What is the difference between Southern Baptists and Independent Baptists?

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I know that Southern Baptists are anti-Catholic, but I wasn’t sure about Independent Baptists. Are they both anti-Catholic? What is the difference between the two?
 
To be fair, I don’t think all Southern Baptists are anti-Catholic. At least from my personal experience having been one at one time.

In Southern Baptist congregations, there is alot of leeway. There aren’t systems in place to monitor what they preach like there is with the Catholic Church. Their ministers are interviewed and “hired” by the congregation. They go through an interview process etc., and are voted on by the congregation. At least that is the way it was done when I was a Baptist.

As far as Independent Baptists, there is even less control. They tend to be the ones where the minister forms a church, and the congregation comes and goes based on the like or dislike of the minister and his preaching.
 
thank you for your reply. i really have never known many southern Baptists, but from the televangelists i have seen on tv, i just thought they might be. i have a friend who is independent Baptist and i just wondered what she thinks of me being Catholic.
 
Southern Baptists are anti-catholic, Independent Baptists are extremely anti-catholic. Well, that is the stereotype anyway.

God Bless.
 
Southern Baptists make up the majority of Baptist churches in the southern united states, they are the typical evangelical crowd you will mostly find around here. They are typically conservative but not crazy. From my experience they don’t tend to be as anti-Catholic as the people here say they are, maybe just because I am from Texas where the number of Catholics outnumber baptists mainly because of the immigration from Mexico.

Independent fundamental baptists, on the other hand, from my experience are the ones who are ultra-super-conservative, typically condemn homosexuals (as in, hate the sinner and the sin), are anti-rock-music, anti-women-wearing-pants, anti-going-to-the-movies, anti-anything but what their pastor says. I remember hearing about one that was holding book burnings and they were even burning John Piper books, who I would consider to be widely accepted among most Protestants. I visited an IFB church when I was interning in San Jose, California, back when I still considered myself a Presbyterian. I didn’t stay very long; I was kind of scared away by the sermons.
 
7_Sorrows said:
I know that Southern Baptists are anti-Catholic, but I wasn’t sure about Independent Baptists. Are they both anti-Catholic? What is the difference between the two?
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Two examples of liberal Baptists are Jimmy Carter, who renounced his affiliation as a Southern Baptist in 2000 because of the Southern Baptist Convention’s stand on women, but nonetheless remains a Baptist; and Bill Moyers, who still regards himself as a Southern Baptist, as far as I know. I doubt either of them is anti-Catholic. Whether or not the majority of Southern Baptists or Independent Baptists are anti-Catholic, I can’t say, since I’m not personally familiar with any. All my close friends and family members are either Jewish or Catholic. Although there is a stereotype regarding this, I’m wary of such stereotypes.
 
Southern Baptists are members of a local Baptist church that is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The convention is huge and is the second largest Christian denomination in the USA after the Catholic Church. They are evangelical as opposed to mainline Protestant. They are conservative, and I am sure there is some suspicion of Catholicism within parts of the SBC. However, at least today I would not term them as anti-Catholic.

Independent Baptists i would assume would be Baptist churches not affiliated with any larger Baptist organization. Thus, I would assume there would be many types.

In the South, the Southern Baptists are virtually a state church around here lol. But they are present in every state of the Union.
 
7_Sorrows said:
I know that Southern Baptists are anti-Catholic, but I wasn’t sure about Independent Baptists. Are they both anti-Catholic? What is the difference between the two?
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I saw an indepth BBC News show tonight, probably a re-run, about Wesboro Baptist Church. I googled them learned that they are very Anti-Catholic! I’m not sure if their Southern or Independent Baptists.

Watching the News show I was just overcome with how full of hate they are, completely without mercy and unconcerned with being kind to other human beings.

On the internet it says they believe in Predestination as taught by the original Baptist founder, on that basis they tell everyone who is not in their church to their faces that they’re going to hell. Even one of the teenagers told the BBC Reporter several times that he is going to hell & she even kept giggling while saying such a thing! like it made her happy and then she brushed it off with a comment like “so anyway, here’s my room”.

It’s just so sad to me. Now my heart really goes out to Baptists. I hope that they come to understand to love and mercy of God.
 
ComeHome2Rome said:
I saw an indepth BBC News show tonight, probably a re-run, about Wesboro Baptist Church. I googled them learned that they are very Anti-Catholic! I’m not sure if their Southern or Independent Baptists.

Watching the News show I was just overcome with how full of hate they are, completely without mercy and unconcerned with being kind to other human beings.

