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Definition:
The people most responsible for the development of the Baptist denomination of
Christianity were John Smyth (c. 1554-1612) in England in 1609 and by Roger Williams
in Rhode Island in 1638. Traditionally Baptists have no creed and believe that all
authority stems from the Bible. The baptism of mature church members rather than
children is one of the original defining marks of this denomination - when they first
appeared in the United States, this was a particularly radical position to take.
Of particular importance to the development of the Baptist denomination in the United States was the Great Awakening. When this spiritual fervor swept across the countryside, it encouraged people to adopt a more independent stance with regards to religious matters and even made it easier for them to abandon whatever church they were originally raised in. This, naturally enough, proved beneficial for newer, more radical churches like the Baptists.
As a whole, Baptists consist of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States today, although they themselves are divided into several different groups. The Southern Baptist Convention has grown to be among the most theologically conservative Baptist groups and, because of that, has also begun to move away from the tradition of individual authority by abrogating the power of individual churches in an attempt to maintain orthodoxy in the beliefs of members.
The American Baptist Church is currently the fourth largest group of Baptists in the United States and it is also the most liberal. It consists of a federated body of otherwise independent churches which are united in their belief in adult baptism (by immersion) and the independence of local congregations.
The National Baptist Convention was established in 1895 and to this day is the largest black denomination in the United States.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
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A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear. Read more about how dictionaries, scholars and others have tried to define and explain religion.
