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The Separate Baptists were an 18th-century group of Baptists in the United States, primarily in the South, that grew out of the
Great Awakening Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...
. The Great Awakening was a religious revival and revitalization of piety among the
Christian churches In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym for ...
. It covered English-speaking countries and swept through the American colonies between the 1730s and the 1770s. Three important preachers of the times were
Gilbert Tennent Gilbert Tennent (5 February 1703 – 23 July 1764) was a pietistic Protestant evangelist in colonial America. Born in a Presbyterian Scots-Irish family in County Armagh, Ireland, he migrated to America as a teenager, trained for pastoral mini ...
(1703–65), Jonathan Edwards (1703–58), and
George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at t ...
(1714–70). The Separate Baptists are most directly connected to Whitefield's influence. The first identifiable congregation of Separate Baptists was formed in Boston, Massachusetts. Whitefield preached in Boston in 1740. The pastor of the Baptist church disapproved of the revival excitement, while several members approved of it and became discontented with the pastor's ministry. They withdrew from the First Baptist Church and formed Second Baptist Church in 1743. The Great Awakening served to both invigorate and divide churches. Many denominations divided into Old Lights — holding a low view of the revivalism, and sometimes directly opposing it — and ''New Lights'' — who enthusiastically embraced it. Many New Lights felt that the old ways had allowed too many unconverted church members, and by the end of the 1740s some of the New Lights believed the established churches could not be reformed from within and withdrew from them. A favorite verse among them was II Corinthians 6:17 — "Come out from among them, and be ye separate." This led to them being called ''Separate''. A growing body of Separate Baptists began in
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
. They were zealous in evangelism and held to heart-felt religion. The most prominent New England pastor and congregation was
Isaac Backus Isaac Backus (January 9, 1724November 20, 1806) was a leading Baptist minister during the era of the American Revolution who campaigned against state-established churches in New England. Little is known of his childhood. In "An account of the lif ...
(1724–1808) and the church at
Middleborough, Massachusetts Middleborough (frequently written as Middleboro) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,245 at the 2020 census. History The town was first settled by Europeans in 1661 as Nemasket, later changed to ...
. Backus was raised a Congregationalist and became a New Light (or Separatist) Congregational pastor in 1748. After conversion to Baptist views on the doctrine of
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
, Backus and others formed a Baptist congregation in 1756. Backus was very active in the fight for religious liberty in America. The Separate Baptists of New England were never truly a separate group from the
Regular Baptist Regular Baptists are "a moderately Calvinistic Baptist sect that is found chiefly in the southern U.S., represents the original English Baptists before the division into Particular and General Baptists, and observes closed communion and foot wash ...
s. It would remain for the Separate Baptists in the South to develop along distinct lines. In 1745
Shubal Stearns Shubal Stearns (sometimes spelled Shubael; 28 January 1706 – November 20, 1771), was a colonial evangelist and preacher during the Great Awakening. He converted after hearing George Whitefield and planted a Baptist Church in Sandy Creek, Guil ...
(1706–71), a member of the Congregational church in
Tolland, Connecticut Tolland is a suburban town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 14,563 at the 2020 census. History Tolland was named in May, 1715, and incorporated in May, 1722 from Windsor. The town was over 20 miles away fro ...
, heard evangelist George Whitefield. Stearns was converted and adopted the Awakening's view of revival and conversion. Stearns' church became involved in a controversy over the proper subjects of baptism in 1751. Soon Stearns rejected
infant baptism Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions. Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that p ...
and sought baptism at the hands of Wait Palmer, Baptist minister of
Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and Wequetequock, and the eastern halves of the villages of ...
. By March, Shubal Stearns was ordained into the ministry by Palmer and Joshua Morse, the pastor of
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
. The next twenty years of Stearns' remarkable ministry is inextricably intertwined with the rise and expansion of the Separate Baptists. In 1754, Stearns moved south to
Opequon, Virginia Opequon is an unincorporated community along Opequon Creek in Frederick County, Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atl ...
. Here he joined Daniel Marshall and wife Martha (Stearns' sister), who were already active in a Baptist church there. On November 22, 1755, Stearns and his party moved further south to Sandy Creek, in
Guilford County, North Carolina Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population is 541,299, making it the third-most populous county in North Carolina. The county seat, and largest municipality, is Greensboro. S ...
. This party consisted of eight men and their wives, mostly relatives of Stearns. Stearns pastored at Sandy Creek until his death. From there, Separate Baptists spread in the South. The church quickly grew from 16 members to 606. Church members moved to other areas and started other churches. The ''Sandy Creek Association'' was formed in 1758.
Morgan Edwards Morgan Edwards (May 9, 1722 – January 25, 1792) was an American historian of religion, Baptist pastor, notable for his teaching on the 'rapture' before its popularization by John Nelson Darby (1800–1882). Biography Edwards was born in Treveth ...
, Baptist minister and historian contemporary with Stearns, recorded that, "in 17 years, andy Creekhas spread its branches westward as far as the great river Mississippi; southward as far as Georgia; eastward to the sea and Chesopeck icBay; and northward to the waters of the Pottowmack ic it, in 17 years, is become mother, grandmother, and great grandmother to 42 churches, from which sprang 125 ministers." For a time these Baptists remained somewhat distinct from the Regular Baptists. They were in the main in agreement with the Regulars, but holding to some minor points of difference. According to Edwards, "These are called Separates, not because they withdrew from the Regular-baptists but because they have hitherto declined any union with them. The faith and order of both are the same, except some trivial matters not sufficient to support a distinction, but less a disunion; for both avow the Century-Confession and the annexed discipline." One distinction was in the number of ordinances or rites observed by the Separates. The nine rites were baptism,
the Lord's supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...
, love feasts,
laying on of hands The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism ''semikhah'' ( he, סמיכה, "leaning f the hands) accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority. In Christian churches, this practice is used as both a symbolic and formal met ...
, washing feet, anointing the sick, the right hand of fellowship, kiss of charity, and devoting children. Not all the churches practiced all nine of these, but most churches practiced more than the two ordinances generally held by the Regular Baptists — baptism and the Lord's supper. With the exception of the
Separate Baptists in Christ The Separate Baptists in Christ are a denomination of Separate Baptists found mostly in United States. History The Separate Baptists had no formal statement of faith before 1776. They only followed the Bible. In 1776 there was split in the Sepa ...
, the denominational name ''Separate Baptist'' disappeared in many areas of the country with the formal and informal agreements of union between the Regular Baptists and Separate Baptists, beginning in Virginia in 1787, in the Carolinas in 1789, and in Kentucky in 1797 & 1801. As recorded by Benedict, the conclusion of the terms of union in Virginia stated, "...we are united, and desire hereafter, that the names Regular and Separate be buried in oblivion; and that from henceforth, we shall be known by the name of the United Baptist Churches, in Virginia." Descendants of the Separate Baptists include the
Separate Baptists in Christ The Separate Baptists in Christ are a denomination of Separate Baptists found mostly in United States. History The Separate Baptists had no formal statement of faith before 1776. They only followed the Bible. In 1776 there was split in the Sepa ...
, Landmark Missionary Baptists,
Primitive Baptist Primitive Baptists – also known as Hard Shell Baptists, Foot Washing Baptists or Old School Baptists – are conservative Baptists adhering to a degree of Calvinist beliefs who coalesced out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 19th c ...
s,
Southern Baptists The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
,
United Baptist United Baptist is name of several diverse Baptist groups of Christianity in the United States and Canada. History The name "United Baptist" appears to have arisen from two separate unions of Baptist groups: (1) the union of Regular Baptists and ...
s, and The General Association of Baptists. Separate Baptists are particularly visible in Kentucky, where a member of the denomination,
Vernie McGaha Vernie D. McGaha (born September 13, 1947) is an American politician and former state senator for Kentucky's south central 15th district, which includes the counties of Adair, Casey, Pulaski, and Russell. Biography McGaha is the son of Schy ...
of Russell Springs, served in the
state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
.


References

* . * . * . * . * . {{US baptist denominations Baptist denominations in North America Former Christian denominations