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Baptists are a denomination within
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (
believer's baptism Believer's baptism (also called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of Infant baptism, baptizing infants. C ...
) and doing so by complete
immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux * ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian group Pendulum * ''Immersion'' (film), a 2021 ...
. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the
doctrines Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolo ...
of
soul competency Soul competency is a Christian theological perspective on the accountability of each person before God. According to the view, one's family relationships, church membership, or ecclesiastical or religious authorities cannot affect the salvation of ...
(the responsibility and accountability of every person before
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
), ''
sola fide (or simply ), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheranism, Lutheran and Reformed tradition, Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, from th ...
'' (salvation by faith alone), ''
sola scriptura (Latin for 'by scripture alone') is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for ...
'' (the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
is the sole infallible authority, as the rule of faith and practice) and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances:
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
and communion. Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today may differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship. Baptist missionaries have spread various Baptist churches to every continent. The largest Baptist communion of churches is the
Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...
, and there are many different groupings of Baptist churches and Baptist congregations. Historians trace the Baptists to the early
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...
of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, more specifically, to the dissenting church in
Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...
led by the cleric John Smyth, which, with other Puritan leaders and churches, was exiled to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
in 1607. In accordance with their study of the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, they rejected paedobaptism and instituted baptism only of professing believers. The Baptists spread across England, where the
General Baptists General Baptists, also called Arminian Baptists, are Baptists that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that Jesus Christ died for all humanity and not only for the elect). General Baptist soteriology initially was not Arminian, bu ...
considered Christ's atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to
the elect In Christianity, particularly within the theological framework of Calvinism, election involves God choosing a particular person or group of people to a particular task or relationship, especially eternal life. Election to eternal life is viewed ...
.
Thomas Helwys Thomas Helwys (c. 1575 – 1616) was an English barrister (lawyer), Puritan leader, and theologian. His theological beliefs is one of the forming basis of the Baptist tradition. In the early 17th century, Helwys was the principal formulator of ...
formulated a distinctively Baptist request that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, so that individuals might have
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
. Helwys died in prison as a consequence of the religious conflict with English Dissenters under
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334†...
.


Origins

Baptist historian Bruce Gourley outlines four main views of Baptist origins: # the modern scholarly consensus that the movement traces its origin to the 17th century via the
English Separatists English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestants who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. English Dissenters opposed state interference in religious matters and founded their own churches, educationa ...
, # the view that it was an outgrowth of the
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
movement of
believer's baptism Believer's baptism (also called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of Infant baptism, baptizing infants. C ...
begun in 1525 on the European continent, # the
perpetuity In finance, a perpetuity is an annuity that has no end, or a stream of cash payments that continues forever. There are few actual perpetuities in existence. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) government issued them in the past; these were kno ...
view which assumes that the Baptist ''faith and practice'' has existed since the time of Christ, and # the successionist view, which argues that Baptist ''churches'' actually existed in an unbroken chain since the time of Christ.Gourley, Bruce. "A Very Brief Introduction to Baptist History, Then and Now." ''The Baptist Observer.'' Some people prior to the reformation acknowledge the existence of Baptists and their separation from the church.


