Southern as applied to Baptists describes a religious domination, not a geographic area. At first, Southern Baptists occupied the southern region of the United States; they now live in all fifty states. With mission work all over the world, they are truly a global people.

Southern Baptists make up the largest non-Catholic denomination in America. They claim over 38,000 churches, and more than 15,000,000 members. Church members differ in cultural, economic, and educational backgrounds. And they do not always agree on some biblical or doctrinal matters. Still, Southern Baptists hold in common certain beliefs that shape their identity.

Where major doctrines are concerned, Southern Baptists share many of the great essentials of the Christian faith with other Christian bodies. However, some beliefs are especially important to them:

1.  Southern Baptists believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. For them it is authoritative, reliable, and never misleading. It is the guide for faith and practice. In the Scriptures, God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, and has declared His purpose for all creation.

2.  Each person is able to come to God for himself or herself. There is no need for a third party to tell a person how to pray, how to interpret the Scriptures, or how to vote in Church. All believers are ministers or servants of God. This is called the priesthood of believers.

3.  Southern Baptists insist that for one to be baptized into a church’s fellowship, he or she must claim Jesus as Savior and Lord of life. Thus, only believers may be baptized.

Baptists practice baptism by immersion. They hold that baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It also symbolizes the fact that the new believer has died to his or her old life, and has been raised to live a new life with Christ.

4.  Southern Baptists believe in the right of each church to manage its affairs with no central authority except that of Christ Himself.

Freedom does not rule out cooperation. The Southern Baptist Convention enables churches to pool and distribute their resources for supporting ministries at home and around the world. This plan is called the Cooperative Program. Some churches also give money for missions, education, and other causes through alternate mission organizations.

5. Southern Baptists affirm that God has assigned specific duties to the state and to the church. The 1963 Baptist Faith and Message states: "Church and state should be separate." Baptists object to government interfering with the church

Summary

From their beginnings, Southern Baptists have valued the freedom of the individual before God. They have placed a high priority on the authority of the Bible. They have insisted on the right of each church to govern itself. Southern Baptists are a diverse people, but they have worked together to carry out Christian education, evangelism, missions, and many other ministries in the United States and around the world.