List of Baptists facts for kids

A Baptist is a person who belongs to a Christian church group called Baptists. They believe that people should choose to be baptized (a special ceremony with water) after they understand what it means to follow Jesus, rather than being baptized as babies. This list includes famous people who were either members of Baptist churches or grew up in Baptist families. It's important to remember that not everyone on this list stayed a practicing Baptist their whole life.

Amazing Athletes

• Charles Barkley (born 1963, US), a famous former professional basketball player.
• Jim Brown (born 1936, US), a former football player for the Cleveland Browns.
• Roberto Clemente (1934–1972, PR), a legendary baseball player.
• Mike Conley Jr. (born 1987, US), a guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team.
• Zach Johnson (born 1976, US), a professional golfer who won the 2007 Masters Tournament.
• Magic Johnson (born 1959, US), a professional basketball player, known for his incredible skills.
• Iris Kyle (born 1974, US), a 10-time overall Ms. Olympia professional bodybuilder.
• Ryan Langerhans (born 1980, US), an outfielder for the Seattle Mariners baseball team.
• Joe Louis (1914–1981, US), a professional boxer and heavyweight champion.
• Dikembe Mutombo (born 1966, CL/US), a tall center for the Houston Rockets basketball team.
• Bradbury Robinson (1884–1949, US), a pioneering American football player and doctor.
• Tim Tebow (born 1987, US), a professional football quarterback.
• Mike Tyson (born 1966, US), a former boxer and heavyweight champion of the world.
• Reggie White (1961–2004, US), a professional football defensive end and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Talented Authors and Journalists

• Ray Bradbury (1920–2012, US), a famous science fiction author.
• Robbie Branscum (1934–1997, US), a writer who created stories for children and young adults.
• John Grisham (born 1955, US), a popular novelist.
• Tim LaHaye (1926–2016, US), a co-author of the bestselling Left Behind book series.
• Bill Moyers (born 1934, US), a well-known television journalist.
• Hazel Brannon Smith (1914–1994, US), a journalist and editor who was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.

Entertainers and TV Stars

Johnny Cash

Kevin Costner

• Clay Aiken (born 1978, US), a pop music singer.
• Roy Acuff (1903–1992, US), a country musician.
• Warren Beatty (born 1937, US), a famous actor.
• David Bellamy (1933–2019, E), a television presenter, botanist, and environmentalist.
• Lead Belly (1888–1949, US), a folk and blues musician.
• Chuck Berry (1926–2017, US), a singer, songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music.
• Glen Campbell (1936–2017, US), a country music singer.
• Aaron Carter (1987-2022, US), a singer.
• Nick Carter (born 1980, US), the lead singer of the Backstreet Boys.
• Johnny Cash (1932–2003, US), a legendary country music singer.
• Ray Charles (1930–2004, US), a musician, singer, and composer.
• Kevin Costner (born 1955, US), a well-known actor.
• Bette Davis (1908–1989, US), a famous actress.
• Jamie Foxx (born 1967, US), an actor, singer, and comedian.
• Aretha Franklin (1942–2018, US), a powerful singer and daughter of a Baptist minister.
• Ava Gardner (1922–1990, US), an actress.
• Al Green (born 1946, US), a singer, songwriter, and record producer.
• Buddy Holly (1936–1959, US), a rock 'n' roll singer.
• Whitney Houston (1963–2012, US), a famous R&B/pop singer and actress.
• Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972, US), a gospel singer.
• B.B. King (1925–2015, US), a blues singer.
• Gladys Knight (born 1944, US), a singer.
• Avril Lavigne (born 1984, Ca), a singer-songwriter and actress.
• Brian Littrell (born 1975, US), a pop singer and member of the Backstreet Boys.
• Loretta Lynn (1932-2022, US), a country music artist.
• Reba McEntire (born 1955, US), a country music artist and actress.
• Brittany Murphy (1977–2009, US), an actress, singer, and voice artist.
• Eddie Murphy (born 1961, US), a famous actor.
• Chuck Norris (born 1940, US), an actor.
• Brad Pitt (born 1963, US), a well-known actor.
• Dennis Quaid (born 1954, US), an actor.
• Corinne Bailey Rae (born 1979, E), a singer and songwriter.
• Diana Ross (born 1944, US), a singer.
• Willard Scott (born 1934, US), a television weatherman.
• Ron Shelton (born 1945, US), a movie director.
• Ashlee Simpson (born 1984, US), a pop singer.
• Jessica Simpson (born 1980, US), a pop singer and actress.
• Sinbad (born 1956, US), an actor and comedian.
• Will Smith (born 1968, US), a famous actor.
• Snoop Dogg (born 1971, US), a rapper.
• Britney Spears (born 1981, US), a pop singer.
• Irma Thomas (born 1941, US), a soul singer.
• Justin Timberlake (born 1981, US), a pop singer.
• Tina Turner (born 1939, US), a singer.
• Carrie Underwood (born 1983, US), a country music singer.
• Stevie Wonder (born 1950, US), a musician, singer, songwriter, and producer.
• Oprah Winfrey (born 1954, US), a television host and media executive.

