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However, by the mid-18th century, Baptists and Presbyterians faced growing persecution; between 1768 and 1774, about half of the Baptist ministers in Virginia were jailed for preaching. Especially in the back country, most families had no religious affiliation whatsoever and their low moral standards were shocking to proper Englishmen. [7]
Among the oldest black Baptist congregations in the nation were two founded near Petersburg before the Revolution. Each congregation moved into the city and built churches by the early 19th century. [108] Twice slave rebellions broke out in Virginia: Gabriel's Rebellion in 1800, and Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831.
Originally, Baptists supported separation of church and state in England and America. [1] [2] Some important Baptist figures in the struggle were John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Edward Wightman, Leonard Busher, Roger Williams (who was a Baptist for a short period but became a "Seeker"), John Clarke, Isaac Backus, and John Leland.
The Baptists benefited the most from the Great Awakening. Although numerically small before the outbreak of revival, Baptist churches experienced growth during the last half of the 18th century. By 1804, there were over 300 Baptist churches in New England.
The BGAV joined the Baptist World Alliance in 2004 after the Southern Baptist Convention pulled out of the alliance. [6] At the time, BGAV Executive Director John V. Upton, Jr., said, "Virginia Baptists have been a part of the BWA since its beginning in 1905. Our membership up to this point had been through the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
As of 2014, approximately 15.3% of Americans identified as Baptist, making Baptists the second-largest religious group in the United States, after Roman Catholics. [1] By 2020, Baptists became the third-largest religious group in the United States, with the rise of nondenominational Protestantism.
During the 21st century, the New Independent Fundamental Baptist movement was founded out of the Independent Baptist movement by Steven Anderson. However, this movement has been heavily criticized by Independent Baptists due to many doctrinal differences. [106] Some former New IFB pastors have also charged the association of being a cult. [107]
Gowan Pamphlet (1748–1807) was an American Baptist minister and freedman who founded the Black Baptist Church (now known as First Baptist Church) in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. [1] [2] He was one of the first and, for a time, the only ordained African American preacher of any denomination in the American Colonies. [3] [4]