Denominational Profile

History

National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.

split into Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (1961)

The Progressive National Baptist Convention, a predominantly black Baptist church, was founded in 1961 by former members of the National Baptist Convention who supported the Civil Rights Movement under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King. The National Baptists had refused to support the Movement actively.

Membership Data

Year	Clergy	Churches	Members
1963	402	394	500,000
1964	450	411	505,000
1965	487	-	-
1966	857	650	521,581
1967	863	655	521,692
1991	1,400	1,400	2,500,000
1994	-	2,000	2,500,000
1995	-	2,000	2,500,000
2009	3,500	1,500	1,010,000

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]