Baptists

Baptists are a Christian denomination with many subdenominations around the globe. Some trace their roots to the early church, where they opposed organization under bishops’ authority, and the liturgical change from adult to infant baptism. The Baptist Church in the United States was founded by Roger Williams in 1639, who had encountered religious intolerance from Massachusetts colony Puritans. In the 1700s, Virginia Baptists were imprisoned for preaching, accused of child abuse for not having their infants baptized, and regularly harassed and assaulted. Although dedicated to retaining their congregational independence, Baptists organized their first national meeting, the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination, in 1814. A subgroup calling themselves “Primitive Baptists” objected to participation in any missionary groups or temperance movements, causing one of the ...