The Rise of Baptist Republicanism (Choice Outstanding Academic Book) (Choice Outstanding Academic Bk) - Softcover

Oran P. Smith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814780741 ISBN 13: 9780814780749

Publisher: New York University Press, 2000

Synopsis

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book

By championing the ideals of independence, evangelism, and conservism, the Southern Baptist Covention (SBC) has grown into the largest Protestant denomination in the country. The Convention's mass democratic form of church government, its influential annual meetings, and its sheer size have made it a barometer for Southern political and cultural shift. Its most recent shift has been starboard-toward fundamentalism and Republicanism.

While the Convention once ofered a happy home to Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, and church-state separationists, in the past two decades the SBC has become an uncomfortable institution for Democrats, progressive theologians, and other moderate voices. Current SBC member-heroes include Senators Trent Lott and Jesse Helms. Despite this seeming marginalization, Southern Baptist politicians have grown from political obscurity to occupying the four highest positions in the constitutional order of succesion to the presidency. President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Senate President pro-tempore Strom Thurmond, and House Speaker Newt Gingrich are all Southern Baptists.

In its emerging Republicanism, the SBC has taken on characteristics of its more active fellow travelers in the Christian Right, forging alliances with former enemies (African Americans amd Roman Catholics), playing presidential politics, establishing a Washington lobbying presence, working the political grassroots, and declaring war on Walt Disney. Each of these missions has been accomplished with calculating political precision.

The Rise of Baptist Republicanism traces the Republicanization of the SBC's Republicanism in the context of the rise of the Fundamentalist Right and the emergence of a Republican majority in the South. Describing the SBC's political roots, Oran P. Smith contrasts Baptist Republicans with the rest of the Christian Right while revealing the theological, cultural, and historical factors which have made Southern Baptists receptive to Republican/Fundamentalist Right influences. The book is a must read for anyone wishing to understand the intersection of religion and politics in America today.

About this title

Review:

"A fascinating and well-documented study of the transformation of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) into the single largest religious force in modern American politics."--Southeastern Political Review

"A welcome addition to the literature on American politics and religion."--Earl Black, coauthor of Politics and Society in the South

"Smith has written a richly detailed, valuable study that clearly deserves a place on the shelves of scholars of southern politics and of religion and politics."--American Political Science Review

"Smith's provocative and insightful book offers an excellent history lesson in Southern and Southern Baptist politics."--The State [Columbia SC]

From the Author:

Why The Rise of Baptist Republicanism is Unique
The goal of The Rise of Baptist Republicanism is to bring together theological, historical and sociological perspectives on Southern Baptist religion and politics to explain the rightward shift of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. The book's eight chapters include comparisons of various kinds of Baptists and their politics, similarities between the GOP and SBC, the Disney Boycott, the Baptist civil war and some prognostications for the future. Points are illustrated with over 50 graphs / charts and 30 photographs.

About this edition

• Publisher: New York University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0814780741
• ISBN 13: 9780814780749
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328