BAPTIST

member of a group of Protestant Christians who share the basic beliefs of most Protestants but who insist that only believers should be baptized and that it should be done by immersion rather than by the sprinkling or pouring of water. (This view, however, is shared by others who are not Baptists.) Although Baptists do not constitute a single church or denominational structure, most adhere to a congregational form of church government. Some Baptists lay stress upon having no human founder, no human authority, and no human creed. member of a group of Protestant Christians who share the basic beliefs of most Protestants but who hold as an article of faith that only believers should be baptized and that it must be done by immersion. The Baptists do not constitute a single church or denominational structure, but most of them adhere to a congregational form of church government. Two groups of Baptists emerged in England during the Puritan reform movement of the 17th century. While sharing the view that only believers should be baptized, the two groups differed with respect to the nature of Christ's atonement. Those who regarded the atonement as general (i.e., for all persons) came to be called General Baptists. Those who interpreted it as applying only to the particular body of the elect acquired the name Particular Baptists. The General Baptists trace their beginnings to the Baptist Church founded in London c. 1611 by Thomas Helwys and his followers. This group had returned to England from Amsterdam, where they had gone c. 1608 because of religious persecution of Separatists (those who wished to separate from the Anglican Church of England). While in Amsterdam, the group adopted the beliefs of their original leader John Smyth (Smith), who, by studying the New Testament, decided that only believers should be baptized. Through the work of the original London congregation, other General Baptist congregations were formed and the movement spread. In doctrine they were Arminians, believing in the general atonement; i.e., that Christ's death was for all men and not only for the elect (those predestined to be saved). In the late 17th and 18th centuries, the General Baptists declined in numbers and influence. Churches closed and many members became Unitarians. The General Baptists were continued by a new group organized in 1770, the New Connection General Baptists, who had been influenced by the Methodist revival led by John Wesley. Particular Baptists originated with a Baptist church established in 1638 by two groups who, in 1633 and 1638, left an Independent church (not part of the Church of England) in London. Members of the new church believed that only believers (not infants) should be baptized. In theology they were Calvinists, who held to the doctrine of a particular atonement, i.e., that Christ died only for the elect. The Particular Baptists grew more rapidly than the General Baptists, but growth subsequently slowed as the Particular Baptists emphasized their doctrine of salvation only for the elect and did not work to gain new members. After 1750, however, they were influenced by the Methodist movement, and new interests in evangelism and missions brought about renewed growth. Through the leadership of William Carey, the English Baptist Missionary Society was organized in 1792, and Carey went to India as the society's first missionary. Baptists were influential in the religious and political life of Great Britain during the 19th century, but their membership and influence declined after World War I. The Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland was organized originally in 1813 by Particular Baptists. In 1891 the New Connection General Baptists merged into the Baptist Union. The strict Calvinism of the Particular Baptists had gradually been modified, and, although controversies occurred between conservatives and liberals, freedom of thought within denominational unity was generally acceptable to those in the Baptist Union. Baptist origins in the United States can be traced to Roger Williams, who established a Baptist Church in Providence in 1639 after being banished by the Puritans from Massachusetts Bay. Williams soon abandoned his fold and leadership passed to John Clarke. Though Rhode Island remained a Baptist stronghold, the centre of Baptist life in colonial America was Philadelphia. The first supra-congregational association was formed there in 1707, and the Philadelphia Baptist Association proceeded to sponsor new Baptist churches throughout the colonies. Baptist growth was spurred by the Great Awakening of the mid-18th century. Increases were especially dramatic in the Southern colonies, where Shubael Stearns established a church at Sandy Creek, N.C., in 1755. From this centre revivalistic preachers fanned out across the southern frontier, establishing a Baptist dominance in the region which persists to the present. The membership of revivalistic Baptists continued to grow rapidly in the 19th century, assisted by lay preachers and a congregational church government well adapted to frontier settings. Baptists in the United States were not united in a national body until 1814, when an increasing interest in foreign missions necessitated a more centralized organization. The General Convention was soon torn apart, however, by dissension over slavery. A formal split occurred in 1845 when the Southern Baptist Convention was organized in Augusta, Ga. and was confirmed when the Northern Baptist Convention was organized in 1907. Southern Baptists and Northern Baptists (later American Baptists) developed distinct regional characteristics following the Civil War and still exhibit different tendencies in theology, ecumenical involvement, missionary activity, and worship. Black Baptist churches, now grouped primarily in two large conventions, constitute another major segment of Baptists in the United States. Organized by freed slaves after the Civil War, these churches have contributed enormously to the character of black life in America, often serving as the social and spiritual centre of the black community. Black Baptist churches and ministers, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. These churches and ministers continued as vital elements of organization in black communities through the 1980s, as was evident in the presidential candidacies (1984, 1988) of the Reverend Jesse Jackson. In the 20th century Baptists have experienced additional fragmentation, arising from theological controversy. There are now hundreds of independent Baptist churches, completely separated from all other bodies or loosely affiliated with other congregations in small, fundamentalist sects. Through continuing missionary activity Baptists have established churches throughout the world. An important Baptist centre is Russia, where Baptists constitute the largest Protestant group. Baptists maintain that authority in matters of faith and practice rests, under Christ, with the local congregation of baptized believers. These local congregations are linked voluntarily into state, regional, and national organizations for cooperative endeavors such as missions, education, and philanthropy. The larger organizations, however, have no control over the local churches. The separation of church and state has historically been a major tenet of Baptist doctrine. Baptist worship is centred around the exposition of the scriptures in a sermon. Extemporaneous prayer and hymn-singing are also characteristic. Early Baptists were characterized theologically by strong-to-moderate Calvinism, but this position was tempered considerably by the Evangelical revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries. Baptists in the 20th century have provided leadership for diverse theological movements, notably Walter Rauschenbusch in the Social Gospel movement, Harry Emerson Fosdick and Shailer Mathews in American Modernism, and Billy Graham in contemporary Evangelicalism. Baptists have generally been more concerned for religious experience and expression than precise theological formulations. Additional reading Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, 3rd ed. (1963, reprinted 1973), the most complete account of the Baptists; H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage (1987), a comprehensive history of four centuries of Baptist witness; Alfred C. Underwood, A History of the English Baptists (1947), which gives major attention to Baptist beginnings; James E. Wood, Jr., Baptists and the American Experience (1976), a collection of essays; Winthrop S. Hudson, Baptists in Transition: Individualism and Christian Responsibility (1979); and Albert W. Wardin, Jr., Baptist Atlas (1980), international in scope. See also James Melvin Washington, Frustrated Fellowship: The Black Baptist Quest for Social Power (1986); and William H. Brackney (ed.), Baptist Life and Thought, 16001980: A Source Book (1983). Norman H. Maring and Winthrop S. Hudson, A Baptist Manual of Polity and Practice (1963), gives details of ecclesiastical organization. Baptist History and Heritage (quarterly) deals primarily with Southern Baptists. Winthrop S. Hudson