A Protestant religious denomination which originated, c.1600,in England. It holds that immersion is necessary for valid baptism and that the Scriptures are the sole rule of faith and conduct. There were two main bodies among the English Baptists, those who accepted the theology of Arminius, maintaining redemption for all, and those who followed Calvin, admitting redemption for the elect alone. The General or Arminian Baptists were founded, c.1606,when a congregation of separatists established themselves in Holland under the leadership of John Smyth. Later there were many divisions of this group. The Calvinistic or Particular Baptists, a branch of the separatists, were founded in London in 1633, and also had many subdivisions. The Baptists became prominent under Cromwell, flourishing especially in Wales. The Baptist Home Missionary Society was founded, 1779, and work among the heathen was begun by the Baptist Missionary Society under William Carey (1761-1854).

The first Baptist church in the United States was independently established in Providence by Roger Williams, c1635 Organized mission work began c.1755,and in 1814 the General Missionary Convention was formed. In 1845 it split into the American Baptist Missionary Union for the North, and the Southern Baptist Convention. In that year the slavery question divided Baptists into Northern, Southern, and Colored. In 1911 the Baptists joined the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, and in 1925 were organized into fourteen national groups. In Canada the first church was founded, 1763, at Horton, Nova Scotia, by Reverend Ebenezer Moulton of New England, and membership increased with immigration. In 1889 was formed the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, a consolidation of previously-existing societies for home and foreign missions, publications, and the like. On the continent of Europe, aside from the above-mentioned foundation in Holland, Baptists were established in Germany by Johann Gerhard Oncken, and from there spread to Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Russia. India, China, and Japan are the favorite missionary fields in Asia. Among the first churches in Africa was that in Liberia, founded by the Negro Baptists of the United States, 1821.

In general the doctrines and polity of the English Baptists are in accord with those of the Mennonites and the more moderate and evangelical groups of Anabaptists. They hold:

That the churches are independent in their local affairs;
that there should be an entire separation of church and state;
that religious liberty or freedom in matters of religion is an inherent right of the human soul;
that a church is a body of regenerated people who have been baptized on profession of personal faith in Christ, and have associated themselves in the fellowship of the gospel;
that infant baptism is not only not taught in the Scriptures, but is fatal to the spirituality of the church;
that from the meaning of the word used in the Greek text of the Scriptures, the symbolism of the ordinance, and the practise of the early Church, immersion in water is the only proper mode of baptism;
that the scriptural officers of a church are pastors and deacons; and
that the Lord's Supper is an ordinance of the Church observed in commemoration of the sufferings and death of Christ.

All Baptist churches hold these tenets, whatever their differences of opinion on other points. The beliefs of the Baptists have been incorporated in confessions of faith, of which the most important in the United States are: the Philailelphia Confession issued by the Baptist churches in London in 1689, and adopted with additions by the Philadelphia Association in 1742; and the New Hampshire Confession adopted by the New Hampshire State Convention, 1832. The former is intensely Calvinistic, and the latter moderately so. However, these confessions are not binding, as the Word of God is considered the final court of appeal. The polity of the Baptist Church is congregational, each church being independent of control regarding discipline and worship, appointment of pastor, and election of deacons and other officers. In 1926 the Baptists numbered 10,276,179: America, 8,254,778; Europe, 1,626,188; Asia, 312,260; Africa, 50,888; Australasia, 32,065. In 1928 the Baptists were the third largest denomination in the United States with 9,008,449 members. The following are the more important Baptist sects:

Baptist Union
Colored Free Will Baptists
Duck River and Kindred Associations of Baptists
Free Will Baptists
Free Will Baptists (Bullockites)
General or Arminian Baptists
National Baptist Convention
Northern Baptist Convention
Primitive Baptist
Primitive Colored Baptists
Regular Baptists
Separate Baptists
Seventh-day Baptists
Seventh-day Baptists (German)
Six-Principle Baptists
Southern Baptist Convention
Strict and Particular Baptists
Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists
United Baptists

Bibliography Information
Entry for 'Baptists'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/b/baptists.html. 1910.

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1910 New Catholic Dictionary

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