Business Leaders

Truett Cathy

• George Fife Angas (1789–1879, E/A), a businessman and banker who helped develop South Australia.
• Thomas Burberry (1835–1926, E), the founder of the famous Burberry clothing stores.
• S. Truett Cathy (1921–2014, US), the founder of Chick-fil-A restaurants.
• Thomas Cook (1808–1892, E), the founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son.
• James Cash Penney (1875–1971, US), the founder of the J.C. Penney department stores.
• John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937, US), a very wealthy oil tycoon from the 20th century.

Important Politicians

President Warren G. Harding

President Andrew Johnson

President Harry S. Truman

• Richard M. Johnson (1780–1850, US), the 9th Vice President of the United States.
• Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865, US), the 16th President of the United States, who was raised a Baptist.
• Warren G. Harding (1865–1923, US), the 29th President of the United States.
• Ichirō Hatoyama (1883–1959, Jp), the 35th Prime Minister of Japan.
• Harry Truman (1884–1972, US), the 33rd President of the United States.
• Nelson Rockefeller (1908–1979, US), the 41st Vice President of the United States.
• James Callaghan (1912–2005, E), a British Prime Minister.
• Jimmy Carter (born 1924, US), the 39th President of the United States.
• Bill Clinton (born 1946, US), the 42nd President of the United States.
• Yukio Hatoyama (born 1947, Jp), the 60th Prime Minister of Japan.
• Al Gore (born 1948, US), the 45th Vice President of the United States.
• Kamala Harris (born 1964, US), the 49th Vice President of the United States.
• Mike Huckabee (born 1955, US), a former governor of Arkansas.
• Jesse Jackson (born 1941, US), an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister.
• John McCain (1936–2018, US), a Senator from Arizona and presidential candidate.
• Ron Paul (born 1935, US), a Congressman known for his libertarian ideas.
• Oleksandr Turchynov (born 1964, Uk), an interim President of Ukraine.

Inspiring Preachers and Theologians

Billy Graham

Martin Luther King Jr.