English separatist view

Modern Baptist churches trace their history to the English Separatist movement in the 17th century, over a century after the foundation of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
during the Protestant
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. This view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted. Adherents to this position consider the influence of
Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. The term (tra ...
upon early Baptists to be minimal. It was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that a more biblical "truth" had been discovered. During the Reformation, the Church of England (
Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
) separated from the Roman
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation. There also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of the church's direction, some chose to stay and try to make constructive changes from within the Anglican Church. They became known as "
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
" and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the established church because of their dissatisfaction and became known as the Separatists. In 1579,
Faustus Socinus Fausto Paolo Sozzini (; ; 5 December 1539 – 4 March 1604), often known in English by his Latinized name Faustus Socinus ( ), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian, and, alongside his uncle Lelio Sozzini, founder of the Nontrinit ...
founded the Unitarian Polish Brethren in Poland-Lithuania, which was a tolerant country. The Unitarians taught
baptism by immersion Immersion baptism (also known as baptism by immersion or baptism by submersion) is a method of baptism that is distinguished from baptism by affusion (pouring) and by aspersion (sprinkling), sometimes without specifying whether the immersion is ...
. After their expulsion from the Commonwealth in 1658, many of them fled to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the Unitarians introduced immersion baptism to the
Dutch Mennonites Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
. Baptist churches have their origins in a movement started by John Smyth and
Thomas Helwys Thomas Helwys (c. 1575 – 1616) was an English barrister (lawyer), Puritan leader, and theologian. His theological beliefs is one of the forming basis of the Baptist tradition. In the early 17th century, Helwys was the principal formulator of ...
in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. Because they shared beliefs with the
Congregationalists Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
, they went into exile in 1607 with other believers who held the same positions. They believe that the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
is to be the only guide and that the believer's baptism is what the scriptures require.Robert Andrew Baker, John M. Landers, ''A Summary of Christian History'', B&H Publishing Group, US, 2005, p. 258 In 1609, the year considered to be the foundation of the movement, they baptized believers and founded the first Baptist church. In 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract titled "The Character of the Beast". In it he expressed two propositions: first, infants are not to be baptized; and second, "Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism." Hence, his conviction was that a scriptural church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a confession of faith. He rejected the Separatist movement's doctrine of infant baptism. Shortly thereafter, Smyth left the group. Ultimately, Smyth became committed to believers' baptism as the only biblical baptism. He was convinced on the basis of his interpretation of Scripture that infants would not be damned should they die in infancy. Smyth, convinced that his self-baptism was invalid, applied with the Mennonites for membership. He died while waiting for membership, and some of his congregation became Mennonites. Helwys and others kept their baptism and commitments that would originate the Baptist Tradition. The modern Baptist denomination is an outgrowth of this movement. Baptists rejected the name Anabaptist when they were called that by opponents in derision. McBeth writes that as late as the 18th century, many Baptists referred to themselves as "the Christians commonly—though ''falsely''—called Anabaptists." Helwys took over the leadership, leading the church back to England in 1611, and he published the first Baptist confession of faith "A Declaration of Faith of English People" in 1611. He founded the first
General Baptist General Baptists, also called Arminian Baptists, are Baptists that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that Jesus Christ died for all humanity and not only for the elect). General Baptist soteriology initially was not Arminian, bu ...
Church in
Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...
, east London, in 1612. Another milestone in the early development of Baptist doctrine was in 1638 with John Spilsbury, a
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
minister who helped to promote the strict practice of believer's baptism by immersion (as opposed to
affusion Affusion is a method of baptism where water is poured on the head of the person being baptized. The word "affusion" comes from the Latin , meaning "to pour on". Affusion is one of four methods of baptism used by Christians, which also include to ...
or
aspersion Aspersion ( la. ), in a religious context, is the act of sprinkling with water, especially holy water. Aspersion is a method used in baptism as an alternative to immersion or affusion. The word is formed of the Latin , 'to sprinkle', of ''ad'', ' ...
). According to Tom Nettles, professor of historical theology at
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...
, "Spilsbury's cogent arguments for a gathered, disciplined congregation of believers baptized by immersion as constituting the New Testament church gave expression to and built on insights that had emerged within separatism, advanced in the life of John Smyth and the suffering congregation of Thomas Helwys, and matured in Particular Baptists."


Anabaptist influence view

A minority view is that early 17th century Baptists were influenced by (but not directly connected to) continental Anabaptists.. According to this view, the General Baptists shared similarities with Dutch Waterlander Mennonites (one of many Anabaptist groups) including believer's baptism only,
religious liberty Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
,
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
, and
Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...
views of salvation, predestination and original sin. It is certain that the early Baptist church led by Smyth had contacts with the Anabaptists; however it is debated if these influences found their way into the English General Baptists. Representatives of this theory include A.C. Underwood and William R. Estep. Gourley writes that among some contemporary Baptist scholars who emphasize the faith of the community over soul liberty, the Anabaptist influence theory is making a comeback. This view was also taught by the Reformed historian
Philip Schaff Philip Schaff (January 1, 1819 â€“ October 20, 1893) was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and ecclesiastical historian, who spent most of his adult life living and teaching in the United States. Life and career Schaff was ...
. However, the relations between Baptists and Anabaptists were early strained. In 1624, the five existing Baptist churches of London issued a condemnation of the Anabaptists. Furthermore, the original group associated with Smyth (popularly believed to be the first Baptists) broke with the Waterlander Mennonite Anabaptists after a brief period of association in the Netherlands.


Perpetuity and succession view

Traditional Baptist historians write from the perspective that Baptists had existed since the time of Christ. Proponents of the Baptist successionist or perpetuity view consider the Baptist movement to have existed independently from Roman Catholicism and prior to the Protestant Reformation.. This view has been characterized as "apologetic and polemical" and "without consideration of a critical, scientific methodology". The perpetuity view is often identified with ''
The Trail of Blood ''The Trail of Blood'' is a 1931 book by American Southern Baptist minister James Milton Carroll, comprising a collection of five lectures he gave on the history of Baptist churches, which he presented as a succession from the first Chri ...
'', a booklet of five lectures by
James Milton Carroll James Milton Carroll (January 8, 1852 – January 10, 1931) was an American Baptist pastor, leader, historian, author, and educator. Early life James Milton Carroll was one of twelve children born to Benajah and Mary Eliza Carroll (''née'' ...
published in 1931. Other Baptist writers who advocate the successionist theory of Baptist origins are John T. Christian and Thomas Crosby. This view was held by English Baptist preacher
Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31st January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, to some of whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers." ...
as well as
Jesse Mercer Jesse Mercer (1769–1841) was an American Baptist minister and eponym of Mercer University in the U.S. state of Georgia. Early life Born in the Province of North Carolina on December 16, 1769, he was the son of Silas Mercer, a Baptist minister w ...
, the namesake of
Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...
. In 1898 William Whitsitt was pressured to resign his presidency of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for denying Baptist successionism..


