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A Genealogy of Dissent: Southern Baptist Protest in the Twentieth Century (Religion in the South)

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Sticklin's study of Southern Baptist progressives basically contends that a vibrant, although small and loosely organized, strain of progressivism flourished within the SBC. This strand of dissent stood in stark contrast to the confident triumphalism of the Southern Baptist institutional machine and wondered what might happen if Southern Baptist energies and organizations were directed away from self-promotion and toward alleviation of human suffering. Stricklin illustrates how various personal connections created this genealogy of dissent. He then explains the dominane SBC position consensus on race, peace and justice, and women in ministry, and then shows how progressives pursued a more radical response to these issues. He then contends that the agitation of progressives, especially in the area of women in ministry, was a key factor that set in motion the fundamentalist take over of the SBC.

Stricklin understands both progressives and fundamentalists as "outsiders" to the SBC moderate leadership. Thus Stricklin divides the SBC into three groups: 1. moderates, who placed their faith in tolerant leadership and the cooperative work of the institutions as the best way to accomplish God's will; 2. fundamentalists, who placed their faith in pure doctrine and who would rather limit the effectiveness of the institution in order to maintain doctrinal purity; and 3. progressives, who placed their faith in local congregations and informal networks and who wanted to use this grassroots movement of faith as a way to change the political and economic world.

Fundamentalists won control of the SBC because they were able to mobilize their supporters against the moderates, who were often characterized as "liberal" because of their willingness to tolerate the progressives. While the book could do more in explaining the theology of the dissenters, it succeeds in showing the various ways of being Baptist and suggesting why these ways could no longer coexist within the SBC.