C. H. Spurgeon, "The Prince of Preachers"

Conrad Tillard

• Ralph Abernathy (1926–1990, US), a pastor and important civil rights activist.
• Tony Campolo (born 1935, US), a pastor and professor.
• William Carey (1761–1834, India), a missionary.
• Oswald Chambers (1874–1917, S), a pastor and author of the book My Utmost for His Highest.
• Dr. John Clarke (1609–1676, US), a medical doctor and early supporter of separation of church and state.
• W. A. Criswell (1909–2002, US), a pastor and former President of the Southern Baptist Convention.
• Jerry Falwell (1933–2007, US), a televangelist and founder of the Moral Majority.
• Billy Graham (1918–2018, US), a world-famous evangelist.
• John Harper (1872–1912, S/E), a preacher.
• Johnny Hunt (born 1952, US), an author and former President of the Southern Baptist Convention.
• Jack Hyles (1926–2001, US), a pastor and leader in the Independent Baptist movement.
• Clarence Jordan (1912–1969, US), a pastor and author of The Cotton Patch Gospel.
• William Kiffin (1616–1701, E), a London minister, politician, and wool merchant.
• Martin Luther King Sr. (1899–1984, US), a pastor, missionary, and early figure in the civil rights movement.
• Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968, US), a civil rights leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Charlotte ("Lottie") Diggers Moon (1840–1912, US/C), a missionary.
• J. Frank Norris (1877–1952, US), a preacher and Christian fundamentalist.
• John Piper (born 1946, US), a preacher at Bethlehem Baptist Church.
• Adrian Rogers (1931–2005, US), a televangelist.
• John Smyth (c. 1554–1612, E), the founding pastor of the first English-speaking Baptist church.
• C. H. Spurgeon (1834–1892, E), a famous pastor known as "The Prince of Preachers."
• Charles Stanley (1932-2023, US), a televangelist and founder of In Touch Ministries.
• Conrad Tillard, a politician, Baptist minister, radio host, author, and activist.
• Paul Washer (born 1961, US), the founder of HeartCry Missionary Society.
• Roger Williams (1603–1683, E/US), who founded the First Baptist Church in America.

Other Notable People

• Henry Havelock (1795–1857, E), a British army general in India.
• Newton Knight (1829–1922, US), a Confederate soldier who led a group of escaped slaves.
• Malcolm X (1925–1965, US), a civil rights leader who was raised Baptist.

Fictional Baptists

Sometimes, characters in movies, TV shows, and books are also shown as Baptists. Here are a few examples:

In Movies

• Arachnophobia: The Beachwood family (Coach, his wife, and their children Becky and Bobby) are Baptists.
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?: Pete Hogwallop and Delmar O'Donnell are baptized by a Baptist minister in this movie.
• The Preacher's Wife: Pastor Henry Biggs (Courtney Vance), his wife Julia (Whitney Houston), and many other characters were members of St. Matthew's Baptist Church.

In Music

• Songs like "Preachin Blues" by Son House, "Cowboys Days" by Terri Clark, and "Guilty" by The Statler Brothers mention Baptist churches or ways of life.
• In "Lonely Lubbock Lights" by Aaron Watson, a character is the daughter of a Baptist minister.
• In "Uneasy Rider" by Charlie Daniels, a local character mentions being a member of Antioch Baptist Church.

In Books

• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg, features characters like Idgie Threadgood and Rev. Scroggins who are Baptists.
• The Mitford series by Jan Karon includes many Baptist characters, such as Sophia Burton, Absalom Greer, and the minister of Mitford's First Baptist Church, Bill Sprouse.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee features Miss Maudie Atkins and Mr. Radley's father, who are Baptists.
• In the Superman comic book series, Perry White, the editor of the Daily Planet, is a Baptist.

On Television

• Designing Women: Characters like Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter), Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke), and Charlene Frazier (Jean Smart) are shown as Baptists.
• Sanford And Son: Fred Sanford's (Redd Foxx) former sister-in-law, Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page), is a very religious Baptist.
• The Jeffersons: George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) is revealed to be a Baptist.
• Gimme a Break!: Nell Harper (Nell Carter) is the daughter of a Baptist minister.
• Golden Girls: Blanche Deveraux (Rue McClanahan) is a Southern Baptist.
• The Waltons: Most of the main characters were Baptists or attended the Baptist church.
• Young Sheldon: Young Sheldon Cooper is raised a Baptist, even though he doesn't believe in God.

See also

• List of Christian theologians
• List of preachers
• List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people