Baptist origins in the United Kingdom

In 1612 Helwys established a Baptist congregation in London, consisting of congregants from Smyth's church. A number of other Baptist churches sprang up, and they became known as the General Baptists. The Particular Baptists were established when a group of Calvinist Separatists adopted believers' Baptism. The Particular Baptists consisted of seven churches by 1644 and had created a confession of faith called the First London Confession of Faith.


Baptist origins in North America

Both
Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
and John Clarke are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in North America.. In 1639 Williams established a Baptist church in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
, and Clarke began a Baptist church in
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking." The
First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening, sometimes Great Awakening or the Evangelical Revival, was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affected Pro ...
energized the Baptist movement, and the Baptist community experienced spectacular growth. Baptists became the largest Christian community in many southern states, including among the enslaved Black population. Baptist missionary work in Canada began in the British colony of
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
(present day Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
) in the 1760s. The first official record of a Baptist church in Canada was Horton Baptist Church (now Wolfville) in
Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination d ...
, Nova Scotia on 29 October 1778. The church was established with the assistance of the
New Light New Light, new light, New Lights or new lights may refer to: * New Light, North Carolina * New Light, Richland Parish, Louisiana * New Light (song), a song by John Mayer * ''New Light'' (EP), an EP by the band Moving Mountains * Old and New ...
evangelist
Henry Alline Henry Alline (pronounced Allen) (June 14, 1748 – February 2, 1784) was a minister, evangelist, and writer who became known as "the Apostle of Nova Scotia." Born at Newport, Rhode Island, he became a New England Planter and served as an itiner ...
. Many of Alline's followers, after his death, converted and strengthened the Baptist presence in the Atlantic region. Two major groups of Baptists formed the basis of the churches in
the Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...
. These were referred to as Regular Baptist (Calvinistic in their doctrine) and
Free Will Baptists Free Will Baptists or Free Baptists are a group originating from General Baptists that emphasizes the teaching of free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the General Baptists in 17th century England. In 1702, Paul Palm ...
(Arminian in their doctrine). In May 1845, the Baptist congregations in the United States split over slavery and missions. The Home Mission Society prevented slaveholders from being appointed as missionaries.. The split created the
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
, while the northern congregations formed their own umbrella organization now called the
American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...
(ABC-USA). In 2015, Baptists in the U.S. number 50 million people and constitute roughly one-third of
American Protestants Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States, with its combined denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population (or 141 million people) in 2019. Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U ...
.


Baptist origins in Ukraine

The Baptist churches in Ukraine were preceded by the German Anabaptist and
Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
communities, who had been living in southern Ukraine since the 16th century, and who practiced adult believer's baptism. The first Baptist baptism (adult baptism by full immersion) in Ukraine took place in 1864 on the river
Inhul The Inhul () is a left tributary of the Southern Bug (Boh) and is the 14th longest river of Ukraine. It flows through the Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. It starts near the village of Rodnykivka, Oleksandriia Raion in Kirovohrad Oblast (Ce ...
in the Yelizavetgrad region (now
Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...
region), in a German settlement. In 1867, the first Baptist communities were organized in that area. From there, the Baptist movement spread across the south of Ukraine and then to other regions as well. One of the first Baptist communities was registered in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
in 1907, and in 1908 the First All-
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
Convention of Baptists was held there, as Ukraine was still controlled by the Russian Empire. The All-Russian Union of Baptists was established in Yekaterinoslav (now
Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
) in southern Ukraine. At the end of the 19th century, there were between 100,000 and 300,000 Baptists in Ukraine. An independent All-Ukrainian Baptist Union of Ukraine was established during the brief period of Ukraine's independence in early 20th-century and once again after the fall of the Soviet Union, the largest of which is currently known as the
Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine The Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine or All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists (AUC ECB) () is a Baptist Christian denomination in Ukraine. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Kyi ...
.