On the internet it says they believe in Predestination as taught by the original Baptist founder, on that basis they tell everyone who is not in their church to their faces that they’re going to hell. Even one of the teenagers told the BBC Reporter several times that he is going to hell & she even kept giggling while saying such a thing! like it made her happy and then she brushed it off with a comment like “so anyway, here’s my room”.

It’s just so sad to me. Now my heart really goes out to Baptists. I hope that they come to understand to love and mercy of God.
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To my knowledge, the Westboro Baptist Church is an extremist fringe group, a hate group really. I don’t think they are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church and I would bet most Baptists, whether Southern or Independent, reject their teachings. They are not only anti-Catholic, but anti-semitic, anti-gay, anti-Black, and anti-American.
 
ask.com/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality[1] and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag.[2] The church is widely described as a hate group[3] and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center.

It is headed by Fred Phelps and consists mostly of members of his large family;[4] in 2007, it had 71 members.[5] The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood on the west side of Topeka about three miles west of the Kansas State Capitol at 3701 West 12th Street, Topeka, Kansas, United States. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of Sunday, November 27, 1955.[6]

By the way they are planning to protest Steve Jobs funeral.

thisainthell.us/blog/?p=18343

Fred Phelps is a disbarred lawyer. Here’s what you wanna know. The Westboro haters, announced this protest via Twitter…FOR iPhone! Yes. The iPhone Twitter app. Got. To. Love. That.
 
meltzerboy said:
To my knowledge, the Westboro Baptist Church is an extremist fringe group, a hate group really. I don’t think they are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church and I would bet most Baptists, whether Southern or Independent, reject their teachings. They are not only anti-Catholic, but anti-semitic, anti-gay, anti-Black, and anti-American.
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my friend, who is independent baptist, says that they DO reject the teachings of the pastor of Westboro Baptist church. i had sent her some of my Catholic materials, and she was open minded enough to browse through the materials, but she didn’t really comment or have any questions about anything. she was more interested in the songs we sing than anything.
 
ComeHome2Rome said:
I saw an indepth BBC News show tonight, probably a re-run, about Wesboro Baptist Church. I googled them learned that they are very Anti-Catholic! I’m not sure if their Southern or Independent Baptists.

Watching the News show I was just overcome with how full of hate they are, completely without mercy and unconcerned with being kind to other human beings.

On the internet it says they believe in Predestination as taught by the original Baptist founder, on that basis they tell everyone who is not in their church to their faces that they’re going to hell. Even one of the teenagers told the BBC Reporter several times that he is going to hell & she even kept giggling while saying such a thing! like it made her happy and then she brushed it off with a comment like “so anyway, here’s my room”.

It’s just so sad to me. Now my heart really goes out to Baptists. I hope that they come to understand to love and mercy of God.
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I find this last line of yours odd as it strikes me that you are generalizing about all Baptists based on one fringe church. As many Baptists as there are out there, I find it hard to believe that you have only been exposed to Westboro Baptists. Maybe its because I’m from the South, I don’t know, but it seems apparent to me that this church does not speak for even 1 percent of Baptists.
 
7_Sorrows said:
I know that Southern Baptists are anti-Catholic, but I wasn’t sure about Independent Baptists. Are they both anti-Catholic? What is the difference between the two?
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You may want to learn from the Catholic/Baptist dialogue. As I understand it, it came to and end based on Baptists not believing that there was anything in common with the CC. I will look into this and see if I can find the source.
 
CopticChristian said:
christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/marchweb-only/3-26-12.0.html

Try this link. I know there are more. This sums it up.
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Well as you can see, this is a recent trend. The SBC and the Catholic Church were in dialogue for 30 years. That’s a pretty long time. What changed? Well, the SBC has been circling the wagons for a while now. They had the Conservative Resurgence/Fundamentalist Takeover (pick your point of view) which ensured the Convention would be solidly evangelical. Now the evangelicals are turning on each other. Take for instance the recent moves against charismatic Southern Baptists (christianpost.com/news/southern-baptist-trustees-approve-leeway-for-speaking-in-tongues-27339/).
 
How much racial difference exists between Southern Baptists and Independent Baptist? By large in the North the American Baptist Churchs are predominately Black. Which I really have no issue with since a “few” ministers here are very good friends of mine, and btw they do not teach hate of Catholic’s or Whites or anyone else.

Lets face it were not Southern Baptists Pro Slavery and Northern Baptist abolitionists?

Northern Baptists later became the American Baptists

So then you could pick how conservative a church you wanted to attend in the South! Personally IMHO I believe this is impossible; the congregations are pretty much the same.

