Statistics and changes

According to the Canada 2001 Census

Canada 2001 Census

The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...

, the number of people in Canada who identify themselves as Baptist is 729,470, about 2.5% of the population, an increase of about 10% in the 10 years since the 1991 census (see Religion in Canada

Religion in Canada

Religion in Canada encompasses a wide range of groups. The preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms references "God", and the monarch carries the title of "Defender of the Faith". However, Canada has no official religion, and support for religious pluralism is an important part of...

).

A growing practice of existing and new churches in Canada and the United States is the dropping of the term "Baptist" from their church's name. Often, this practice is due to concern over what is perceived within the church to be a negative stereotype by the general population toward the label "Baptist", but not toward the church or Baptist beliefs in general. This negative stereotype has often been perceived legalism, associated with the word "baptist". Churches who make this change are interested in attracting people who are unchurched, and who may have barriers with becoming affiliated with a denomination, or specifically becoming a "baptist". Keeping the distinct name and simply adding Community Church to the end is a common change.

A name such as "Grace Community Church" is felt by these churches to be less likely to cause unnecessary negative stereotypes or offence, to signal and inspire a change in the mindset and vision of the church, and to fit in with the surrounding community better.

In some congregations, this change has been a source of controversy, and has not been easily accepted by some, especially older members. The most common arguments with this type of "rebranding" are 1) it is deceptive to the public, 2) it is an abandoning of Baptist history, 3) it might lead a church to eventually compromise and abandon their Baptist beliefs in order to be more inclusive, and 4) it may make it more difficult to determine the number of "Baptist" churches and those believing in the "Baptist distinctives".

History

Baptist missionary work began on the Atlantic coast in the 1760s but took around 100 years to reach the west coast.

A variety of associations and affiliations have occurred since then. Many of the original churches were established by specific missionary groups from the United States of America and by various ethnic or language groups, such as the Swedish Baptist Churches and the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention of Canada

Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention of Canada

The Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention of Canada is a Baptist organization serving the Ukrainian Baptists in the country of Canada.Ukrainian Baptists became established in Canada early in the 20th century from two independent sources. Ukrainian immigrants established the first Ukrainian...

.

Two significant shifts in associations have occurred, one in 1927 and one in 1953. The Union of Regular Baptist Churches was formed in 1927 in Hamilton, Ontario by 77 churches who had withdrawn from the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec

Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec

Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec is the oldest union of Baptist churches in central Canada.In 1880 a "Baptist Union of Canada" was formed. Since the churches were located chiefly in the central provinces, the name was changed in 1888 to "Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec"...

 (BCOQ). This withdrawal was due to the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy

Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy

The Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy was a religious controversy in the 1920s and 30s within the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America that later created divisions in most American Christian denominations as well. The major American denomination was torn by conflict over the...

, centred around a professor at the Convention's official seminary at McMaster University

McMaster University

McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...

, who held a liberal/modernist position of theology.

In 1944, the BCOQ joined with the United Baptist Convention of the Maritimes and the Baptist Union of Western Canada to form the first national Canadian Baptist association, the Canadian Baptist Federation. In 1995, they merged with the Canadian Baptist International Ministries to form Canadian Baptist Ministries. The four conventions still exist within the association and counted over 1100 member churches in 1995.

By 1953 some churches had dropped out of the Union of Regular Baptist Churches, but the remainder joined with the Fellowship of Independent Baptist Churches (founded 1933) and formed the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada

Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada

The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, often known simply as The Fellowship is a conservative Baptist denomination in Canada. It was formed in 1953 as a result of a merger of the Union of Regular Baptist Churches of Ontario and Quebec and the Fellowship of Independent Baptist...

 (FEBC). The Regular Baptist Missionary Fellowship of Alberta joined in 1963 and the Convention of Regular Baptist Churches of British Columbia (founded 1927) also joined in 1965. Known as "The Fellowship", it claims to be the largest evangelical group in Canada, with at least 500 member churches in Canada from coast to coast.

A Regular Baptist church in British Columbia joined a Southern Baptist Convention affiliate in 1953. The first SBC association was formed in 1955 and there are now 233 churches, in most provinces and territories, with the largest concentration in western Canada.

Associations of Baptists in Canada

The following are the major groupings of Baptists in Canada (alphabetically):

• Association of Regular Baptist Churches
  Association of Regular Baptist Churches
  The Association of Regular Baptist Churches is one of the smaller Canadian Baptist bodies. Formed in 1957, the association is fundamentalist and separatist in its doctrine. ARBC supports the Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College, and publishes The Gospel Witness. Currently the ARBC has 10...
  
  
• Baptist General Conference of Canada
  Baptist General Conference of Canada
  Baptist General Conference of Canada is a national body of evangelical Baptist churches introduced to Canada by Swedish Baptists late in the 19th century....
  
  
• Canadian Baptist Ministries
• Canadian National Baptist Convention
  Canadian National Baptist Convention
  The Canadian National Baptist Convention is an organization of Baptist churches in Canada in partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States.-History:...
  
  
• Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada
  Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada
  The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, often known simply as The Fellowship is a conservative Baptist denomination in Canada. It was formed in 1953 as a result of a merger of the Union of Regular Baptist Churches of Ontario and Quebec and the Fellowship of Independent Baptist...
  
  
• Independent (non-aligned) Baptist churches

External links

• Baptist General Conference of Canada - official Web Site
• Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada - official Web Site
• Canadian National Baptist Convention - official Web Site