FOUNDED: 1609 C.E.
RELIGION AS A PERCENTAGE OF WORLD POPULATION: 1.8 percent

Overview

Baptists, who effectively were founded in 1609 by John Smyth, an English dissenting pastor, have become one of the world's principal forms of Protestantism. Beginning in the seventeenth century, Baptist churches spread to the United States, where they have become the largest single Protestant denomination.

Baptists adhere to the traditional tenets of the Protestant Reformation, including the primacy of grace, the need for faith, and the authority of the Bible in all questions pertaining to religion. Most Baptists also affirm the classical statements of the Christian faith, such as the early church creeds, although they reject the use of creeds as a mandatory statement of belief. An often quoted maxim in Baptist life is "No creeds but the Bible!"

Within the larger family of Baptists, there is much diversity of opinion and practice. The emphasis...