Independent Baptist churches (also called Independent Fundamental BaptistorIFB) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded.
The modern Independent Baptist tradition began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among local denominational Baptist congregations whose members were concerned about the advancement of modernism and theological liberalism into national Baptist denominations and conventions in the United States and the United Kingdom.[1][2]
In response to the concerns, some local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and conventions and reestablished the congregations as Independent Baptist churches. In other cases, the more conservative members of existing churches withdrew from their local congregations and set about establishing new Independent Baptist churches.[3]
Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded.[4] There is the World Baptist Fellowship founded in 1933 at Fort Worth, TexasbyJ. Frank Norris.[5] Doctrinal differences in the latter led to the founding of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International in 1950 and the Independent Baptist Fellowship International in 1984.[6] Various independent Baptist Bible colleges were also founded.[7]
The beliefs are mainly Baptist and fundamentalist.[8] They refuse any form of ecclesial authority other than that of the local church. Great emphasis is placed on the literal interpretation of the Bible as the primary method of Bible study as well as the biblical inerrancy and the infallibility of their interpretation.[9] Dispensationalism is common among Independent Baptists. They are opposed to any ecumenical movement with denominations that do not have the same beliefs.[10] Many IFB churches adhere to only using the King James Version, a position known as King James Onlyism.[11]
Members of Independent Baptist churches comprised 2.5% of the United States adult population, according to a 2014 survey by the Pew Research Center.[12]
In 2018, an investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified 412 abuse allegations in 187 independent fundamental Baptist (IFB) churches and institutions across in United States and Canada, with some cases reaching as far back as the 1970s.[13][14]
In November 2023, Investigation Discovery released Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals, a 4 part documentary, highlighting sexual abuse and cover up within the Independent Baptist movement.[15]
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