Editing Regular Baptists

{{Baptist}}
'''Regular Baptists''' are "a moderately [[Reformed Baptists|Calvinistic Baptist]] denomination that is found chiefly in the southern U.S., represents the original English Baptists before the division into [[Particular Baptist|Particular]] and General Baptists, and observes [[closed communion]] and [[Maundy (foot washing)|foot washing]]", according to Merriam Webster.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Regular+Baptist|title=Definition of REGULAR BAPTIST|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> This definition describes [[Old Regular Baptists]], not those who formed as a result of the [[Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy|Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy]].

The most prominent Regular Baptist group is the [[General Association of Regular Baptist Churches]]. While the term ''Regular'' ''Baptist'' was originally a reference to the [[Particular Baptists]], it came to be used more loosely as a synonym for ''orthodox''. The ''Baptist Bulletin'' of the [[General Association of Regular Baptist Churches|GARBC]] defines them simply as groups who believe "orthodox, [[Baptists|Baptist doctrine]]" and "affirm the rule or measure of the Scripture."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://baptistbulletin.org/the-baptist-bulletin-magazine/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-regular-baptist/|title=What Does It Mean to Be a 'Regular' Baptist?|last=Brodrick|first=Jeff|date=May 2, 2008|website=Baptist Bulletin|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=September 30, 2019}}</ref>{{efn|In this case, the definition of the English word "regular" comes from the Latin term ''regula'', which means "rule or example". For instance, the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary definition for the adjective "regular" is: "Ecclesiastically subject to, or bound by, a religious rule, belonging to a religious or monastic order."<ref name=":0" />}} As compared to [[General Baptist]]s or [[Free Baptist]]s, Regular Baptists were strict in their beliefs, and also called Strict or Hard-shell Baptists.<ref name=":0" /> To be a Regular Baptist church in the [[General Association of Regular Baptist Churches|GARBC]] is to hold to distinctive baptistic ecclesiology and interpret the Bible literally.

==History==
===United States===
The term Regular Baptists developed in America from English immigrants who had been influenced by the [[Particular Baptist|Particular]] and [[General Baptist]]s churches that were established in England.<ref name=":0" /> According to Stuart Ivison and Fred Rosser: "By 1638 there were also congregations of ‘Particular’ Baptists, who held that the Atonement was of particular application, i.e., for the sake of the elect only."<ref name=":0" /> The General, also known as [[Free Baptists]], however, believed that all people could reap the benefits of atonement.<ref name=":0" /> This meant, particularly for the western pioneers, that individuals that were [[baptize]]d were allowed to become church members and take [[communion (sacrament)|communion]].<ref name=":0" />

The number of Regular Baptists began to increase over the number of [[General Baptists|General]] or [[Free Will Baptist|Free Baptists]] after the 1707 formation of the Philadelphia Baptist Association (PBA), which in 1742 developed a [[Confession of faith|Confession of Faith]].<ref name=":0" />{{efn|The Confession of Faith was heavily influenced by the 1646 Presbyterian Westminster and the 1689 Second London Confessions of Faith.<ref name=":0" />}} The influence and mission program of the Philadelphia Baptists shifted many of the [[Free Will Baptist|Free Baptists]] to Regular Baptists.<ref name=":0" /> John Asplund traveled the United States and created the first comprehensive list of Baptist denominations in the United States in 1790 entitled ''Annual Register of the Baptist Denomination in America''. He found that the greatest number of Baptist churches at that time were Regular Baptist churches.<ref name=":0" />

In the 1800s, the term ''Regular Baptist'' came to describe the [[Free Will Baptist|Free Baptists]].<ref name=":0" /> This was a surprising change as the term ''regular'' initially described the opposing position to the [[Free Will Baptist|Free Baptists]] (i.e., particular atonement). This happened as a result of the strict view of [[Communion (sacrament)|communion]] they took which held that individuals must be baptized prior to partaking of the Lord's Table.<ref name=":0" />

Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the [[American Baptist Churches USA|Northern Baptist Convention]] was polluted by individuals who were adopting the higher-critical theories of German theologians.<ref>Bauder; Delnay (2014), pp.39-40</ref> This caused many to separate from the convention and to form several groups of conservative, fundamental baptists. During this, the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches was born.<ref>Bauder; Delnay (2014), pp.185–218</ref> Their designation as Regular Baptists was unrelated to the dispute over general and particular atonement.<ref name=":0" />

There are still a number of organizations that are considered Regular Baptists, but the degree of strictness regarding atonement beliefs may vary across Regular Baptists churches today.<ref name=":0" />

*[[Old Regular Baptist]]s is a group formed in Kentucky in 1825 from the New Salem Association of United Baptists, which was formed in Kentucky in 1825. After several name changes, its name has been Old Regular since 1892. They practice [[Maundy (foot washing)|foot washing]] and observe closed communion.<ref name=":0" />
* The Sovereign Grace Association of Old Regular Baptist Churches of Jesus Christ conducts many of the practices of the Old Regular Baptists, but consider themselves more conservative.<ref name=":0" />
* The [[General Association of Regular Baptist Churches]] — organized in 1932 by conservative and fundamentalist churches withdrawing from the Northern Baptist Convention (now [[American Baptist Church]]es).<ref name=":0" /> Today, there are more than 1,200 churches in their association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yearbookofchurches.org/group/604|title=Yearbook Of Churches - View Group|website=www.yearbookofchurches.org|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> Unlike other Regular Baptist groups, they are primarily in the North, they do not practice [[Maundy (foot washing)|foot washing]] as an ordinance, and they take no position on [[calvinism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.garbc.org/|title=Articles of FaithGARBC|website=GARBC|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.garbc.org/|title=Baptist DistinctivesGARBC|website=GARBC|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> They manage and operate [[Regular Baptist Press]], the publishing arm of their association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://regularbaptistpress.org/about-us/|title=About Us|website=Regular Baptist Press|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> They are headquartered in [[Elgin, Illinois]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.garbc.org/|title=GARBC|website=GARBC|language=en-US|access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref>

===Canada===
The term Regular Baptists denotes churches with strict, orthodox Baptist beliefs.<ref name=":0" /> In 1928, the Union of Regular Baptist Churches was formed in Hamilton, Ontario. It was succeeded in 1957 by the [[Association of Regular Baptist Churches]] of Ontario, Canada, which continues to uphold closed communion teaching and practice.<ref name=":0" />

==Related organizations==

*[[Union Baptists]] — a strand of Regular Baptists that owes its origin to the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Churches and associations, especially in border states, were rent asunder by this national conflict. Tensions over secession, war and reconstruction, as well as the fact that Primitive Baptists did not allow members to hold membership in secret societies, combined to incubate the Union Baptists. Many pro-Union Primitive Baptists joined Union Leagues and were expelled from their churches and associations. The Mountain Union Association, formed in 1867, was the first "Union" Baptist Association. Unlike other areas, this distinction, at least in name, has persisted, and some churches and associations consider themselves "Union Baptists". There seems to be no doctrinal distinction between Union Baptists and Regular Baptists. Three associations — Original Mountain Union, Primitive and Union — have about 3300 members in 36 churches. Mitchell River Union Baptist Association may still be in existence.
*Regular Baptists — found in 5 local associations; much like the Old Regular Baptists, and located in the same region, but more open to changes in worship and lifestyle. Churches have allowed notated hymnals, Sunday Schools, revivals and even instrumental music. Three associations, mostly in [[North Carolina]], are in correspondence — Little River, Little Valley and Mountain Union (708 members in 15 churches in 1999). Two others are in isolated areas and not connected to the first three — East Washington in [[Arkansas]] (1560 members in 10 churches in 1999) and Enterprise in [[Ohio]], [[Kentucky]] and bordering areas (4288 members in 63 churches in 1999).{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}
*[[Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada]] — although the FEBCC is not generally considered Regular Baptist, some churches of this Fellowship still carry Regular Baptist as part of their name, especially in [[British Columbia]]. Three of four major bodies forming and entering the FEBCC from 1953 to 1965 were Regular Baptist.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fellowship.ca/OurHistory|title=Fellowship.ca - Our History|website=www.fellowship.ca|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref>
*[[Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ)]] — Many Baptist churches were once Regular Baptist Churches. The CBOQ exists to equip churches and leaders to engage with their mission from God in their community.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

