Each month, we post an update to notify our readers about the latest archival collections to be processed and some highlights of our print material acquisitions. These resources are primed for research and are just a sampling of the many resources to be found at The Texas Collection!Continue Reading
Pictured here is Joseph Martin Dawson, the first Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee. Baptist Joint Committee records, Accession #3193, Box #652, Folder #23, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
by Thomas DeShong, Project Archivist
This blog is the first of two that highlights a recently processed collection, the Baptist Joint Committee records, and its place in history.
The 1930s were a desperate time in the history of the United States. The nation had been plunged into the Great Depression following the crash of the stock markets. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his brain trust crafted the New Deal in an effort to combat unemployment and economic depression. In order to enact Roosevelt’s proposals, however, the powers of the federal government began to increase dramatically. Concerned about potential infringements on individual freedom, particularly religious liberty, Baptists across the country began to organize.
In 1936, the Southern Baptist Convention created a Committee on Public Relations to monitor the government’s activities. Rufus W. Weaver, a prominent Baptist educator and writer, served as its first Chairman. Under his leadership, the committee tackled various church-state issues including American attempts at diplomacy with the Vatican, the mistreatment of missionaries in Romania, and the formation of the United Nations. Weaver also facilitated cooperative efforts among the Southern Baptist Convention, the Northern Baptist Convention, and the predominantly African American National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc. to maximize their ability to enact change.Continue Reading
This blog is the first of two that highlights a recently processed collection, the Baptist Joint Committee records, and its place in history.
Of all the rights and freedoms guaranteed to American citizens by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, freedom of religion has proven to be one of the mostly hotly contested. Throughout the history of the United States, stretching back to the early years of British colonization in the seventeenth century, religious liberty has been at times both staunchly protected and unequivocally denied. Baptists, due in part to the histories of their denominations, have often stood as key proponents of religious liberty for all.Continue Reading