Baptist churches

Some Baptist church congregations choose to be independent of larger church organizations (
Independent Baptist Independent Baptist churches (also called Independent Fundamental Baptists or IFB) are Christian congregations that generally hold to fundamentalist or conservative views of Evangelical Christianity and Baptist beliefs, such as believer's bapti ...
). Other Baptist churches choose to be part of an international or national Baptist Christian denomination or association while still adhering to a congregationalist polity. This cooperative relationship allows the development of common organizations, for Christian mission, mission and societal purposes, such as Christian humanitarian aid, humanitarian aid, schools, Bible college , theological institutes and hospitals. The majority of Baptist churches are part of national denominations (or 'associations' or 'cooperative groups'), as well as the
Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...
(BWA), formed in 1905 by 24 Baptist denominations from various countries. The BWA's goals include caring for the needy, leading in world evangelism and defending human rights and religious freedom.


Missionary organizations

Missionary organizations favored the development of the movement on all continents. The BMS World Mission was founded in 1792 at Kettering, England. In United States, International Ministries (organization), International Ministries was founded in 1814, and the International Mission Board was founded in 1845.


Membership

Membership policies vary due to the autonomy of churches, but generally an individual becomes a member of a church through believer's baptism (which is a public profession of faith in Jesus, followed by immersion baptism). Most Baptists do not believe that baptism is a requirement for salvation but rather a public expression of inner repentance and faith. In general, Baptist churches do not have a stated age restriction on membership, but believer's baptism requires that an individual be able to freely and earnestly profess their faith. In 2010, an estimated 100 million Christians identified as Baptist or belonging to a Baptist-type church. In 2020, according to the researcher Sébastien Fath of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS, the Baptist movement has around 170 million believers in the world. According to a census released in 2024, the BWA includes 266 participating fellowships in 134 countries, with 178,000 churches and 51 million baptized members. These statistics may not be fully representative, however, since some churches in the United States have dual or triple national Baptist affiliation, causing a church and its members to be counted possibly by more than one Baptist association, if these associations are members of the BWA. Among the censuses carried out by individual Baptist associations in 2023, those which claimed the most members on each continent were:


Beliefs

Since the early days of the Baptist movement, various associations have adopted common confessions of faith as the basis for cooperative work among churches.William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, US, 2020, p. 160–161 Each church has a particular confession of faith and a common confession of faith if it is a member of an association of churches. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the Confession of Faith (1689), 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the New Hampshire Confession of Faith, 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, and written church covenants which some individual Baptist churches adopt as a statement of their faith and beliefs. Baptist theology shares many doctrines with evangelical theology. It is based on believers' Church doctrine.Michael Edward Williams, Walter B. Shurden, ''Turning Points in Baptist History'', Mercer University Press, US, 2008, p. 17 Baptists, like other Christians, are defined by school of thought—some of it common to all orthodox and evangelical groups, and a portion of it distinctive to Baptists. Through the years, different Baptist groups have issued confessions of faith—without considering them to be ''Creed, creeds''—to express their particular doctrinal distinctions in comparison to other Christians as well as in comparison to other Baptists. Baptist denominations are traditionally seen as belonging to two parties,
General Baptists General Baptists, also called Arminian Baptists, are Baptists that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that Jesus Christ died for all humanity and not only for the elect). General Baptist soteriology initially was not Arminian, bu ...
who uphold Arminian theology, and Reformed Baptists, Particular Baptists who uphold Reformed theology (Calvinism). During the holiness movement, some General Baptists accepted the teaching of a second work of grace and formed denominations that emphasized this belief, such as the Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God and the Holiness Baptist Association. Most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine, but their beliefs may vary due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches.Buescher, John.
Baptist Origins
.
Teaching History
. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
Historically, Baptists have played a key role in encouraging religious freedom and the doctrine of separation of church and state. Shared doctrines would include beliefs about one God; the virgin birth of Jesus; miracles; substitutionary atonement for sins through the Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Burial of Jesus, burial, and bodily Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus; the Trinity; the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God, his death and resurrection); grace; the Kingdom of God (Christianity), Kingdom of God; last things (Christian eschatology, eschatology) (Jesus Second Coming, Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to Earth; the Universal resurrection, dead will be raised; and Last Judgment, Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); and evangelism and Missionary, missions. Most Baptists hold that no church or ecclesiastical organization has inherent authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control. Exceptions to this local form of local governance include a few churches that submit to the leadership of a body of Elder (Christianity)#Baptists, elders, as well as the Episcopal Baptists who have an Episcopal polity, Episcopal system. Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism, both dispensational and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support. Some additional distinctive Baptist principles held by many Baptists: * The supremacy of the canonical Scriptures as a norm of faith and practice. For something to become a matter of faith and practice, it is not sufficient for it to be merely ''consistent with'' and not contrary to scriptural principles. It must be something ''explicitly'' ordained through command or example in the Bible. For instance, this is why Baptists do not practice infant baptism: they say the Bible neither commands nor exemplifies infant baptism as a Christian practice. More than any other Baptist principle, this one when applied to infant baptism is said to separate Baptists from other evangelical Christians. * Baptists believe that faith is a matter between God and the individual. It is connected in theory with the advocacy of absolute liberty of conscience. * Insistence on immersion believer's baptism as the only mode of baptism. Baptists do not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. Therefore, for Baptists, baptism is an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance, not a sacrament, since in their view it imparts no saving grace.


