Special Offers
Buddhist
Catholic
Contemplative
Evangelical
General Christian
Hindu
Jewish
Latter-day Saint
Muslim
New Visions
Progressive Christian
Beliefs
Buddhist
Catholic
Contemplative
Evangelical
General Christian
Hindu
Jewish
Latter-day Saint
More Voices
Muslim
New Visions
Pagan
Progressive Christian
Topics
Religion News
Food and Religion
Sports and Religion
Religious Art
Religious Music and Entertainment
Religious Events
History and Religion
Style and Religion
Politics and Religion
Women in Religion
Recreation Outdoors and Religion
Business Finance and Religion
Careers Workplace and Religion
Education and Religion
Family Parenting and Religion
Health Fitness and Religion
Home and Religion
Relationships and Religion
Technology and Religion
Travel and Religion
Columnists
Buddhist Columnists
Business Finance and Religion Columnists
Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists
Catholic Columnists
Contemplative Columnists
Education and Religion Columnists
Evangelists Columnists
Family Parenting and Religion Columnists
General Christian Columnists
Health Fitness and Religion Columnists
Hindu Columnists
History and Religion Columnists
Home and Religion Columnists
Jewish Columnists
More Voices Columnists
Latter Day Columnists
Muslim Columnists
New Visions Columnists
Nonreligious Columnists
Pagan Columnists
Politics and Religion Columnists
Progressive Columnists
Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists
Relationships and Religion Columnists
Religion News Columnists
Religious Art Columnists
Religious Events Columnists
Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists
Sports and Religion Columnists
Style and Religion Columnists
Technology and Religion Columnists
Travel and Religion Columnists
Women in Religion Columnists
Resource Library
2025 Calendar
Library of World Religions
The 100 Most Holy Places on Earth
Patheos Answers
Podcasts
Videos
Faith Leaders Database
Anglican Episcopalian
Bahai
Baptist
Buddhism
Christianity
Confucianism
Eastern Orthodoxy
Hinduism
Holiness and Pentecostal
ISKCON
Islam
Judaism
Lutheran
Methodist
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
New Age
Paganism
Presbytarian and Reformed
Protestantism
Religion Behind the Scenes
Roman Catholic
Scientology
Shia Islam
Sikhism
Sufism
Sunni Islam
Taoism
Zen
See all religions
Research Tools
Comparison Lens
Preacher Resources
Teacher Resources
Video
Podcasts
Thought Readers
Faith In Media Tracker
E-Books and Other Special Offers
God's Cheat Sheet to Finances
Books of the Bible Study series
History of the Bible
7 Day Prayer Challenge for Spouses
A Different Kind of Christian
Jesus is Love
Prayer Devotional
The Saints We Love
FaithChatter Conversation Cards
Newsletters
Special Offers
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In
Subscription Support
Trending:
Pope Leo Xiv
|
Israel
|
Trump
|
Social Justice
|
Peace
|
Love
RELIGION LIBRARY
Baptist
Toggle navigation
Overview
Origins
History
Beliefs
Rituals and Worship
Ethics and Community
Beginnings
Seeking more pure and biblically based expressions of Christianity, the earliest Baptists established new, autonomous church congregations, independent from the established churches.
read more
Influences
The Baptist tradition of Christianity arose in the 17th century largely in reaction against the state churches in England and the Netherlands. The emergence of a "new world" in and from the American colonies eventually provided a context in which the Baptist tradition could flourish.
read more
Founders
While there is no single "founder" of the Baptist tradition who occupies a place such as that of Martin Luther within Lutheran Christianity, there are leaders who are rightly associated with the rise of each of the three sub-traditions within Baptist Christianity, and with the Baptist tradition in America.
read more
Sacred Texts
The Bible is the authoritative scripture of Baptist Christians, encompassed in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments.
read more
Historical Perspectives
While some Baptists have attempted to draw a clear line of historical lineage more or less directly back to Jesus Christ and his apostles, most Baptists recognize the tradition as having its origins in dissenting movements in 17th-century England, and less directly in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
read more
Overview
History
Back to religion Library
editors picks
View All Columns
Evangelical
Before You Unplug or Sign Out for Good
Guest Contributor
Evangelical
What Is the Purpose of Spiritual Gifts, and How Do You Discover Yours?
Randy Alcorn
New Visions
5 Ways to Hear What God is Telling You
Tom Rapsas
Muslim
How Awake Are We? When Waking Up is Falling Asleep
Daniel Thomas Dyer
Latter-day Saint
"The Church supports the use of vaccinations"
Dan Peterson
Evangelical
Luther and the Beauty of Christ
Guest Contributor
Patheos
The Soul of Gospel Music Explored in New Netflix Series "Voices of Fire"
DeWayne Hamby
Patheos
Seven Ways to Think About Christian Mysticism
Carl McColman
Evangelical
Cancelling Alice Walker?
Philip Jenkins
Evangelical
Does God Have His Own Logic?
Roger E. Olson
Patheos
Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In