NEWS RELEASE
PUBLIC INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
PO Box 567, Buies Creek, NC 27506
Tel: (910) 893-1224 w Fax: (910) 893-1922
Lecturer Focuses on Primitive Baptists in the
South Carolina Upcountry
Dr. Kimberly Kellison was the featured speaker at
the Anne T. Moore Humanities Lecture on the campus of Campbell
University, Wednesday, March 31. The lecture topic was "A Seceding
Frame of Mind: The Antimission Controversy and the Roots of
Secession in Upcountry South Carolina, 1820-1860."
Dr. Kellison is an associate professor of history at
Baylor University with a specialty in nineteenth-century America.
She received her PhD from the University of South Carolina in 1997.
In her lecture, Kellison traced the happenings of protestant
churches, in particular, Primitive Baptists, in the South Carolina Upcountry
during the pre-war period leading up by South Carolina's secession from the
Union.
Kellison pointed out that Primitive Baptist churches
flourished in the Upcountry during this period of time. These churches
expunged themselves from the primary Baptist churches of the time because of
their differing beliefs, particularly in the biblical practice of "foot
washing" and by their allowance of different treatment of women in the
congregations, including letting women vote in congregational matters.
However, Primitive Baptist churches did not allow women to serve as officers
or pastors.
The detractors, according to Kellison's research, tried to
present the Primitive Baptists in an unflattering light, intimating that they
could be likened to "barking dogs" at revivals. The Primitive Baptist movement
had great concern regarding being a "mission" church, therefore the name "antimission"
came into being as a descriptor for these churches. The antimission movement
was a more conservative approach as compared to traditional Baptist churches
of the time.
Dr. Kellison's conclusion, as a result of her research, was
that the antimission sentiment of Primitive Baptist churches in the Upcountry
did play a role in the secession of South Carolina.
Established in 1988, the annual Anne T. Moore Humanities
Lecture program focuses on timely and important topics dealing with the
humanities. The program is endowed by Dr. Anne Tucker Moore, professor emerita
of history at Campbell University. Moore taught at Campbell from 1962 until
1993.
Founded in 1887, Campbell University is North Carolina's
second largest private higher education institution and the second largest
Baptist university in the world. Located in Buies Creek, NC, just east of the
center of the state, Campbell combines academic excellence and Christian
commitment.
Bulletin 0094 |
