The development of Baptist fundamentalism in the South, 1940--198

The dissertation's opening chapter is a short introduction describing the project's purpose, scope, and thesis. Following a historiographical survey is an attempt to define important terms such as "fundamentalism," "separation," and "conservative dissent.".;Chapter two is titled "The Fragmentation of Conservative Protestantism." The chapter covers the roughly fifteen year period from 1941 to 1957, ranging from the formation of the National Association of Evangelicals as the flagship organization of the evangelical coalition to the fragmentation of that alliance over controversies surrounding Billy Graham. The chapter begins by describing how conservative Protestantism in the early 1940s was a coalition comprised of a number of different factions. It then explains how the rise of neo-evangelical institutions, scholarship, and methodologies in the late 1940s and early 1950s began to push the factions within the movement apart. What ultimately divided conservative Protestantism was Graham's own transition from a separatist fundamentalist evangelist to an ecumenical, neo-evangelical leader, culminating in Graham's 1957 crusade in Madison Square Garden. The concludes with a brief description of the three major factions that emerged in the post-1957 era: separatist fundamentalism, denominational fundamentalism, and neo-evangelicalism.;Chapter three is titled "An Empire of Southern Fundamentalist Fiefdoms." The chapter begins by recounting J. Frank Norris's role in the early days of southern fundamentalism. Norris was unsuccessful in his attempt to make the SBC a fundamentalist denomination, but he did manage to develop a thriving separatist movement among disgruntled former Southern Baptists. By mid-century, the South was a region in transition due to progressive trends in both theology and culture. Norris was dead but several key Baptist fundamentalist leaders were contending against these trends. Each of these men were at the center of a fiefdom within the wider Baptist fundamentalist empire in the south. Bob Jones Jr. and Bob Jones III built a fiefdom around their flagship fundamentalist school, Bob Jones University, and their commitment to militancy against what they perceived to be any and every form of religious compromise. They represented the strict and institutional fundamentalism.;W. A. Criswell garnered a following of non-separating fundamentalists within the SBC around the influence of his church and convention statesmanship, providing an example of cooperative and denominational fundamentalism that did not include ecclesiastical separatism and remained appreciative of Billy Graham. Situated between the Joneses and Criswell was John R. Rice, who like the Joneses was committed to separating from allegedly liberal denominations like the SBC. But unlike the Joneses, Rice was also willing to cooperate with convention fundamentalists like Criswell in matters of shared interest.;Chapter four is titled "Denominational and Independent Interchange." The chapter focuses upon the ongoing exchanges between separatist and denominational fundamentalists and their results as illustrated by the relationship between Southern and Independent Baptists. The chapter begins by outlining the tendency towards bureaucratic centralization and tolerance of progressive theology within the SBC. The chapter then addresses four ways that SBC fundamentalists exercised conservative dissent within the convention.;The emphasis then turns to the internal splintering of separatist fundamentalism that resulted from a controversy between Rice and the Joneses over Rice's relationship with SBC fundamentalists. The division between Rice and the Joneses led to a rupture between separatist fundamentalists that continues to the present day.;Chapter five is titled "The Ascendancy of Baptist Fundamentalism in the South." The chapter addresses the increasingly prominent role southern Baptist fundamentalism came to play in the wider American religious and political cultures during the 1970s. The chapter first discusses the resurgence of denominational fundamentalism in the SBC. The next section focuses on the reemergence of political fundamentalism, a movement led by moderate fundamentalist and Rice protege Jerry Falwell that also included a large number of SBC fundamentalists. After focusing on the history of earlier fundamentalist political engagement, this section recounts the rise of the so-called New Religious Right and the influence the movement played in promoting a conservative agenda in the Republican Party.;The concluding chapter is a brief conclusion that discusses some of the results of the ascendancy of Baptist fundamentalism in the South. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).