Credobaptism and religious policy. Separation of church and state, freedom of religion, and religious tolerance in the writings of the early Baptists

Rafał Prostak

doi:10.21697/CSP.2020.24.1.28

Published: 2020-05-11

No. 24 (2020)

Credobaptism and religious policy. Separation of church and state, freedom of religion, and religious tolerance in the writings of the early Baptists

Rafał Prostak

Christianity-World-Politics

Section: Miscellanea

https://doi.org/10.21697/CSP.2020.24.1.28

Abstract

The aim of the article is to reconstruct the relationships between the Baptist understanding of baptism (credobaptism; believer’s baptism) and church and the religious policy promoted by the early Baptists. The following texts are explored: A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity (1612) by Thomas Helwys; Persecution for Religion Judged and Condemned (1615) by John Murton; and Religious Peace: Or, a Plea for Liberty of Conscience (1614) by Leonard Busher. Helwys and Murton were leaders of the congregation of Spitalfields, the first Baptist community in the Kingdom of England. Busher, lesser known, probably belonged to the congregation, and his said work is the first treaty to defend freedom of religion by a Baptist.

Keywords:

Baptists, separation of church and state, freedom of religion

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Prostak, R. (2020). Credobaptism and religious policy. Separation of church and state, freedom of religion, and religious tolerance in the writings of the early Baptists. Christianity-World-Politics, (24), 214–228. https://doi.org/10.21697/CSP.2020.24.1.28

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Rafał Prostak

burgonski@onet.eu
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4772-4597

Affiliation:

University of Economics in Cracow Poland

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Rafał Prostak is associate professor at the Department of European Economic Integration of the University of Economics in Cracow. His fields of research interest are contemporary American political philosophy; constitutional protection of freedom of religion, and institutions of European Union. He is author of two books Rzecz o sprawiedliwości. Komunitarystyczna krytyka współczesnego liberalizmu politycznego [On Justice. A Communitarian critique of contemporary political liberalism], the Jagiellonian University Press, Kraków 2004; and Teista w demoliberalnym świecie. Rzecz o amerykańskich rozważaniach wokół rozumnej polityki [A Theist in the Demoliberal World: Towards an American Reflection on Reasonable Politics], OMP, Kraków 2014.