==Notable members==
* [[Thomas Lincoln|Thomas]] and [[Nancy Lincoln]], President [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s parents, were members of the Licking-Locust Association of Regular Baptists in Kentucky.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
*[[Primitive Baptists]]

==References==
'''Informational notes'''
{{Notelist}}

'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
*{{cite book|author=Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion|title=Memory and Hope: Strands of Canadian Baptist History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxahcfEXsxQC&pg=PA131|date=August 19, 1996|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|isbn=978-0-88920-267-2}}
* Kevin Bauder (2012). ''[https://www.rbpstore.org/Products/5125/baptist-distinctives-and-new-testament-church-order.aspx?bCategory=BAI Baptist Distinctives and New Testament Church Order].'' Regular Baptist Press. {{ISBN|978-1-60776-583-7}}.
*Kevin Bauder; Robert Delnay (2014). ''[https://www.rbpstore.org/Products/5128/one-in-hope--doctrine.aspx?bCategory=BAI One in Hope and Doctrine: Origins of Baptist Fundamentalism 1870—1950]''. Regular Baptist Press. {{ISBN|978-1-60776-660-5}}.
*{{cite book|author1=Achilles Coffey|author2=Thomas J. Carr|title=A Brief History of the Regular Baptists, Principally of Southern Illinois|url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofre00coff|year=1877|publisher=Martin}}
* {{cite book|author=Howard Dorgan|author-link=Howard Dorgan|title=Giving Glory to God in Appalachia: Worship Practices of Six Baptist Subdenominations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hYmXA7vLw3wC&pg=PA55|date=November 1990|publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press|isbn=978-0-87049-666-0}}
* {{cite book|author=Howard Dorgan|title=The Old Regular Baptists of Central Appalachia: Brothers and Sisters in Hope|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhIR_tH66sIC&pg=PA40|date=August 1, 2001|publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press|isbn=978-1-57233-160-0}}
* {{cite book|author1=Samuel S. Hill|author2=Charles H. Lippy|author3=Charles Reagan Wilson|title=Encyclopedia of Religion in the South|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yx2EarrpKGUC|year=2005|publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=978-0-86554-758-2}}
* {{cite book|authorlink1=Bill J. Leonard|author=Bill J. Leonard|title=Baptists in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Le7LEWFTNGUC&pg=PA107|date=August 14, 2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50171-2}}
* {{cite book|author=James R. Mathis|title=The Making of the Primitive Baptists: A Cultural and Intellectual History of the Antimission Movement, 1800-1840|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W9_bpHRpA_MC|year=2004|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-94871-5}}
* {{cite book|author=James Harvey Oliphant|title=Principles and Practices of the Regular Baptists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=--ovQwAACAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Elder Harold Hunt}}
* {{cite book|author=Rufus Perrigan|title=History of Regular Baptist: And Their Ancestors and Accessors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWJXuQAACAAJ|year=1961|publisher=Rufus Perrigan}}
* {{cite book|author=John J. Ruhlman|title=A History of Northwest Regular Baptists: the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, 1939-1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pVXkAAAAMAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Regular Baptist Press}}
* {{cite book|author=Joseph M. Stowell|title=Background and History of the General Association of Regular Baptists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uh-MrgEACAAJ|year=1949}}
* Paul N. Tassel (1991). [https://www.rbpstore.org/Products/5185/quest-for-faithfulness.aspx?bCategory=BAI ''Quest for Faithfulness: the Account of a Unique Fellowship of Churches'']. Regular Baptist Press. {{ISBN|0-87227-152-8}}
*{{cite book|author=Albert W. Wardin|title=A Look at Baptists Around the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcO7GwAACAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Florida Baptist Historical Society}}
* {{cite book|author=Terry Wolever|title=A Noble Company, Volume 4: Biographical Essays on Notable Particular-Regular Baptists in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REzQngEACAAJ|date=January 1, 2014|publisher=Particular Baptist Press|isbn=978-1-888514-46-9}}

[[Category:Baptist movements]]
[[Category:Reformed Baptist movement]]