Beliefs that vary among Baptists

Since there is no hierarchical authority and each Baptist church is autonomous, there is no official set of Baptist theological beliefs. These differences exist among associations and even among churches within the associations. Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are: * Eschatology * Arminianism versus Calvinism (General Baptists uphold Arminian theology while Particular Baptists teach Calvinist theology). * The doctrine of separation from "the world" and whether to associate with those who are "of the world" * Belief in a second work of grace, i.e. entire sanctification (held by General Baptists in the Holiness tradition) * Glossolalia, Speaking-in-tongues and the operation of other Spiritual gift, charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit in Christianity, Holy Spirit in the charismatic churches * How the Bible should be interpreted (hermeneutics) * The extent to which missionary boards should be used to support missionaries * The extent to which non-members may participate in the Eucharist, Lord's Supper services * Which translation of Scripture to use (e.g., King James Only movement) * Dispensationalism versus Covenant theology * The role of Christian views on marriage, women in marriage * The Ordination of women in Protestant denominations#Baptist, ordination of women as deacons or pastors. * Attitudes to and involvement in the Ecumenism, ecumenical movement. * The role of repentance and perseverance in salvation (Lordship salvation controversy). * How to distinguish the persons of the trinity (social trinitarianism and classical trinitarianism). Excommunication may be used as a last resort by some denominations and churches for members who do not want to repent of beliefs or behavior at odds with the confession of faith of the community. When an entire congregation is excluded, it is often called disfellowship.


Types of Baptists


General Baptists

General Baptists General Baptists, also called Arminian Baptists, are Baptists that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that Jesus Christ died for all humanity and not only for the elect). General Baptist soteriology initially was not Arminian, bu ...
are Baptists who hold to the view of unlimited atonement, believing that God died for every human being and not just the elect. These Baptists are generally closer to Arminianism, Arminian theology, and the
Free Will Baptists Free Will Baptists or Free Baptists are a group originating from General Baptists that emphasizes the teaching of free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the General Baptists in 17th century England. In 1702, Paul Palm ...
belong to this grouping. The General Baptists also emerged from English Separatists, who contended that the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
was a false church, from which one should separate from completely.


Particular Baptists

The Particular Baptists or Reformed Baptists are Baptists who hold to the Reformed Christianity, Calvinistic view of salvation. Depending on the denomination, Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Calvinism#Five Points of Calvinism, Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting a modified form of Covenant theology, federalism; all Calvinistic Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism. While the Reformed Baptist confessions affirm views of the nature of baptism similar to those of the classical Reformed, they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. In distinction to the General Baptists who emphasized separation from the Church of England, the Particular Baptists sought more ecumenism.


Missionary Baptists

The Missionary Baptists were a group of Baptists that came from the missionary controversy in the United States, where the Missionary Baptists supported the usage of missionaries.


Primitive Baptists

Primitive Baptists are a type of Baptists who adhere to some type of Calvinistic beliefs, who came out of the controversy among Baptists on the use of mission boards, tract societies and temperamence societies. Primitive Baptists reject some elements of classical Reformed theology, such as infant baptism, and avoid the term "Calvinist". They are still Calvinist in the sense of holding strongly to the Five Points of Calvinism and they explicitly reject Arminianism. They are also characterized by "intense conservatism".


Independent Baptists

Independent Baptist, Independent Baptists are Baptists who arose from local Baptist congregations whose members were concerned about the doctrines of Religious liberalism, theological liberalism in national Baptist conventions.Marsden (1980), pp. 55–62, 118–23. Independent Baptists are primarily Fundamentalism, fundamentalist, and although they may differ on multiple issues such as soteriology, dress standards, music, the practice of communion among others, they are homogenous on issues such as opposition to homosexuality, ordination of women, the charismatic movement, evolution and abortion.


New Independent Baptists

During the 21st century, the New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement, New Independent Fundamental Baptist movement was founded out of the Independent Baptist movement by Steven Anderson (pastor), Steven Anderson. However, this movement has been heavily criticized by Independent Baptists due to many doctrinal differences. Some former New IFB pastors have also charged the association of being a cult.


Seventh Day Baptists

Seventh Day Baptists are Baptists who practice Sabbatarianism. However, it is not certain when Seventh Day Baptists took denominational form, and they do not claim an unbroken succession of church organization from before the Reformation.


