baptism, a sacrament of admission to the Christian church. The forms and rituals of the various churches vary, but baptism almost invariably involves the use of water and the Trinitarian invocation, “I baptize you: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The candidate may be wholly or partly immersed in water, the water may be poured over the head, or a few drops may be sprinkled or placed on the head.
Ritual immersion has traditionally played an important part in Judaism, as a symbol of purification (in the mikvah, a postmenstrual or ritual bath used by women) or as a symbol of consecration (in rituals of conversion, accompanied by special prayers). It was particularly significant in the rites of the Essenes. According to the Gospels, John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Although there is no actual account of the institution of baptism by Jesus, the Gospel According to Matthew portrays the risen Christ issuing the “Great Commission” to his followers: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). Elsewhere in the New Testament, however, this formula is not used. Some scholars thus doubt the accuracy of the quotation in Matthew and suggest that it reflects a tradition formed by a merging of the idea of spiritual baptism (as in Acts 1:5), early baptismal rites (as in Acts 8:16), and reports of Pentecostalism after such rites (as in Acts 19:5–6).
Baptism occupied a place of great importance in the Christian community of the 1st century, but Christian scholars disagree over whether it was to be regarded as essential to the new birth and to membership in the Kingdom of God or to be regarded only as an external sign or symbol of inner regeneration. The Apostle Paul likened baptismal immersion to personal sharing in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:3–4). By the 2nd century the irreducible minimum for a valid baptism appears to have been the use of water and the invocation of the Trinity. Usually the candidate was immersed three times, but there are references to pouring as well.
Most of those baptized in the early church were converts from Greco-Roman paganism and therefore were adults. Both the New Testament and the Church Fathers of the 2nd century make it clear that the gift of salvation belongs to children, however. Tertullian seems to have been the first to object to infant baptism, suggesting that by the 2nd century it was already a common practice. It remained the accepted method of receiving members in the Eastern and Western churches, except in the case of adult converts.
During the Reformation the Lutherans, Reformed, and Anglicans accepted the Catholic attitude toward infant baptism. The radical reformers, however, primarily the Anabaptists, insisted that a person must be sufficiently mature to make a profession of faith before receiving baptism. In modern times the largest Christian groups that practice adult rather than infant baptism are the Baptists and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).