The Alliance of Baptists is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Christian denomination in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The headquarters is in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

History

The Alliance of Baptists was formed in 1987 as the Southern Baptist Alliance by liberal individuals and congregations who were considering separating from the Southern Baptist Convention as a result of the conservative resurgence/fundamentalist takeover controversy.

Statistics

According to a denomination census released in 2022, it has 140 churches and 4,500 baptized members.

Beliefs

In 1990, the Alliance became the first Baptist organization to formally offer an apology for

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in the American South. In contrast to the SBC and other conservative Baptists, the Alliance has emphasized women's ministry, encouraging women to seek ordination and senior pastorates, and encourages its congregations toward inclusiveness with respect to

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

. In 2014, the Alliance joined a lawsuit challenging North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage, which is America's first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage bans. The Alliance has also worked to uphold the separation of church and state through its membership and support of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. In 2019, the Alliance joined with 42 other religious and allied organizations in issuing a statement opposing

Project Blitz Project Blitz is a coalition of over 40 Christian right groups, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, the National Legal Foundation, and Wallbuilders Pro-Family Legislators Conference. Founded by Randy Forbes, the group states that ...

, an effort by a coalition of

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with ...

organizations to influence state legislation.

Organization

The Alliance of Baptists is governed by a Board of Directors and four officers—President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary—in between the Alliance's Annual Meetings. All actions of the Board of Directors are subject to review during the Annual Meeting. The 23-member Board of Directors and the officers are nominated by the Nominating Committee and elected at the Annual Meeting. Board members serve three-year terms and can be reelected. The Board of Directors has an Executive Committee which oversees the work of the Alliance in between meetings of the Board. Membership in the Alliance is open to churches and individuals who support its Covenant and Mission and contribute financially to its ministries.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alliance Of Baptists Christian organizations established in 1987 Baptist denominations in the United States Baptist denominations established in the 20th century Members of the National Council of Churches