2027 Conference
2027 Annual Conference
Call for Papers: 2027 BHHS Annual Conference in Raleigh
The Baptist History & Heritage Society (BHHS) invites paper and panel proposals for its 2027 Annual Conference, May 17–19, at First Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. The conference will again be held in collaboration with the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion (NABPR) and the Association of Ministry Guidance Professionals (AMGP).
Scholars, clergy, lay leaders, practitioners and students are invited to submit proposals on any topic in Baptist history and identity. Proposals do not have to address the conference theme.
The theme of the joint meeting is “Faith, Health, and Human Flourishing: Truth, Trust, and the Common Good in a Pluralistic Democracy.” It offers opportunities to explore how Baptists have understood health and healing, shaped healthcare institutions and public policy, and negotiated questions of religious conviction, scientific authority and public trust.
Potential topics include Baptist hospitals, nursing schools and medical missions; responses to epidemics and public-health crises; race, gender and unequal access to healthcare; disability, accessibility and leadership in Baptist life; environmental justice, mental-health advocacy, pastoral counseling and chaplaincy; and Baptist women’s campaigns for sanitation, housing and social reform. Proposals might also examine Baptist interpretations of sickness and healing, faith healing and the prosperity gospel, or the ways religious convictions and experiences of medical racism and exclusion have shaped public trust.
The joint meeting will connect these questions with religious freedom, Christian nationalism and democracy. Drawing on Baptist commitments to liberty of conscience, church freedom and the separation of church and state, participants will consider how faith communities can contribute to the common good in a pluralistic society.
Proposal formats
Themed sessions should bring together two or three papers around a unified theme and identify a suggested moderator. Creative session formats are also encouraged. Each paper will receive 30 minutes, including discussion.
Individuals may submit different proposals to BHHS, NABPR and AMGP, but the same proposal may be submitted to only one organization. Please disclose submissions to multiple organizations.
Graduate student participation
Graduate students are especially encouraged to submit proposals. All graduate students must register; registration is reduced to a $5 administrative fee, whether or not they propose a paper. Graduate students who present papers and request funding from BHHS Executive Director Aaron Weaver will receive a $250 travel stipend.
How to submit
Submit presenters’ names and contact information, a presentation title and a 300-word abstract by January 31, 2027. Decisions will be sent by or before March 1, 2027.
Questions? Contact BHHS Executive Director Aaron Weaver at aweaver@thebhhs.org.
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Purpose and History of Annual Conferences
Previous Annual BHHS Conferences
2026 The Church and Global Migration (Atlanta, GA)
2025 Addressing Abuse in Baptist Communities (Waco, TX)
2024 Baptist History and Identity (Raleigh, NC)
2023 Baptists in the Great Southwest (San Antonio, TX)
2022 Baptists and Science (Virtual)
2021 Baptists and Public Advocacy (Virtual)
2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019 Baptist Engagement with Social Justice and Those on the Margins (Raleigh, NC)
2018 Baptist Women in the Twentieth Century (Atlanta, GA)
2017 Biographies and Narratives: Baptist Experiences and Convictions (Augusta, GA)
2016 Perspectives in Baptist History and Identity (Waco, TX)
2015 Seeking Justice: Baptists, Nashville and Civil Rights (Nashville, TN)
2014 Exploring the ‘Other’ Baptists (Sioux Falls, SD)
2013 Faith, Freedom, Forgiveness: Religion and the Civil War, Emancipation and Reconciliation in Our Time (Richmond, VA)
2012 Baptists and Theology (Raleigh, NC)
2011 Baptists and Education (Dallas, TX)
2010 Baptists and Revivalism (Georgetown, KY)
2009 Baptist Contributions, 1609-2009 (Huntsville, AL)
2008 Baptists and the First Amendment (Atlanta, GA)
2007 African Americans in Baptist History (Campbellsville, KY)
2006 The Contributions of Baptist Public Figures in America (Washington, DC)
2005 Women in Baptist History (Birmingham, AL)
2004 Baptist Footprints in the Northwest (Vancouver, WA)
2003 Baptists on the Frontier (Belton, TX)
2002 Baptists and Diversity (Jefferson City, TN)
2001 Baptists and World War II (Pensacola, FL)
2000 Reflections on Baptist Life in the Twentieth Century (Savannah, GA)
1999 Baptist Theological Education (Liberty, MO)
1998 Texas Baptists and the Southern Baptist Convention (Dallas, TX)
1997 Baptists and the Civil War (Richmond, VA)
1996 Two Ways To Be Baptist: J. Frank Norris and George W. Truett (Nashville, TN)
1995 The Spirit of Southern Baptists, 1845-1995 (Augusta, GA)
1994 Ministries of Baptist Laypeople (Memphis, TN)
1993 Baptists and the News Media (Nashville, TN)
1992 World Missions: Two Centuries of Baptist Achievement (Birmingham, AL)
1991 Religious Education in Southern Baptist Churches (Nashville, TN)
1990 Southern Baptists and Relationships with Other Denominations (Nashville, TN)
1989 Baptists in America: 175 Years of National Organization (Nashville, TN)
1988 Ordination in Baptist Heritage (Nashville, TN)
1987 Women in Southern Baptist History (Birmingham, AL)
1986 Baptist Church Music Heritage (Nashville, TN)
1985 Baptists and the History of Church-State Relationships (Nashville, TN)
1984 The Role of the Bible in Baptist History (Nashville, TN)
1983 Ethnic Southern Baptist Heritage (Nashville, TN)
1982 Southern Baptists Nationwide (Charleston, SC)
1981 Black Southern Baptist Heritage (Nashville, TN)
1980 Southern Baptist Theologians (Louisville, KY)
1979 Baptist Polity: A Look at Church Order (Nashville, TN)
1978 The Heritage of Baptist Thought (Fort Worth, TX)
1977 Communicating Baptist History Through Contemporary Media and Art Forms (Nashville, TN)
1976 Baptists and the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Early America (Richmond, VA)
1975 Our Denominational Heritage and the Present: The Role of Baptist Oral History (Nashville, TN)
1974 Baptists and the Bicentennial (Nashville, TN)
1973 Our Denominational Heritage and the Present: The Role of the State Baptist Historical Society (Birmingham, AL)
1972 Baptists and Social Revolution (Nashville, TN)
1971 Libraries: Archives and Indexing (Nashville, TN)
1970 125 Years of Southern Baptist Convention History (Nashville, TN)
1969 Writing Baptist History (Nashville, TN)