history: The church I attend is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
knowledge: With more than 15 million members , it is the world's largest Baptist denomination, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and the second-largest Christian denomination in the United States after the Catholic Church.
response: That's interesting. It's the largest Baptist denomination, with over 15 million members.
history: The church I attend is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
That's interesting. It's the largest Baptist denomination, with over 15 million members.
Yes, it is a large organization.  I don't know much about it's history.  Do you know when it was founded?
knowledge: The word ''Southern'' in Southern Baptist Convention stems from it having been organized in 1845 at Augusta, Georgia, by Baptists in the Southern United States who split with northern Baptists over the issue of slavery, specifically whether Southern slave owners could serve as missionaries.
response: Yes it started in 1845 when the Baptists in the southern US split from the northern Baptists over the issue of slavery.
history: The church I attend is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
That's interesting. It's the largest Baptist denomination, with over 15 million members.
Yes, it is a large organization.  I don't know much about it's history.  Do you know when it was founded?
Yes it started in 1845 when the Baptists in the southern US split from the northern Baptists over the issue of slavery.
Wow, so I take it that the Southern Baptists supported slavery?  That is just crazy.
knowledge: The word ''Southern'' in Southern Baptist Convention stems from it having been organized in 1845 at Augusta, Georgia, by Baptists in the Southern United States who split with northern Baptists over the issue of slavery, specifically whether Southern slave owners could serve as missionaries.
response: Well, the specific issue they were arguing over was whether slave owners in the South could be missionaries.
history: The church I attend is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
That's interesting. It's the largest Baptist denomination, with over 15 million members.
Yes, it is a large organization.  I don't know much about it's history.  Do you know when it was founded?
Yes it started in 1845 when the Baptists in the southern US split from the northern Baptists over the issue of slavery.
Wow, so I take it that the Southern Baptists supported slavery?  That is just crazy.
Well, the specific issue they were arguing over was whether slave owners in the South could be missionaries.
I did not know that.  I wonder when they chose to change their stance on slavery.  I wonder how many slave owners actually wanted to be missionaries.
knowledge: Since the 1940s, the Southern Baptist Convention has shifted from some of its regional and historical identification.
response: I couldn't really say, though from the 1940s on, they've shifted some of their historical identification.
history: The church I attend is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
That's interesting. It's the largest Baptist denomination, with over 15 million members.
Yes, it is a large organization.  I don't know much about it's history.  Do you know when it was founded?
Yes it started in 1845 when the Baptists in the southern US split from the northern Baptists over the issue of slavery.
Wow, so I take it that the Southern Baptists supported slavery?  That is just crazy.
Well, the specific issue they were arguing over was whether slave owners in the South could be missionaries.
I did not know that.  I wonder when they chose to change their stance on slavery.  I wonder how many slave owners actually wanted to be missionaries.
I couldn't really say, though from the 1940s on, they've shifted some of their historical identification.
That is really nuts.  I know that during the civil rights era, the Southern Baptists were pretty split on the issues of the day.
knowledge: Others joined new African-American denominations, chiefly the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 19th century, as the first independent black denomination in the United States.
response: Some people left to join African-American denominations like the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was America's first independent black denomination.