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Type of Baptist ecclesiology developed in the American South in the mid 19th century

Landmarkism, sometimes called Baptist bride theology, is a Baptist ecclesiology that emerged in the mid 19th century in the American South. It upholds the perpetuity theory of Baptist origins, which asserts an unbroken continuity and exclusive legitimacy of the Baptist movement since the apostolic period. Landmarkists hold a firm belief in the exclusive validity of Baptist churches and view non Baptist liturgical forms and practices as invalid. This perspective caused significant controversy and division within the Baptist community, leading to intense debates and numerous schisms.

The movement began in the American South in 1851, shaped by James R. Graves of Tennessee, and Ben M. Bogard of Arkansas. The movement was a reaction to religious progressivism earlier in the century. The main baptist groups adhering to Landmark principles and doctrines in the present day are the churches of the American Baptist Association (founded by Bogard), Baptist Missionary Association of America, and the Interstate & Foreign Landmark Missionary Baptist Association.

James M. Pendleton was a Baptist pastor from Kentucky whose article An Old Landmark Re Set, a treatise against pulpit affiliation with non Baptist ministers, gave the movement its name. His Church Manual was also influential in perpetuating Landmark Baptist ecclesiology. Although Pendleton was the only native Southerner in the Landmark Triumvirate, he was in favor of emancipation and opposed secession. As a result, his influence among Southern Baptists declined precipitously in the days leading up to the American Civil War and he took a pastorate in Pennsylvania during the war.

Amos C. Dayton's major contribution to Landmarkism was the novel Theodosia Ernest (1857), which expressed religious issues and was first published in The Tennessee Baptist.

John N. Hall, publisher of the Kentucky Baptist Flag newspaper, was a forceful advocate of both Landmarkism and the Gospel Mission Movement. Ben M. Bogard, after leading a schism out of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention became the most popular leader of Landmarkism into the twentieth century. Samuel A. Hayden led a schismatic movement in Texas that many have associated with Landmarkism. Thomas T. Eaton championed Landmark sentiment in Kentucky and led the charge against anti Landmark scholar William H. Whitsitt. John T. Christian prolifically defended the Landmark Baptist conception of Baptist successionism. James M. Carroll wrote one of the most enduring Landmark Baptist works, The Trail of Blood, a history of the Baptist movement. A number of prominent Southern Baptist leaders were also Landmark Baptists although their primary contributions to Baptist history lay in fields other than ecclesiology.