Believers’ Baptism

Throughout the sixteenth century in Europe, reformers questioned the biblical definition of many sacraments, including baptism. Also known as the “Lord’s seal,” baptism initiated and introduced Christians into the church (Oxford Reference, Sacrament). In addition to being accepted by God, baptism was also considered a spiritual regeneration (Catholic Enyclopedia). In the Catholic church, baptism occurred during infancy. The reasoning behind this tradition and sacrament was the belief that all people were born with original sin, which stemmed from Adam and Eve falling to the temptation of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, Catholics traditionally baptized as close to birth as possible. Not surprisingly, as the infant mortality rate was very high, Catholics wanted to absolve their babies of original sin in case of death. Considering a baby could not commit any actual sin, they were at risk of passing away without being absolved of original sin, which would deprive them of seeing God in Heaven and potentially send them to purgatory (Catholic Encyclopedia). While the moment of baptism was up for debate, its importance as a sacrament was universally agreed upon, as it was a promise between God and His believers. Baptism was also seen as a civic duty because it allowed a person to fully participate as a member of a society.

As the Reformation continued and Christianity began to splinter, some reformers followed this traditional infant baptism, whereas others began to question baptizing infants, leading to what we call a “believers’ baptism.” For example, Luther and his followers still practiced infant baptism; his idea of baptism and his practice of the sacrament was comparable to the Roman Catholic baptism in many ways. One important difference, however, was Luther’s advocacy of a full immersion in water, not merely dipping a baby’s head in water, as the Scriptures specified that baptism was closer to representation of rebirth or regeneration after death, and just sprinkling water on a baby’s head was not enough (Oxford Reference, Baptism).

On the other hand, Anabaptists, like Thomas Müntzer, had different ideas as to when to baptize Christian believers. The Anabaptists believed that the age of reason, or when a child grew into a young adult and passed a series of tests, was the proper moment of baptism. They explained that candidates needed to be able to commit to the discipline of the Church, as well as understand basic Christian doctrine (Oxford Reference, Baptism).

The reason that Anabaptists questioned whether infancy was the right time to baptize was because obviously babies have not yet been educated or learned what the true word of God was. This group instead believed that Christians should receive the sacrament of baptism at an older age because this way they could decide for themselves if they really did accept God’s truth and faith through scripture. The only way to make this decision is through catechism, or the education of scripture, often comparable to today’s “Sunday school,” though catechism during the Reformation was much more serious and a larger part of everyday life. This way, baptism became a promise to God directly from a Christian. Though women were not typically educated in an equal manner to men, women were educated enough to be contenders for a believers’ baptism. It did not matter if a believer was a man or woman, just that he or she was able to make the decision to be a follower of Christ for him or herself. These women also wrote about their faith and their opinions about faith, which reflects a higher level of education for women. (ERS, Chapter 7). While Anabaptist women still did not enjoy equal rights to men, they still were trusted to make their own decisions in regards to their faith and were able to exert their own influences in their church communities, rather than relying solely on their husbands. Regardless of its religious focus, female education was on the rise.