| Alliance of Baptists | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestantism |
| Theology | Baptist |
| Headquarters | Raleigh, North Carolina, United States |
| Origin | 1987 |
| Congregations | 140 |
| Members | 4,500 |
| Official website | allianceofbaptists |
The Alliance of Baptists is a Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The headquarters is in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Alliance of Baptists was formed in 1987 [1] 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. [2]
According to an association census released in 2022, it has 140 churches and 4,500 baptized members. [3]
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In 1990, the Alliance became the first Baptist organization to formally offer an apology for slavery in the American South. [4]
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. [5] 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. [6] [7]
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, an effort by a coalition of Christian right organizations to influence state legislation. [8]
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. [9] 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. [9] : 4 Membership in the Alliance is open to churches and individuals who support its Covenant and Mission and contribute financially to its ministries. [9] : 2
The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and members of the LGBT community as elders and ministers. The Presbyterian Church (USA) was established with the 1983 merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.
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The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Christian body in the United States. The SBC is a cooperation of fully autonomous, independent churches with commonly held essential beliefs that pool some resources for missions.
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The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is an evangelical Christian denomination in the Radical Pietistic tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association. It is affiliated with the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) is the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, the second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. Brent Leatherwood has served as the ERLC president since September 13, 2022. The commission is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with additional offices in Washington, D.C., and Cyprus.
The First Cathedral, originally known as First Baptist Church, is a Black Baptist congregation in Hartford, Connecticut.
Attitudes in Presbyterianism toward homosexuality vary, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance.
The positions of the Baptist churches about homosexuality are varied. They range from liberal to fundamentalist or moderate Conservative and neutral.
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church is a Baptist church known for its progressive theology located in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, right beside North Carolina State University. Pullen, called "a fiercely independent Baptist church" whose traditions have "earned it a reputation far and wide as the South's premier liberal church," has a long history of civil rights activism, and is currently a leader on key issues of the day, from LGBTQ rights to activism in Moral Monday protests to alliances with like-minded people in distant places from Cuba to Nicaragua to Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains and Black Sea.
Although the United Church of Canada is one of the few mainstream Christian denominations to both ordain LGBTQ clergy and consecrate same-sex marriages, support for these issues have caused deep divisions within the church.
Pentecostal viewpoints concerning homosexuality are varied worldwide, since there is no one organization that represents all Pentecostals. However, most Pentecostal denominations condemn homosexuality as going against scriptural teachings, though there are some affirming Pentecostal denominations.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention, is a Baptist Christian denomination headquartered at the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee and affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. It is also the largest predominantly and traditionally African American church in the United States and the second largest Baptist denomination in the world.
The Global Methodist Church is a Methodist denomination within Protestant Christianity subscribing to views that were propounded by the conservative Confessing Movement. The denomination is headquartered in the United States and has a presence internationally. The Global Methodist Church was created as a result of a schism with the United Methodist Church, after members departed to create a denomination seeking to uphold "theological and ethical Christian orthodoxy."
