Statistically speaking....
How many Baptists are there in the world today? Certainly, it depends on how you define a person as a Baptist. Is it based on baptism, church attendance, stated preference? Certainly there are plenty of people who worship in Baptist congregations and yet they may not self-identify as Baptist, preferring a simpler label such as "just Christian." Perhaps most do not consciously think of themselves as in any sense "Baptist" versus anything else, and would not or could not identify a set of Baptist distinctives or traditional practices. Nonetheless, however such persons may subjectively perceive their religious identity, objectively there are millions who find their ecclesial home in a Baptist body. But how many?
On the "About BWA" page on the Baptist World Alliance web site, a curious combination of figures occurs. This body identifies itself "as a fellowship of more than 200 Baptist conventions and unions comprising a membership of more than 36 million baptized believers and a community of over 110 million Baptists worldwide."
Well, that got me scratching my head. How are we simultaneously 36 million and 110 million? Are a number of unions accepting as members people who haven't been baptized (a very un-Baptist practice!)? Is the latter figure the number of Baptists in the world total, and only the smaller set is actually part of the BWA? Searching for answers, I emailed...the Baptist World Alliance! The email actually made its way to the top, and I received a reply from General Secretary Denton Lotz himself.
And this all makes sense according to Baptist theology. The 36 million figure is the number of baptized believers reported by the churches, and therefore the actual membership of the various churches. The latter figure encompasses active participants in the community and worship life of their congregations who are not yet actually members because they have not yet declared their faith in baptism. This would mean infants, children, adolescents - perhaps even adults who are still not yet ready for a discipleship commitment. Of course, churches that baptize infants count them as members, so their figures would be much higher by comparison if Baptists did not have a way of accounting for disciples-in-waiting living in their midst. The latter number is a huge jump over the former, however, which makes me wonder about a) the birth rates for Baptists in the Two-Thirds World and b) the percentage of retention in the Church as Baptist children grow into adulthood. If the retention rate is good, shouldn't the membership numbers spike in the next decade or so? If it is not good, what should we do differently to keep our children feasting at the Lord's Table?
Interestingly enough, counting highly conservative Baptist groups that are not part of the BWA, such as Southern Baptists, should place the worldwide total of the "community of Baptists" at around 130 million or so. But even just considering membership in the BWA, if that body were considered a communion of churches, then it would be the third-largest after Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. I'm not interested in playing a numbers game, but I do find that fascinating. However, Baptists need to learn more about what it means to take seriously being in communion before a claim like that would be made. After all, we seem to schismate a lot and fight over territory - for example there are four Baptist groups in South Africa, five in the Philippines, and seventeen in the United States (not counting non-BWA members)!
The membership figures bring up another interesting question. Some have suggested that Baptists need to promote better practices of affirming children and seekers as integral to the community, if not full members at the level of discipleship and commitment that means baptism. Might Baptists be willing to adopt for children an explicit catechumenate that acknowledges them as already encountering the grace of God and being moved by it in the midst of the community? I for one hope so, but that may be another post for another day...
On the "About BWA" page on the Baptist World Alliance web site, a curious combination of figures occurs. This body identifies itself "as a fellowship of more than 200 Baptist conventions and unions comprising a membership of more than 36 million baptized believers and a community of over 110 million Baptists worldwide."
Well, that got me scratching my head. How are we simultaneously 36 million and 110 million? Are a number of unions accepting as members people who haven't been baptized (a very un-Baptist practice!)? Is the latter figure the number of Baptists in the world total, and only the smaller set is actually part of the BWA? Searching for answers, I emailed...the Baptist World Alliance! The email actually made its way to the top, and I received a reply from General Secretary Denton Lotz himself.
And this all makes sense according to Baptist theology. The 36 million figure is the number of baptized believers reported by the churches, and therefore the actual membership of the various churches. The latter figure encompasses active participants in the community and worship life of their congregations who are not yet actually members because they have not yet declared their faith in baptism. This would mean infants, children, adolescents - perhaps even adults who are still not yet ready for a discipleship commitment. Of course, churches that baptize infants count them as members, so their figures would be much higher by comparison if Baptists did not have a way of accounting for disciples-in-waiting living in their midst. The latter number is a huge jump over the former, however, which makes me wonder about a) the birth rates for Baptists in the Two-Thirds World and b) the percentage of retention in the Church as Baptist children grow into adulthood. If the retention rate is good, shouldn't the membership numbers spike in the next decade or so? If it is not good, what should we do differently to keep our children feasting at the Lord's Table?
Interestingly enough, counting highly conservative Baptist groups that are not part of the BWA, such as Southern Baptists, should place the worldwide total of the "community of Baptists" at around 130 million or so. But even just considering membership in the BWA, if that body were considered a communion of churches, then it would be the third-largest after Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. I'm not interested in playing a numbers game, but I do find that fascinating. However, Baptists need to learn more about what it means to take seriously being in communion before a claim like that would be made. After all, we seem to schismate a lot and fight over territory - for example there are four Baptist groups in South Africa, five in the Philippines, and seventeen in the United States (not counting non-BWA members)!
The membership figures bring up another interesting question. Some have suggested that Baptists need to promote better practices of affirming children and seekers as integral to the community, if not full members at the level of discipleship and commitment that means baptism. Might Baptists be willing to adopt for children an explicit catechumenate that acknowledges them as already encountering the grace of God and being moved by it in the midst of the community? I for one hope so, but that may be another post for another day...
Labels: Baptists
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