"The 'state church' of Alabama is Southern Baptist. One in every four inhabitants of that state and two of every three church members there are members of the Alabama Baptist State Convention. Alabama has the highest percentage of any state in the union. . . . Flynt is a well seasoned professional historian as well as an insider. Both backgrounds cooperate to contribute an honest and fair account. . . . This volume could very well be the best historical account of any denomination in any state of the United States." "--Church History
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"Wayne Flynt has written the definitive history of Southern Baptists in Alabama. A distinquished historian of southern religion, Flynt is also a narrative Alabamian and Southern Baptist who trained for the ministry. . . . Flynt's sweeping chronicle of Alabama Baptists provides an in-depth look at the South's largest denomination in a pivotal state."--Journal of American History

Wayne Flynt is Distinguished University Professor at Auburn University and author or coauthor of eleven books, including Poor but Proud, Alabama in the Twentieth Century, and Taking Christianity to China: Alabama Missionaries in the Middle Kingdom, 1850-1950. Flynt has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Lillian Smith Award for nonfiction, the Clarence Cason Nonfiction Award, the James F. Sulzby Jr. Book Award (twice), and the Alabama Library Association Award for nonfiction (twice).