Denominational Profile

History

	Southern Baptist Convention (1845)	continuedSouthern Baptist Convention
		split into American Baptist Association

The Southern Baptist Convention was founded in 1845 by Baptist congregations in the American South who rejected the anti-slavery tendencies in the Northern Baptist Convention and withdrew to carry forward independently.

Membership Data

Year	Clergy	Churches	Members
1925	19,506	27,506	3,611,608
1929	23,431	24,010	3,770,645
1931	-	-	3,702,315
1933	-	24,270	4,173,928
1935	21,917	24,537	4,389,417
1937	-	24,844	4,595,602
1940	-	25,018	4,949,174
1942	-	25,737	5,367,129
1944	-	25,965	5,667,926
1946	-	-	6,079,305
1947	-	26,764	6,270,819
1950	22,293	27,788	7,079,889
1951	23,400	28,289	7,373,498
1952	25,300	28,865	7,634,493
1953	27,747	29,481	7,883,708
1954	25,881	29,863	8,163,562
1955	27,600	30,340	8,467,439
1956	28,373	30,797	8,700,481
1957	29,490	31,257	8,956,756
1958	29,959	31,477	9,202,205
1959	34,130	31,906	9,485,276
1960	34,147	32,251	9,731,591
1961	36,260	32,598	9,978,488
1962	34,939	32,878	10,191,303
1963	35,000	33,101	10,393,039
1964	-	33,362	10,598,429
1965	-	33,774	10,770,573
1966	-	33,926	10,947,389
1967	-	34,123	11,140,486
1968	-	34,275	11,330,481
1969	-	34,313	11,487,708
1970	-	34,340	11,628,032
1971	-	34,420	11,824,676
1972	54,150	34,512	12,065,333
1973	54,150	34,643	12,295,400
1974	54,150	34,710	12,513,378
1975	55,000	34,880	12,733,124
1976	55,100	35,031	12,917,992
1977	55,500	35,212	13,078,239
1978	56,000	35,357	13,191,394
1979	56,200	35,552	13,372,757
1980	56,200	35,778	13,600,126
1981	61,400	36,022	13,782,644
1982	61,600	36,246	13,991,709
1983	61,900	34,464	14,178,051
1984	62,600	36,668	14,341,821
1985	62,900	36,898	14,477,364
1986	63,200	37,072	14,613,618
1987	63,400	37,238	14,722,617
1988	63,625	37,517	14,812,844
1989	64,100	37,739	14,907,826
1990	64,500	37,922	15,038,409
1991	65,450	36,168	15,232,347
1992	63,352	38,401	15,358,866
1993	60,439	38,682	15,398,642
1994	60,045	39,863	15,614,060
1995	59,338	40,039	15,663,296
1996	71,257	40,565	15,691,964
1997	80,274	40,887	15,891,514
1998	97,783	40,870	15,729,356
1999	100,387	41,099	15,851,756
2000	101,446	41,588	15,960,308
2001	108,682	42,334	16,052,920
2002	121,417	42,775	16,247,736
2003	112,922	42,972	16,439,603
2004	118,289	43,465	16,267,494
2005	117,072	43,669	16,270,315
2006	119,917	44,223	16,306,246
2007	120,464	44,696	16,266,920
2008	121,028	44,848	16,228,438
2009	122,285	45,010	16,160,088

Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]