PM
We once had a guy here who said he belonged to the second baptist church of somewhere and he wanted to debate. I told him not to bother, bring us the winner. Surprisingly, he left.
Always thought that was such a presumptuous name. First Baptist. Go for broke, attend Last Baptist ;-)
Quote from: Mike Cl on June 05, 2020, 05:54:19 PM
Southern Baptists Report Biggest Single Year Membership Drop In Decades.
2019 was the 13th straight year of decline for the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination.
I hope for another 13 years of losing membership!
That is good news, all right. I strongly encourage free thinkers everywhere to continue to fight the good fight against religion.
Quote from: Cassia on June 06, 2020, 12:31:42 PM
Tax 'em
I wonder why an all-mighty god would balk at paying taxes. Is she unable to pay taxes?
Quote from: Jagella on June 06, 2020, 09:19:45 PM
I wonder why an all-mighty god would balk at paying taxes. Is she unable to pay taxes?
Religion doesn't require any expense ... ministers can work pro-bono. Apostle Paul did. Evangelism wasn't his day job. He apparently made leather tents for the Roman Army.
But you are welcome to have a 100% tax if you worship the State. This sounds the same as 100% tax to destroy business. Who would want that?
Quote from: Jagella on June 06, 2020, 09:19:45 PM
I wonder why an all-mighty god would balk at paying taxes. Is she unable to pay taxes?
If palm readers pay taxes, churches should pay taxes.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uv9ZpSQl5jU/Urm_fMnFV2I/AAAAAAAAAYY/pN_rYIcJhGM/s1600/map-of-us-religions.jpg)http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uv9ZpSQl5jU/Urm_fMnFV2I/AAAAAAAAAYY/pN_rYIcJhGM/s1600/map-of-us-religions.jpg
Quote from: SGOS on June 07, 2020, 06:22:27 AM
If palm readers pay taxes, churches should pay taxes.
Palm readers an oppressed minority you fascist ;-)
Defects in that 2010 survey. My own country is sufficiently Mormon to report that, though they only have one modest church building here. There are a lot of smaller churches here that don't count in aggregate, so the Mormons look bigger than they are here. The RC church down the street from them looks just as big. So the methodology is a bit like Electoral College.