Landmark Baptists

Landmarkism, Landmark Baptists are a Baptist movement which originated in the 19th century in United States, with leaders such as James Robinson Graves, J. R. Graves, James Madison Pendleton, J. M. Pendleton and Amos Cooper Dayton, A. C. Dayton, although they denied being a new movement, but a continuation of the old-fashioned Baptists. Landmark Baptists believe that the term "church" should be reserved for Baptist churches exclusively, arguing that groups such as Methodism, Methodists or Presbyterianism, Presbyterians are not churches at all, but only religious societies. They believe that Baptists share an unbroken line of succession from the early church.


Worship

In Baptist churches, Church service, worship service is part of the life of the Christian Church, church and includes praise, worship, of Christian prayer, prayers to God, a sermon based on the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, Offering (Christianity), offering, and periodically the Lord's Supper. Some churches have services with traditional Christian music, others with contemporary Christian music, and some offer both in separate services. In many churches, there are services adapted for children, even teenagers. Prayer meetings are also held during the week. The architecture is generally sober, and the Latin cross is one of the only spiritual symbols that can usually be seen on the building of a Baptist church and that identifies the place where it belongs.


Education

Baptist churches established elementary and secondary schools, Bible colleges, colleges and universities as early as the 1680s in England, before continuing in various countries. In 2006, the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities was founded in the United States. In 2023, it had 42 member universities.


Sexuality

Many churches promote Abstinence pledge, virginity pledges to young Baptist Christians, who are invited to engage in a public ceremony of sexual abstinence until Christian marriage. This pact is often symbolized by a purity ring. Programs like True Love Waits (organization), True Love Waits, founded in 1993 by the
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
have been developed to support the commitments. Most Baptist associations around the world believe only in marriage between a man and a woman. Some Baptist associations do not have official beliefs about marriage in a confession of faith and invoke congregationalism to leave the choice to each church to decide. This is the case of
American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...
, Progressive National Baptist Convention (USA), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (USA), National Baptist Convention, USA and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Some Baptist associations support same-sex marriage. This is the case of the Alliance of Baptists (USA), the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms, the Aliança de Batistas do Brasil, the Fraternidad de Iglesias Bautistas de Cuba, and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (international).


Controversies

Baptists have faced many controversies in their 400-year history, controversies of the level of crises. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word ''crisis'' comes from the Greek word meaning 'to decide.' Shurden writes that contrary to the presumed negative view of crises, some controversies that reach a crisis level may actually be "positive and highly productive." He claims that even Schism in Christianity, schism, though never ideal, has often produced positive results. In his opinion, crises among Baptists each have become decision moments that shaped their future.


Missions crisis

Early in the 19th century, the rise of the modern Christian mission, missions movement, and the backlash against it, led to widespread and bitter controversy among the American Baptists. During this era, the American Baptists were split between missionary and anti-missionary. A substantial secession of Baptists went into the movement led by Alexander Campbell (minister), Alexander Campbell to return to a more fundamental church.


