Slavery and the Baptist Convention Split of 1845: Religious Schism as Political Division

This paper examines the 1845 Baptist schism that divided Northern and Southern Baptists, situating the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) within the broader moral, cultural, and economic context of American slavery. Though contemporaries often framed the split as a debate over missionary policy or denominational governance, this study argues that slavery was the central and defining issue. Conflicts over the appointment of slaveholding missionaries exposed deep regional divides between North and South divides that reflected contrasting interpretations of Scripture, conceptions of Christian duty, and material realities rooted in the institution of slavery. By analyzing key flashpoints such as the Georgia Test Case and the Alabama Resolutions (1844), the paper highlights how Southern Baptists used theological and organizational arguments to defend a social system dependent on enslaved labor. Drawing on historical sources from H. Leon McBeth, Glen Jeansonne, and Alan Cross, among others, it demonstrates that the schism was not a product of isolated ecclesiastical disagreement but a manifestation of the nation’s growing moral and political crisis over slavery. The discussion also considers how evangelical movements, such as the Second Great Awakening (c. 1790s – 1840s), shaped abolitionist thought through moral suasion and appeals to conscience, inspiring figures like William Lloyd Garrison (1805 – 1879) to link Christian faith with immediate emancipation. In contrast, Southern Baptists increasingly adapted biblical interpretation to justify slavery as divinely sanctioned, intertwining theology with defense of regional identity. Ultimately, the (1845) split reveals a religious institution deeply complicit in the moral contradictions of antebellum America. The paper concludes by connecting this legacy to modern efforts toward racial reconciliation within the Baptist tradition, emphasizing that the struggle over race and Christian witness did not end with the Civil War (1861 – 1865) but continues to shape the moral life of the church today.