the new Western frontier, the Baptist church grew to
be the largest denomination in America. Its democratic
church structure and reliance on uneducated lay min-
isters allowed it to spread rapidly. With a simple Chris-
tianity based in the Bible (rather than creeds), Baptists
historically have been theological and political CONSER-
VATIVES. As an EVANGELICAL church, Baptists have
emphasized spreading Christianity through foreign
missionaries.
Prominent Baptists include the Englishman John
BUNYAN(author of the classic book Pilgrim’s Progress);
colonial American Roger WILLIAMS(who built the first
Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island); the first
president of Harvard University, Henry Dunster; Lon-
don preacher Charles Spurgeon; and U.S. evangelist
Billy Graham.
The theological roots of Baptists rest on the belief
that only adult Christians (who can make a personal
confession of faith in Christ) should be baptized. They
reject the baptism of infants on that basis. This caused
persecution of Baptists in Europe by both CATHOLIC
and Calvinist Protestant churches. Only in the United
States did the Baptist view enjoy widespread accept-
ance and influence. American Baptists are almost
evenly divided between white and African-American
believers, though most churches are not racially inte-
grated. Baptists now exist in almost every nation in the
world; in Russian and Eastern European countries,
most Protestants are Baptists. Latin America and China
have increasing Baptist populations. Often associated
with political democracy and economic CAPITALISM, this
church often flourishes in areas experiencing those
developments.
Although still theologically distant from the
Catholic Church, Baptists in the United States have
shared positions on many political issues (such as
opposing ABORTION, HOMOSEXUALITY, divorce, etc.) and
have been united in being strongly anti-COMMUNIST.
Further Reading
Carroll, B. H. Baptists and Their Doctrines.Nashville: Broadman
& Holman, 2000.
Barber, Benjamin (1939– ) Academic, politi-
cal philosopher, and democratic activist
A leading U.S. DEMOCRATICtheorist of the 20th century,
Barber is best known for his book Strong Democracy,
considered a classic text on COMMUNITARIANdemoc-
racy. Heavily influenced by ROUSSEAUand HEGEL, Bar-
ber’s work critiques the INDIVIDUALISMof British LIBER-
ALISM and argues for political participation, direct
democracy, and citizen involvement in collective
social choices. He believes that democracy is a way of
life as well as a form of government, that power
should flow from the bottom up, and that individual
RIGHTSshould be balanced by social responsibility. Bar-
ber celebrates individual membership in family, com-
munities of all kinds, and political participation at all
levels.
In his principal work on political theory, Strong
Democracy,Barber argues, after ARISTOTLE, that humans
are naturally social by virtue of their capacities for rea-
son, speech, and political deliberation. The fulfillment
of human nature as well as social justice, therefore,
requires direct individual involvement in collective
governance. Humans are not independent, but interde-
pendent, and the only real freedom each can enjoy is
participating in making the laws under which we live.
Barber’s emphasis on “participatory” democracy distin-
guishes his DIALECTICALpolitics. Thought must be con-
nected to action as real praxis. For Barber, no moral
absolutes exist, only those created by the democratic
community; JUSTICE, FREEDOM, EQUALITY, RIGHTS, and
LIBERTYall receive their substantive definition through
concrete political action. In Strong Democracy,Barber
advances several specific reforms to help implement
his ideas, including interactive public television, the
multichoice format of referendum, universal citizen
service, and political control over economics. As such,
Barber’s ideas greatly influenced the participatory and
communitarian democratic movements (though he
eschewed the latter term in his self-definition).
Educated at Harvard, the London School of Eco-
nomics, and Grinnell College, Barber spent most of his
academic career teaching at Rutgers University. Since
1988, he served as the founding director of the Walt
Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of
Democracy at Rutgers, which strives to encourage
civic participation through numerous programs and
internships. Barber served as consultant to President
Bill Clinton, the European Parliament, and numerous
political leaders and civic organizations.
In addition to 14 books, Barber has written for tele-
vision, the theater, and opera. He served as the found-
ing editor of the scholarly journal, Political Theory.
A prolific thinker and activist in politics and the
arts, Barber influenced democratic theory and practice
in the United States and the world.Barber, Benjamin 29