Slavery crisis


United States

Leading up to the American Civil War, Baptists became embroiled in the controversy over slavery in the United States. Whereas in the
First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening, sometimes Great Awakening or the Evangelical Revival, was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affected Pro ...
, Methodist and Baptist preachers had opposed slavery and urged manumission, over the decades they made more of an accommodation with the institution. They worked with slaveholders in the Southern United States, South to urge a Paternalism, paternalistic institution. Both denominations made direct appeals to slaves and free Blacks for conversion. The Baptists particularly allowed them active roles in congregations. By the mid-19th century, northern Baptists tended to oppose slavery. As tensions increased, in 1844 the Home Mission Society refused to appoint a slaveholder as a missionary who had been proposed by Georgia. It noted that missionaries could not take servants with them, and also that the board did not want to appear to condone slavery. In 1845, a group of churches in favor of slavery and in disagreement with the abolitionism of the Triennial Convention (now American Baptist Churches USA) left to form the Southern Baptist Convention. They believed that the Bible sanctions slavery, and that it was acceptable for Christians to own slaves. They believed slavery was a human institution which Baptist teaching could make less harsh. By this time, many Planter class, planters were part of Baptist congregations, and some of the denomination's prominent preachers, such as Basil Manly Sr., president of the University of Alabama, were also planters who owned slaves. As early as the late 18th century, Black Baptists began to organize separate churches, associations and mission agencies. Blacks set up some independent Baptist congregations in the South before the Civil War. White Baptist associations maintained some oversight of these churches. In the postwar years, freedmen quickly left the white congregations and associations, setting up their own churches. In 1866, the Consolidated American Baptist Convention, formed from Black Baptists of the South and West, helped southern associations set up Black state conventions, which they did in Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 1880, Black state conventions united in the national Foreign Mission Convention to support Black Baptist missionary work. Two other national Black conventions were formed, and in 1895 they united as the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., National Baptist Convention. This organization later went through its own changes, spinning off other conventions. It is the largest Black religious organization and the second-largest Baptist organization in the world. Baptists are numerically most dominant in the Southeast. In 2007, the Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Survey found that 45% of all African Americans identify with Baptist denominations, with the vast majority of those being within the historically Black tradition. In the American South, the interpretation of the Civil War, abolition of slavery and postwar period has differed sharply by race since those years. Americans have often interpreted great events in religious terms. Historian Wilson Fallin contrasts the interpretation of Civil War and Reconstruction era, Reconstruction in White versus Black memory by analyzing Baptist sermons documented in Alabama. They quickly organized their own congregations and developed their own regional and state associations and, by the end of the 19th century, a national convention. White preachers in Alabama after Reconstruction expressed the view that: Black preachers interpreted the Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation, Emancipation and Reconstruction as "God's gift of freedom." They had a gospel of liberation, having long identified with the Book of Exodus from slavery in the Old Testament. They took opportunities to exercise their independence, to worship in their own way, to affirm their worth and dignity, and to proclaim the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Most of all, they quickly formed their own churches, associations, and conventions to operate freely without white supervision. These institutions offered self-help and racial uplift, a place to develop and use leadership, and places for proclamation of the gospel of liberation. As a result, Black preachers said that God would protect and help him and God's people; God would be their rock in a stormy land. The Southern Baptist Convention supported white supremacy and its results: Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era, disenfranchising most Blacks and many poor whites at the turn of the 20th century by raising barriers to voter registration, and passage of racial segregation laws that enforced the system of Jim Crow laws, Jim Crow. Its members largely resisted the civil rights movement in the South, which sought to enforce their constitutional rights for public access and voting; and enforcement of midcentury federal civil rights laws. In 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution that recognized the failure of their ancestors to protect the civil rights of African Americans. More than 20,000 Southern Baptists registered for the meeting in Atlanta. The resolution declared that messengers, as SBC delegates are called, "unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as deplorable sin" and "lament and repudiate historic acts of evil such as slavery from which we continue to reap a bitter harvest." It offered an apology to all African Americans for "condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime" and repentance for "racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously or unconsciously." Although Southern Baptists have condemned racism in the past, this was the first time the convention, predominantly White since the Reconstruction era, had specifically addressed the issue of slavery. The statement sought forgiveness "from our African-American brothers and sisters" and pledged to "eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry." In 1995, about 500,000 members of the 15.6-million-member denomination were African Americans and another 300,000 were ethnic minorities. The resolution marked the denomination's first formal acknowledgment that racism played a role in its founding.


Caribbean islands

Elsewhere in the Americas, in the Caribbean in particular, Baptist missionaries and members took an active role in the anti-slavery movement. In Jamaica, for example, William Knibb, a prominent British Baptist missionary, worked toward the emancipation of slaves in the British West Indies (which took place in full in 1838). Knibb supported the creation of "Free Villages" and sought funding from English Baptists to buy land for freedmen to cultivate; the Free Villages were envisioned as rural communities to be centered around a Baptist church where emancipated slaves could farm their own land. Thomas Burchell, missionary minister in Montego Bay, was active in this movement, gaining funds from Baptists in England to buy land for what became known as Burchell Free Village. Prior to emancipation, Baptist deacon Samuel Sharpe, who served with Burchell, organized a general strike of slaves seeking better conditions. It developed into a major rebellion of as many as 60,000 slaves, which became known as the Christmas Rebellion or the Baptist War. It was put down by government troops within two weeks. During and after the rebellion, an estimated 200 slaves were killed outright, with more than 300 judicially executed later by prosecution in the courts, sometimes for minor offenses. Baptists were active after emancipation in promoting the education of former slaves; for example, Jamaica's Calabar High School, named after the port of Calabar in Nigeria, was founded by Baptist missionaries. At the same time, during and after slavery, slaves and free Blacks formed their own Spiritual Baptist movements—breakaway spiritual movements which theology often expressed resistance to oppression.


Landmark crisis

Southern Baptist Landmarkism sought to reset the Ecclesiastical separatism, ecclesiastical separation which had characterized the old Baptist churches, in an era when inter-denominational union meetings were the order of the day. James Robinson Graves was an influential Baptist of the 19th century and the primary leader of this movement. While some Landmarkers eventually separated from the Southern Baptist Convention, the movement continued to influence the Convention into the 20th and 21st centuries.


