Running Head: EXPLORING BAPTIST CULTURE ESSAY

EXPLORING BAPTIST CULTURE ESSAY

Alivia Conkwright
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky

EXPLORING BAPTIST CULTURE ESSAY

Abstract

Through this paper you will learn the basis of the Baptist faith through the beliefs, practices, and
stereotypes of this particular religion. Baptists seem to be the most widely diverse culture in
terms of religion ranging from many different races, ethnicities, and sexual orientation. Unlike
other denominations Baptists do not have a central governing authority and arent consistent
between any two Baptist churches but they do hold some common beliefs. The Baptist religion
has specific beliefs that ultimately define what the religion is and why it is different from other
religious affiliations. The Resurrection of Christ, one God, virgin birth, and divine grace are just
a few topics that embrace the Baptist faith as a whole. In the end, this religion believes that Jesus
Christ will return to Earth and raise everyone from the dead where he will judge in
righteousness.

EXPLORING BAPTIST CULTURE ESSAY

EXPLORING BAPTIST CULTURE ESSAY
Merriam Webster Dictionary defines culture as a particular society that has its own
beliefs, ways of life, art, etc. This directly ties into religion and more narrowly Baptist faith.
People affiliated with this particular religion have a variety of stereotypes depending on who you
ask. Bible thumping, TV preachers, secretly racist, homophobic, Duggar families are the typical
misrepresentation but each stereotype has a reason why people might mistake them. However,
anyone who knows anything about this religion also knows that these stereotypes cant be held
reliable. In fact, the Baptist faith is much more complex than attending church on Sunday
mornings. This religion is a way of life. You have to commit yourself to God. No one else can do
this for you. This also means going to church regularly, praying on good and bad days, getting
involved with church functions, and living a Christian lifestyle. Being involved with this culture
takes much dedication over the span of a lifetime. This faith is based off of God (the holy
trinity,) man, salvation, and grace. Morgan stated that she treats her relationship with God as
someone shed see and communicate with every day. (M. Todd. Personal Communication,
October 6, 2014.) Having Jesus Christ as your Savior and having him always be by your side
through everything is just such an amazing feeling that people who arent apart of just dont
understand. (M. Parsons. Personal Communication, October 8, 2014.) So on the outside looking
in being Baptist isnt just about specific practices or spiritual disciplines but also a personal
relationship with God himself.

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Figure 1 Pictured above is the Duggar Family from the TV show 19 Kids and Counting. This is
a family of 19 kids and some stereotype this as an average Baptist family because of how they
practice their religion and what their daily lives consist of.
When committing yourself to this specific religion there is a process in which you
become saved. If you think about the definition of the word safe, free from hurt, injury,
danger, or risk you can better understand that being saved is accepting that you are a sinner and
letting Christ free you from hurt, injury, danger, or risk. In this process you have to fully
embrace Christ as your Savior among his life, death, and resurrection. Becoming saved is a
choice therefore not all Baptists experience this process at the same time or in the same way.
Morgan stated that her most fulfilling moment as a Baptist was being saved. She decided to do

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this at a very young age because she felt pressured to do so but getting older made her realize
that she wasnt at the place in her faith where she wanted to be. Later she decided to rededicate
herself and fully embrace being saved, (M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6, 2014.)
In most religious affiliations there tends to be a guide or leader to help shape that certain
culture. In our government we have a main leader, the President, who represents our country and
is the voice of our nation. Teachers of religion can be thought of in the same light. Baptists have
leaders such as pastors, preachers, deacons, and brothers or sisters who represent Gods word
and speak on the basis of testimony and the Bible. Depending on involvement in this faith it can
also go further with youth group leaders or even inspirational family members. Maggie said that
the person who she relates religious teaching to is her pastors wife because she has been her
Sunday school teacher for five years. In her beliefs, God gives people like that to keep you on the
right track so that you always have a physical sense with you. (M. Parsons. Personal
Communication, October 8, 2014.) Not all teachers of religion have to be church recognized. In
Morgans case her grandparents are very active in the faith and have taught her about the bible.
(M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6, 2014.)
There are thousands of different stories as to why someone became active in their
religion. Most people however, have grown up with their faith being chosen for them. Because
Baptist faith doesnt stray far from old tradition its not likely that someone would change
religions once it came time for them to choose individually. The unlikeliness of this raised my
curiosity so I questioned my interviewees on who decided that Baptist would be their religion
and to my surprise I got two different answers. Morgan said that her family decided what church

