Democratic Religion: Freedom, Authority, and Church Discipline in the Baptist South, 1785-1900 : freedom, authority, and church discipline in the Baptist South, 1785-1900

No American denomination identified itself more closely with the nation's democratic ideals than did the Baptists. Yet paradoxically no denomination wielded religious authority more effectively than they did. Wills traces this dichotomy to two rival strains within the Baptist church - moderates who emphasized personal religious freedom and tolerance, and fundamentalists who preached discipline.