Modernist crisis

The rise of theological modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries also greatly affected Baptists. The Landmark movement has been described as a reaction among Southern Baptists in the United States against incipient modernism. In England,
Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31st January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, to some of whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers." ...
fought against modernistic views of the Scripture in the Downgrade Controversy and severed his church from the Baptist Union as a result. The Northern Baptist Convention in the United States had internal conflict over modernism in the early 20th century, ultimately embracing it. Two new conservative associations of congregations that separated from the convention were founded as a result: the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1933 and the Conservative Baptist Association of America in 1947. Following similar conflicts over modernism, Southern Baptist Convention conservative resurgence, the Southern Baptist Convention adhered to conservative theology as its official position. In the late 20th century, Southern Baptists who disagreed with this direction founded two new groups: the liberal Alliance of Baptists in 1987 and the more moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 1991. Originally both schisms continued to identify as Southern Baptist, but over time they "became permanent new families of Baptists."


Criticism

In his 1963 book, ''Strength to Love'', Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr. criticized some Baptist churches for their anti-intellectualism, especially because of the lack of theological training among pastors. In 2018, Baptist theologian Russell D. Moore criticized some Baptists in the United States for their moralism emphasizing strongly the condemnation of certain personal sins, but silent on the social injustices that afflict entire populations, such as racism. In 2020, the North American Baptist Fellowship, a region of the Baptist World Alliance, officially made a commitment to social justice and spoke out against institutionalized discrimination in the American justice system. In 2022, the Baptist World Alliance adopted a resolution encouraging Baptist churches and associations that have historically contributed to the sin of slavery to engage in restorative justice.Ken Camp
BWA resolutions condemn racism, commend reparations
baptiststandard.com, USA, July 16, 2022


See also

* List of Baptist denominations * List of Baptist World Alliance National Fellowships * List of Baptists


References


Bibliography

* * . * . * * * Kidd, Thomas S. and Barry Hankins, ''Baptists in America: A History'' (2015) * , comprehensive international History. * . * .


Further reading

* Bebbington, David. ''Baptists through the Centuries: A History of a Global People'' (Baylor University Press, 2010) emphasis on the United States and Europe; the last two chapters are on the global context. * Brackney, William H. ''A Genetic History of Baptist Thought: With Special Reference to Baptists in Britain and North America'' (Mercer University Press, 2004), focus on confessions of faith, hymns, theologians, and academics. * Brackney, William H. ed., ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'' (2nd ed. Scarecrow, 2009). * Cathcart, William, ed. ''The Baptist Encyclopedia'' (2 vols. 1883)
online
* Gavins, Raymond. ''The Perils and Prospects of Southern Black Leadership: Gordon Blaine Hancock, 1884–1970.'' Duke University Press, 1977. * Harrison, Paul M. ''Authority and Power in the Free Church Tradition: A Social Case Study of the American Baptist Convention'' Princeton University Press, 1959. * Harvey, Paul. ''Redeeming the South: Religious Cultures and Racial Identities among Southern Baptists, 1865–1925'' University of North Carolina Press, 1997. * Heyrman, Christine Leigh. ''Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt'' (1997). * Isaac, Rhy. "Evangelical Revolt: The Nature of the Baptists' Challenge to the Traditional Order in Virginia, 1765 to 1775", ''William and Mary Quarterly,'' 3d ser., XXXI (July 1974), 345–368. * . *Kidd, Thomas S., Barry Hankins, Oxford University Press, 2015 * Leonard, Bill J. ''Baptists in America'' (Columbia University Press, 2005). * * Pitts, Walter F. ''Old Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora'' Oxford University Press, 1996. * Rawlyk, George. ''Champions of the Truth: Fundamentalism, Modernism, and the Maritime Baptists'' (1990), Canada. * Spangler, Jewel L. "Becoming Baptists: Conversion in Colonial and Early National Virginia" ''Journal of Southern History.'' Volume: 67. Issue: 2. 2001. pp. 243+ * Stringer, Phil. ''The Faithful Baptist Witness,'' Landmark Baptist Press, 1998. * Underwood, A. C. ''A History of the English Baptists.'' London: Kingsgate Press, 1947. * Whitley, William Thomas ''A Baptist Bibliography: being a register of the chief materials for Baptist history, whether in manuscript or in print, preserved in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Colonies''. 2 vols. London: Kingsgate Press, 1916–1922 (reissued) Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1984 * * Wills, Gregory A. ''Democratic Religion: Freedom, Authority, and Church Discipline in the Baptist South, 1785–1900,'' Oxford.


Primary sources

* McBeth, H. Leon, ed. ''A Sourcebook for Baptist Heritage'' (1990), primary sources for Baptist history. * McKinion, Steven A., ed. ''Life and Practice in the Early Church: A Documentary Reader'' (2001) * McGlothlin, W. J., ed. ''Baptist Confessions of Faith.'' Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1911.


External links

* *
Early Church Fathers on Baptism

Oxford bibliographies: "Baptists" (2015) by Janet Moore Lindman

Baptist church history collection
Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library {{Authority control Baptists, Baptist Christianity, Christian terminology