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that she would be raised in, this being the normal situation for most religions. She was born into
the church and something that she has always remembered. But for Maggie, the choice of
religion was hers. She came upon this option 4 years ago because ultimately her parents wanted
her to be happy. (M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6, 2014,) (M. Parsons. Personal
Communication, October 8, 2014.) Surprisingly though both seemed open minded to learning
new about new religions.
With different denominations certain holidays are celebrated and recognized differently.
This day is set aside and all activities are suspended. Generally, holidays allow people to
commemorate religious events and in the Baptist faith there are two main holidays. The first
being Christmas which is the day that Christ was born and the second is Easter which is the day
that Christ was resurrected. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December and Easter varies
usually between March 22nd and April 25th. Along with these celebrations, many people have
traditions such as unwrapping presents on Christmas morning that Santa brought or diving for
Easter eggs that the Easter bunny laid. These traditions have carried over hundreds of years and
readily become the basis of celebrating these holidays.

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Figure 2 The Nativity Scene is a well know image throughout Christianity because it portrays
the birth of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus was born on Christmas this scene is practiced every year
on or around Christmas to remind everyone of what the Holiday signifies.
Religion is something that might appear easy but with every religious group there is
struggle. This may be an interpersonal, intrapersonal, or divine struggle. When clashing with
interpersonal religious struggle people find themselves being made a topic of discussion by other
church members. This could be gossiping or a disagreement with doctrine which intern doesnt
promote Christian spirit. Intrapersonal religious struggle is questioning self-beliefs and the
organization of how the church operates. This could be lack of excitement or self-assurance.
Spiritual struggle with the divine is direct conflict with God such as anger or disappointment and
sometimes even fear of punishment or disapproval. Morgan had told me that with the world
evolving and the country changing so much, laws such as homosexuality and marriage are being

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made and those were things that she supports. (M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6,
2014.)
Just like Morgan, more and more people have started expressing their opinions regarding
same sex marriage, contraceptives, and alcoholism. This has sparked major interest and become
some of the worlds most controversial topics. A vast majority of Baptist cultures condemn
homosexual behavior, same-sex marriage, and equivalent unions. It is thought that the practice of
homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. It seemed to be a very touchy subject to
Maggie because she had a first-hand experience with her best friend becoming homosexual. I
really didnt know what to do about it so I had to research some things, talk to my pastor, and I
decided that even though I believe its a sin, I would love the sinner but hate the sin. God loves
everyone equally. (M. Parsons. Personal Communication, October 8, 2014.) Although Morgan
had the same views she did give me a little insight of her grandparents opinions. They have
raised me with this faith that homosexuals are going to hell. (M. Todd. Personal
Communication, October 6, 2014.) Baptists uphold the use of certain methods of family planning
and believe that the use of birth control is a means in regulating the amount of kids that a family
has. In this faith the moral decision is left up to each couple. Maggie made a point that she
believes in the use of it but Gods plan is better. (M. Parsons. Personal Communication, October
8, 2014.) Baptists and beverage alcohol is an old age conflict due to the fact that Jesus drank
wine. Today, Christians are torn on whether drinking should be allowed based on teachings in
the bible. Although this religion steers directly away from alcohol there arent any specific
scriptures in the bible that leads one not to drink. Some can attest to perceiving certain passages
of the bible as being immoral to drink but there isnt specific, Thou shall not drink versus

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anywhere throughout the bible. When I asked Morgan on her opinion of alcohol she said that
being a drunk bastard isnt okay but she feels that one should be able to casually drink as long as
it doesnt become a problem. (M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6, 2014.)
Because of this it is obvious that Baptists base their religion on the bible. Now, there is
no single bible, only variations of context. Different religions include different books within
their religious affiliation. Obviously Christianity takes the bible and presents it as the bases of
their church but infact some churches only recognize certain parts of it. Christian bibles range
within 66 books and have two parts, The Old Testament and The New Testament. Morgan said
that her church mainly focuses on the Old Testament which talks about the start or creation of
everything. (M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6, 2014.) To summarize the Old
Testament it begins with Adam and Eve, Noah and all the prophets, and the prediction of
Christs coming. But this religion isnt solely based on the bible. It is also based upon the idea of
being born again meaning it is believed that Jesus was put on this Earth to die for our sins and
that he rose into heaven. This is the core for the Holy Trinity; one God, one Son, and one Holy
Spirit. People who arent lucky enough to be saved will go to hell and burn eternally and the
ones that get saved will have an eternity spent in heaven with no sorrow and pain. (M. Parsons.
Personal Communication, October 8, 2014.)
Along with being saved and having a bases for Baptist religion they also believe in
baptism which is considered a sacrament. A person is to be immersed either completely or
partially in water through the holy trinity and make a public profession of faith and discipleship.
The significance of baptism illustrates the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and given a

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brand-new life. Most specifically this is an outward testimony and an inward change in a
believers life. You can also fall short from this sacrament and rededicate to be cleansed of your
sins once again.
Being a Baptist includes involvement and missionary work. Through this religion there
are many things that can be found inspirational. Both Maggie and Morgan told me about their
most inspirational moments through this faith. Maggie told me about going to nursing homes on
Christmas and delivering gifts to women who have Alzheimers. She had said that they couldnt
even remember their own names but recalled church hymnals. Just to watch them sing church
hymnals and not be able to know their own name proves to me that God is alive (M. Parsons.
Personal Communication, October 8, 2014.) Morgan said that God has proven to her that he
really exists because of her Aunt Ashley. She is 36 years old and she has had four different
types of cancer. But shes very prominent in her faith and very religious and very close to god.
Its very inspiring to see someone like her who has gone through so much and still keep a close
relationship with God. (M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6, 2014.)
Remaining a Baptist is normal once a person is of age to decide on their own, so when I
asked Maggie and Morgan whether they would remain Baptist or seek other religions both
seemed very open minded. Morgan said I think I would definitely be open to learning more
about other religions and possibly finding one that fits my personal beliefs now as a woman in
this day and age. I feel like Baptists to me is an older religion that is being changed. People are
more accepting of things that are going on and I feel like I would definitely be open to finding a
new religion that would suite what my beliefs are. (M. Todd. Personal Communication, October

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6, 2014.) Maggie along the same lines stated Im definitely open minded to other religions but
Christianity I think, I will always remain whole heartedly. (M. Parsons. Personal
Communication, October 8, 2014.)
In conclusion, the Baptist faith is one of the most popular religions in the United States.
There are a few specific things that define this culture; being saved, becoming baptized, and
practicing the faith. When becoming saved and baptized, you are accepting the death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ. Also, practicing the faith is a major part of the Baptist religion. This
includes attending church services weekly, getting involved with missionary work or youth
groups, personal prayer, bible study, or even centering your life around Christian people.
Through learning about this culture I discovered many interesting things. Mainly, the beliefs
regarding homosexuality, contraceptives and alcohol have triggered major interest. Both of my
interviewees seemed very reasonable when talking about these topics because they were open
minded to the fact that homosexuality is a rising situation but not something they are to judge
for. Contraceptives seemed to be something that both understood but they also said that Gods
plan was much more powerful. Along the lines of alcohol, neither seemed for it to be a problem
as along as it didnt affect someones mental behavior or got in the way of everyday activities.
For many people the general stereotype was a bible thumping, TV preacher, secretly racist,
homophobic, Duggar family but throughout my research none of these stereotypes held true. The
base of a Baptist religion comes from the bible and is what they live their faith by. Although the
subject remains unanswered both Maggie and Morgan attested to the fact that homosexuality and
equality through race is an ongoing change. Things that are sacred in Christianity are celebrated
and the Baptist religion does exactly that. Baptists commemorate holidays such as Christmas and

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Easter because of the birth and resurrection of Christ. Through all of these things it seemed
evident that this religion gears itself around the teachings of the bible and inspiration but cant be
fulfilled without certain struggles whether thats interpersonal, intrapersonal, or divine. The
overall theme of my paper was to show that this faith is very strong and defined by one God.

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References

About Health The Moral Decision. October 17, 2014. http://contraception.about.com

Blankenship, Tim. A. (May 27, 2012). Baptist of the Past

https://allthingsbaptist.wordpress.com/

Homosexuality and Baptist churches. (2014, October 8). In Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:41, October 29, 2014, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Homosexuality_and_Baptist_churches&oldid=
628852397

Houdmann, Michael. S. (January 1, 2014). What Happens After Death?

http://www.gotquestions.org/what-happens-death.html.

M. Parsons. Personal Communication, October 8, 2014

M. Todd. Personal Communication, October 6, 2014

Safe. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved October 29, 2014, from Dictionary.com

website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/safe