And didn’t the “real” changes come in the South when “Presser” a lawyer from Houston TX took over the denomination? The teaching of the SBC before this period in the 70’s was ‘no creed but the Bible’ This idea switched to a new idea that the congregation was to follow the belief system of the minister.🤷 Basically to the old-timers this was heresy. And this heresy is now rampant in the South.

I’m not sure what anyone else is seeing but this is what I see. And yes ltwin sounds about right also. 🤷

Didn’t Presbyterians and Methodists also split over slavery?

I imagine everyone would like to promote they have no prejudice or racism. However by large the thinking that USA ends at the Virginia State is still very real in the South. And yes I lived there in 2000. I doubt a miraculous change occured since then.

The heritage of the independent Baptist movement was handed dowm by J. Frank Norris, John R. Rice, Lester Roloff, Beauchamp Vick, Harold Sightler and Tom Malone.

Three generations later! What are the convictions? Where is the discernment? Where is the love taught by Jesus Christ for all trinitarian followers? Why is there a need to comdemn others who do-not line you pockets and promote different theology in Christ?

I do not know all these answers, my mind does not live in this atmosphere, I’m not in the South anymore, I am in the North. You can’t even watch EWTN in the South unless you pay a premium, it is NOT wanted by the SBC. Thanks, your Love is acknowledged. 👍

So then you would also have to google the American Baptist Church and read to gain a wider understanding.

Why are they they all not combined since they are are all Baptist and we live in a time “past” prejudice/racism? That doesn’t exist anymore right??? Lets see, whom should we hate this week as Christians???
 
I’m in South Carolina and I get EWTN on basic cable.

I would note that the SBC has apologized for its past related to slavery and racism. Really this is not unique. The Methodists, Presbyterians, and the Episcopal Church split during the Civil War. The Methodists and Presbyterians only reunited much later, the Episcopal Church reunited immediately after the war.

The American Baptist Churches (the Northern Baptists) are a lot smaller than the SBC. I heard somewhere that there are more Southern Baptists in the North than their are Northern Baptists in the North. 😃 Also, the American Baptist Churches tend to be much more liberal than the SBC.
 
CompSciGuy said:
Southern Baptists make up the majority of Baptist churches in the southern united states, they are the typical evangelical crowd you will mostly find around here. They are typically conservative but not crazy. From my experience they don’t tend to be as anti-Catholic as the people here say they are, maybe just because I am from Texas where the number of Catholics outnumber baptists mainly because of the immigration from Mexico.

Independent fundamental baptists, on the other hand, from my experience are the ones who are ultra-super-conservative, typically condemn homosexuals (as in, hate the sinner and the sin), are anti-rock-music, anti-women-wearing-pants, anti-going-to-the-movies, anti-anything but what their pastor says. I remember hearing about one that was holding book burnings and they were even burning John Piper books, who I would consider to be widely accepted among most Protestants. I visited an IFB church when I was interning in San Jose, California, back when I still considered myself a Presbyterian. I didn’t stay very long; I was kind of scared away by the sermons.
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Where I live in Texas is further frpm the border on the NM border. Here nearly everyone is baptist and I come from a baptist-“church of Christ” family. When I became Catholic I was disowned and disinherited.

Baptists literally run west texas.If there are a majority in a town they vote the town “dry”, because they hate booze they make it where everybody has to obey their rules and no-one can legally have liqour.

The social pressure is great. It is common to meat Irish, Poles, Chechks, Hispanics who have yielded to the pressure and become baptists. It is essential for a good job and social standing.

Most Baptists do not consider Catholics Christian, since we don’t beleive in “gittin saved” without the sacrament of baptism. It is common to ask “are you a Christian or a Catholic”, as if they were two different things.

And in most towns and cities an Independent, Fundamentalist Baptist church is biggest, and the First Southern Baptist is second largest. American Baptists do not even exist in this area,since they are not super-conservative enough.
 
andrewstx said:
Where I live in Texas is further frpm the border on the NM border. Here nearly everyone is baptist and I come from a baptist-“church of Christ” family. When I became Catholic I was disowned and disinherited.

Baptists literally run west texas.If there are a majority in a town they vote the town “dry”, because they hate booze they make it where everybody has to obey their rules and no-one can legally have liqour.

The social pressure is great. It is common to meat Irish, Poles, Chechks, Hispanics who have yielded to the pressure and become baptists. It is essential for a good job and social standing.

Most Baptists do not consider Catholics Christian, since we don’t beleive in “gittin saved” without the sacrament of baptism. It is common to ask “are you a Christian or a Catholic”, as if they were two different things.

And in most towns and cities an Independent, Fundamentalist Baptist church is biggest, and the First Southern Baptist is second largest. American Baptists do not even exist in this area,since they are not super-conservative enough.
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Humm, interesting.
 
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