Baptists of all stripes play a vital role in American life and thought. The journey has been difficult, but the Baptist experience sheds light on our context today. Several scenes from Baptist history parallel our current situation.
Many Baptists were Refugees
Beginning in the 1630’s Puritan immigrants, seeking refuge from Anglican persecution in England, began arriving to the area of North America that would eventually become New England. While most retained their Puritan beliefs, eventually establishing the Congregationalist tradition, some became Baptists, such as Roger Williams, John Clarke, and others who subsequently became refugees as they sought religious freedom in Rhode Island. By the end of the 17th century, Baptist immigrants were arriving in New England as part of a larger English/Welsh Baptist migration to the area.
In 1655, Thomas Gould of Boston, along with his wife, refused to present their baby for baptism. (With the belief that those who died unbaptized were consigned to hell, not baptizing an infant was construed as child abuse.) The next several years found Gould the subject of persecution by ecclesiastical authorities, including imprisonment, spiritual banishment, and exile from Boston. In 1665, Gould organized the First Baptist Church of Boston, which would become one of the most influential Baptist congregations through the First Great Awakening. But with prominence came unwanted attention by the authorities, and members were eventually forced to seek refuge temporarily on Noddle Island in Boston Harbor.
Baptists were persecuted for being different
Baptists were penalized for simply practicing a faith that contradicted the theological norms of their fellow colonists. In 1651, Baptists Obadiah Holmes, John Clarke, and John Crandall were arrested by Congregationalist authorities in Lynn, Massachusetts. All three were jailed and fined, and Holmes was eventually flogged.
Baptists in other colonies, such as Anglican-controlled Virginia, would also meet with persecution. In 1768, in a courthouse in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, Lewis Craig became the first Baptist to be convicted in a court of law for illegal preaching. Between 1768-1777, twenty-nine more Separate Baptists in Virginia would be imprisoned, whipped, or executed for preaching without a license.
Baptists were eventually accepted
While freedom from compulsory ecclesiastical taxation would not be realized throughout the new country until 1833, general persecution of Baptists ended during the Revolutionary War era. With the passage of the Toleration Act of 1688 in England, nonconformists had gained freedom to worship without fear of reprisals, but Baptists in the American colonies continued to endure discrimination, and appealed to both Baptists and civil authorities in England for help.
As American colonial leaders prepared to wage war with England, they realized that Baptists were needed to strengthen the patriotic cause. Baptist leaders such as Isaac Backus negotiated a truce with Congregational authorities and organized Baptists in New England for participation in the war effort. After the Revolutionary war, Baptists spread rapidly throughout the American states and into the frontier, sharing the love of Christ, planting churches, and laying the foundation for a brand of Evangelical religion that met not only the spiritual needs of people, but physical ones also.
Baptists exerted positive influence
The many American Baptist accomplishments in missions, social work, prison ministry, and multicultural ministry cannot possibly be listed here. However, a few examples stand out. After the Civil War, Northern Baptists sent teachers, church planters, and other professionals to the southern states for the purpose of assisting African Americans with education, job skills, and church organization. In the decades leading up to and after World War II, American Baptists provided educators, missionaries, and church planters to Chinese and Japanese communities on the west coast. In both instances, Northern/American Baptists offered social and spiritual service when other Christian groups failed to do so.
What does the History of American Baptists Teach us?
In our context, many immigrant Christians, Baptists included, are being depicted as criminals on the national stage. Actions taken against immigrant communities closely parallel the persecution suffered by Baptists in the early American colonies. Many immigrant pastors are preaching a message of hope amidst suffering as did the Baptists. Also, like Baptists during the Revolutionary War, pastors and immigrant community leaders urge a message of resilience, political action, and patience. A significant part of the American cultural fabric, immigrants are also responsible for church growth in the US. History shows us that as the next generation of Baptists emerges from immigrant communities, there is little doubt that they will continue to impact American life. By so doing, they will further add to an already stellar Baptist tradition.
In addition to serving on the ABHS Board of Managers, Dr. Jeffrey Waldrop is Dean of the University Libraries and Associate Professor of Church History at Mercer University. Born in South America, and raised in the Caribbean and the United States, Jeff is fluent in several languages and feels at home within diverse cultures.
JACS IS GOING ON THE ROAD
“A Resilient Faith: Japanese American Baptists in World War II” is now available as a traveling exhibit. You can host the exhibit in your space as part of a special event, as an focus for an educational program, or simply as a way for your audience to learn more about this defining experience for the Japanese American community and American Baptists’ role.
For more information contact Jenny Manasco, Digital Collections Specialist, [email protected]
