Concept in Definition ABC

The Protestant Reformation promoted by Luther in the seventeenth century marked a break with the Roman and Catholic Church. Among the different currents or doctrines that emerged from Protestantism, the movement Anabaptist was a split from Lutheranism itself.

It emerged in Switzerland in the seventeenth century and soon spread to some central European countries. Later it expanded to the southern United States and Latin America.

Historic context

After the Reformation, some theologians understood that the path initiated by Lutheranism had not been sufficiently renovating. Thus, those movements that were neither Catholic nor Protestant were labeled under one denomination, radical reform.

Basically, there was a reform within the Reformation. These "radicals" in turn divided into three subgroups: Anabaptists, Spiritualists, and Evangelical Rationalists.

Among the Calvinists who settled in Switzerland arose a group of theologians who proposed the baptism of adults. The followers of this new current were known as Anabaptists or rebaptizers, since they defended baptism volunteer by adults and opposed infant baptism because they considered that newborns do not have a authentic faith.

Initially they were persecuted and martyred by both Calvinists and Catholics. This circumstance forced them to remain hidden in small communities around the world. rural.

The Anabaptist leader Menno Simons managed to regroup them and for this reason his followers became known as Mennonites. These communities were forced to emigrate to different territories: Russia, the United States and some agricultural regions of Latin America.

Main beliefs and values

To the margin From his defense of baptism in adulthood, his followers understand that the precepts included in the Bible must be the only valid references for an authentic Christian life. They consider that they are called to renew the Christian church according to the model of the New Testament and they consider that the church is a brotherhood that must be separated from the state.

They have an evangelizing and missionary spirit, defend their autonomy against the power of the state and are supporters of the equality social and not violence

Mennonites and Hutterites

Although there are several currents of Anabaptism, the best known are the Mennonite and the Hutterite. Today the Mennonites, also known as the Amish people, live in community in different territories of North America and Latin America, are engaged in agricultural and livestock activities and reject the use of technology in their life daily.

Likewise, they dress in very humble clothes and kids receive a education very basic based on biblical teachings. They have their own codes conduct and they do not accept the laws of the country where they reside.

When the Amish turn 17, a fundamental period in their lives arrives, the rumspringa. It consists of temporarily withdrawing from the community to reflect on their continuity in the group or their separation.

The Hutterites live in closed communities, share their assets and practice radical pacifism that prevents them from being part of the army. This current was created in Austria in the seventeenth century and its founder was Jakob Hutter. Like the rest of the Anabaptist communities, they were persecuted for their radical approaches.