As a lifelong Baptist, I have watched with growing frustration as the church I have loved all my life has been systematically dismantled by people who have cozied up to authoritarianism. Through their words and actions, its members have blatantly mocked one of the most important foundations of the Baptist tradition — the separation of church and state.
My frustration with the distortion of my chosen approach to practicing my faith has been compounded by the news that yet another American citizen has been murdered by the secret police known as “ICE.”
I feel helpless. I feel righteous anger. I feel fear.
How do I stand up and use my voice?
It is helpful to consider the history of the Baptist tradition and how its founders might respond to the erosion of the separation of church and state. This history informs my response to such state-sanctioned murder.
At the beginning of the 17th century, John Smyth and Thomas Helwys challenged the Church of England, believing that the state and the church should be separate. Baptists rejected the idea that kings, as mortal humans, had any authority over whether people believed or did not believe. Importantly, they also believed the state could not coerce its people to conform to the king’s politics or to religious faith by force.
In A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity, Helwys wrote, “The King is a mortal man and not God, therefore hath no power of the immortal soul of his subjects to make laws and ordinances for them and to set spiritual Lords over them.” This rather blunt statement led to his eventual execution by the state.
The early Baptists were radical to the point that their churches were, in many cases, considered illegal. They brought this nonconformist attitude with them to America, where Baptists were subject to physical abuse, imprisonment, economic sanctions, and other forms of punishment for daring to teach their views.
The Baptist tradition is one born in the fires of true rebellion. They were protesters who stood up to authorities and refused to back down.
By now, most of us have watched the video from January 7, 2026, in which ICE officer Jonathan Ross drew his firearm and shot Renee Good three times in the face. As Good’s life drained from her body on live television, the man who fired those fatal shots simply muttered, “f***ing bitch.” Less than three weeks later, on January 24, 2026, Border Patrol agents gunned down Alex Pretti execution-style as he tried to help direct traffic during a peaceful protest.
So, for Baptists, the question is: How do we respond?
First, we know our forebears were vehemently against the commingling of church and state. Beyond that, Baptists have been consistently firm in their belief that every human deserves dignity and justice, and that strict limits must be placed on state-sponsored violence.
While I cannot speak for Smyth and Helwys directly, I can say with confidence that, were they alive today and living in the United States, they would demand a legitimate investigation into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as true accountability. Furthermore, they would call into question the leadership and overall conditions that led to these killings. They would call for trust and accountability to be reestablished between the government and its people.
In studying Baptist heritage, I have come to some core beliefs.
I believe that, as a Baptist, I am called to lament the loss of life. I am called to take time to acknowledge the pain, grief, and injustice that has taken place.
As a Baptist, I am compelled to cling to the core principles of the separation of church and state, as well as religious liberty for all people.
As a Baptist, I must hold fast to the idea that all people should be afforded dignity and justice.
As a Baptist in the classic tradition, I am called to advocate for the de-escalation of force and to stand in that gap, when necessary, through peaceful protest. I am called to engage in civil disobedience when the government acts unlawfully and unjustly. I am called to engage with my community and work to find more pathways to peace.
I pray for ways to honor my faith in a radical itinerant minister who dined with sinners and never missed a chance to make the welcome table larger, not smaller, who lived a life in protest against the empire.
I pray I will honor my Baptist heritage by standing against injustice and finding ways to advocate for the least of these.
Some of the ways I am trying to accomplish these goals include looking for new ways to engage in civic advocacy, joining and supporting faith-and-justice coalitions, and signing and sharing petitions to abolish ICE and investigate its crimes.
In short, I am a Baptist and I stand in solidarity with those who oppose ICE. I do this because I am a Christian. I also do this not despite being a Baptist, but because I am a Baptist.
I encourage you to visit the following organizations to learn more about Baptists who embrace justice and nonviolent resistance:
American Baptist Home Mission Societies
American Baptist Churches USA
Alliance of Baptists
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
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Daniel is an accomplished troubadour who has made a career of traveling and reporting what he sees. He is currently in his last semester of seminary through the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky where he will receive his MDiv this spring.