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Denominational Profile
History
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Southern Baptist Convention (1845) |
continuedSouthern Baptist Convention |
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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 |
| 2010 | 121,989 | 45,727 | 16,136,044 |
Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The National Council of Churches' data collection was discontinued after the 2012 Yearbook was published, and has been resumed by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). The tables and graphs will be updated when the new collection is available. See the Yearbook of Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]
