Democratic Religion: Freedom, Authority, and Church Discipline in the Baptist South, 1785-1900 (Religion in America)

The Baptist Church in America is a comprehensive and insightful study of the relationship between democracy and religious authority in the antebellum South.

Written by a renowned historian, this book provides a detailed analysis of how the Baptist denomination, which identified itself as the most democratic of all American denominations, came to embrace an exclusivist spirituality that continues to shape Southern Baptist churches today. Through meticulous research and engaging narrative, Wills uncovers the complex and often contradictory ways in which Baptists navigated their commitment to both democracy and religious authority between 1785 and 1860.

He explores how a denomination of freedom-loving individualists came to embrace an exclusivist spirituality that required belief in scriptural inerrancy, and how this led to conflicts between moderates who urged tolerance and conservatives who demanded adherence to doctrine. With its focus on the Baptist Church in America, this book offers a unique perspective on the interaction between democracy and religious authority in the antebellum South, and will be of particular interest to scholars of American religion, culture, and history, as well as to Baptist observers.

Well-written and engagingly presented, The Baptist Church in America is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex and often fraught relationship between democracy and religious authority in the United States.