The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Baptists, Old School

BAPTISTS, Old School or Primitive. This body split off from the other Baptist denominations about 1835, though they themselves claim to be the “original Baptists.” They are opposed to the strong Calvinistic tendencies exhibited by others of the Baptist denominations, and do not countenance paid ministers, and consequently they do not maintain theological seminaries, schools or colleges. They have gradually lost their hold in the Middle States, where education has spread, but they still hold their own in the mountainous regions of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. In all they have nearly 3,000 churches and over 100,000 members.