A survey released by LifeWay Research in December 2011 reportedly focused on Americans’ reactions to the name Southern Baptist. However, the study’s most important findings related to questions about the image of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), no matter what name we might use.
That point was most clearly illustrated when the more than 2,000 participants in the online survey responded to the question “When I see the name (fill in denominational affiliation) in the name of a church, I assume it is not for me.” Participants were asked about Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Southern Baptist and community/nondenominational names. Fifty-seven percent of respondents agreed the name Southern Baptist was off-putting for them. That is not good.
What went almost unnoticed was that 51 percent of respondents said the name Methodist was off-putting and 50 percent said the same of the name Baptist. Fifty-three percent were put off by the name Catholic.
When 50 percent of respondents say they assume a church is not for them because it has the name Baptist in it, the problem is not the name Southern Baptist but the image of Baptists. Lumped in the “Baptist” category are such diverse groups as Southern Baptists, American Baptists, Cooperative Baptists, National Baptists, Regular Baptists and on through the more than 40 nationwide Baptist bodies in the United States. According to this finding, no matter what name Southern Baptists used, half the country would have problems with us as long as Baptist remained in our name. Why?
The difference between name and image also was illustrated by the regional response breakdown the study provided.
When SBC President Bryant Wright appointed the name change study committee, it was out of concern about the impact of the name Southern Baptist on new church starts in areas underserved by the denomination. Most of those areas are outside the South and Southwest, where Southern Baptists are most popular and best known.
Surprisingly the survey found a greater negative reaction to Southern Baptists in the South than in the Northeast or Midwest. In the South, 40 percent of respondents reported an unfavorable impression of Southern Baptists. In the Northeast, it was 34 percent and in the Midwest, 36 percent.
That was a finding few, if any, expected. In the region where the SBC was organized, is best known and is the primary religious body, 40 percent of respondents reported an unfavorable impression of it. That is not good.
A larger percentage of people in the Midwest have a favorable impression of Southern Baptists (60 percent) than in the South (57 percent), and almost as high a percentage of those in the Northeast have a favorable impression of Southern Baptists (51 percent).
In the West, participants were about evenly divided, with 43 percent having a favorable impression of Southern Baptists and 44 percent having a negative impression.
Again the problem is not the name. Certainly the word “Southern” is not a problem in the South. Yet four out of 10 people in the South have an unfavorable impression of Southern Baptists and less than six out of 10 have a favorable impression, according to the survey. Obviously the problem that needs attention is the overall image of the SBC.
Without further study, there is no way of knowing the reasons behind the unfavorable impressions. Perhaps it is a growing negative reaction toward religion as a whole. While the numbers for each faith group studied were different, the trend lines were similar. Older respondents had more favorable reactions to the groups than younger respondents. The younger the respondents, the higher the percentage of unfavorable responses, with the youngest group (18–29) most likely to be unfamiliar with the various faith groups.
Part of the explanation may be the growing enmity toward any established denomination. Only community/nondenominational churches had less than half the respondents (35 percent) saying the name of the body was not off-putting. Perhaps that is why some historically Baptist churches change their names and omit reference to denominational identity (Baptist) in their new titles.
But according to the survey, the negative reaction is to the churches’ character. Participants were asked, “If you were considering visiting or joining a church, would knowing that the church was Southern Baptist impact your decision positively, negatively or have no impact?” Forty-four percent said it would have a negative impact. Notice the question was about the church being a Southern Baptist church, not about the name.
Part of the answer might be in Southern Baptists’ insistence that Jesus provides the only way of salvation or that truth is revealed in Scripture and is not relative to individual judgments.
Part of the answer might be the debris left in the wake of more than two decades of denominational turmoil or the perceived political identity of several prominent SBC leaders. No one really knows.
Not all was negative, however. Forty-six percent of respondents indicated the SBC identity would either be positive or make no difference at all. That is more than had a negative reaction.
There are other encouraging findings in the survey. Among Protestants, the Southern Baptist identity was not a problem for 55 percent of respondents. Only 36 percent of Protestants had a problem with an SBC identity. Considering the difference between mainline Protestant bodies and evangelical groups, that may not be a bad number.
Also, among those who attend church on a weekly basis, 20 percent said the SBC identity was a positive trait. The less respondents attended church, the more objectionable Southern Baptists became. Of those who never attend church, 62 percent reacted negatively to Southern Baptist identity.
Like most everyone else, this writer has no knowledge of what the name change study committee will recommend when it reports through the SBC president to the SBC Executive Committee on Feb. 20. It is hard to see that the survey results provide many compelling reasons to recommend a name change for the SBC.
But the survey did identify the serious issue of how the SBC is perceived by others. We hope the December study was only the first of many studies that will probe the reasons that 40 percent of those living in the South — our neighbors, friends and co-workers — have an unfavorable impression of Southern Baptists. That is an important finding that demands additional information.
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