Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

RELIGION LIBRARY

Baptist

Toggle navigation

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?

New Visions

5 Ways to Hear What God is Telling You

Muslim

How Awake Are We? When Waking Up is Falling Asleep

Daniel Thomas Dyer

Latter-day Saint

"The Church supports the use of vaccinations"

Evangelical

Luther and the Beauty of Christ

Guest Contributor

The Soul of Gospel Music Explored in New Netflix Series "Voices of Fire"

Seven Ways to Think About Christian Mysticism

Evangelical

Cancelling Alice Walker?

Evangelical

Does God Have His Own Logic?

Muslim

Imam Ali’s letter to the Governor- Everlasting Example of Good...

Progressive Christian

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

Patheos Logo 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 Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos