List of Baptists

Athletes

• Charles Barkley, former professional basketball player
• Jim Brown, former fullback for the Cleveland Browns
• Roberto Clemente
• Mike Conley, Jr., guard for Memphis Grizzlies basketball team
• Zach Johnson, professional golfer, winner of 2007 Masters Tournament
• Magic Johnson, professional basketball player
• Iris Kyle, 10-time overall Ms. Olympia professional bodybuilder
• Ryan Langerhans, outfielder for Seattle Mariners
• William Lockhart, cricketer and preacher
• Dikembe Mutombo center for the Houston Rockets
• Bradbury Robinson, pioneering American football player, physician and conservationist
• Tim Tebow, professional football quarterback, then baseball player
• Reggie White, professional football defensive end; member of Pro Football Hall of Fame

  Authors, writers, and journalists

• Nathan Bailey, philologist and lexicographer
• Clara Lucas Balfour, writer and temperance campaigner
• Ray Bradbury, science fiction author
• Samuel Bagster the Younger writer on religion and beekeeping
• Thomas Spencer Baynes, philosopher
• Edith Bryan, educationalist for children with special needs
• Thomas Cooper, poet and Chartist
• Esther Copley, writer of didactic children's books
• Thomas Crosby, author of History of the English Baptists
• W. E. Cule, children's author and editor of Baptist Missionary Society publications
• Elizabeth Dawbarn, religious writer, preacher and pamphleteer
• Maria De Fleury, poet, hymnist and polemicist
• Sallie Rochester Ford, American writer and newspaper editor
• Gilberto Freyre, sociologist and anthropologist; Baptist missionary in Brazil and the United States
• Edwin Gaustad, scholar and historian of religion; author of the Historical Atlas of Religion in America
• John Grisham, best-selling author of The Firm, A Painted House and Skipping Christmas
• George Howells, writer and academic
• Robert Don Hughes, minister, educator and science fiction author
• William Jones, writer and bookseller
• Tim LaHaye, co-author of the bestselling Left Behind series
• Doris Lester, religious writer and social worker
• Charles Lloyd, preacher and schoolmaster
• Bill Moyers, television journalist and former White House Press Secretary
• David Owen , Welsh-language poet
• Hazel Brannon Smith, journalist and editor; first female recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing

  Criminals

• Jesse James, outlaw, son of a Baptist minister, Confederate soldier
• Harry Longabaugh, "The Sundance Kid", train robber and outlaw

  Entertainers, movie and television personalities

• Clay Aiken pop music singer
• Roy Acuff, country musician
• Warren Beatty, actor
• David Bellamy, television presenter, botanist, and environmentalist
• Lead Belly, folk and blues musician
• Chuck Berry, singer, songwriter and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music
• Spencer Bohren, American roots musician, raised a Baptist
• Glen Campbell, country music singer
• Mark Carman, singer, composer, writer and producer
• Aaron Carter, singer
• Nick Carter, lead vocalist of the Backstreet Boys
• Johnny Cash, country music singer
• Ray Charles, musician, singer, and composer
• Jerry Clower, rural humorist, member of the Grand Ole Opry, lay minister
• Kevin Costner, actor
• Jill Dando television presenter
• Bette Davis, actress and erstwhile Baptist
• Jamie Foxx, actor, singer and stand-up comedian
• Aretha Franklin, singer and daughter of Baptist minister Rev. C.L. Franklin
• Ava Gardner, actress
• Al Green, singer, songwriter and record producer
• Buddy Holly, rock 'n' roll singer
• Whitney Houston, R&B/pop singer and actress
• John Hughes, composer and marketing manager
• John Hughes, composer of hymns
• Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer
• B.B. King, blues singer
• Gladys Knight, singer, converted to Mormonism
• Avril Lavigne, singer-songwriter and actress
• Brian Littrell, pop singer, member of the Backstreet Boys
• Loretta Lynn, country music artist
• Reba McEntire, country music artist and actress
• Brittany Murphy, actress, singer and voice artist; raised Baptist and later became non-denominational Christian
• Eddie Murphy, actor
• Chuck Norris, actor
• Grady Nutt, Hee Haw regular, Baptist minister
• Brad Pitt, actor, raised Baptist
• Dennis Quaid, actor
• Corinne Bailey Rae, singer and songwriter
• Diana Ross, singer
• Willard Scott, television weatherman
• Ron Shelton, movie director
• Ashlee Simpson, pop singer
• Jessica Simpson, pop singer and actress
• Sinbad, actor and comedian
• Snoop Dogg, rapper, raised Baptist
• Britney Spears, pop singer
• Irma Thomas, soul singer
• Justin Timberlake, pop singer
• Tina Turner, singer, converted to Buddhism
• Carrie Underwood, country music singer
• Billy Vaughn, Big Band orchestra leader, songwriter, and saxophonist
• Stevie Wonder, musician, singer, songwriter, and producer
• Oprah Winfrey, raised Baptist, now a spiritualist
• Dan Whitney , son of a Baptist preacher, attended Baptist University of America

  Industrialists and business leaders

• George Fife Angas, businessman and banker prominent in the development of South Australia
• Thomas Burberry, founder of the Burberry chain of clothing stores
• S. Truett Cathy, billionaire founder of Chick-fil-A restaurants
• John Chapman, engineer and writer
• Eleanor Coade, businesswoman manufacturing statuary
• Jeremiah Colman, founder of the Colman's Mustard company
• Thomas Cook, founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son
• Carl Lindner, former owner of the Cincinnati Reds
• James Cash Penney, J. C. Penney department store magnate, son of a Primitive Baptist lay minister
• Thomas Ramsay, footwear manufacturer and lay preacher
• John D. Rockefeller, 20th-century oil tycoon

  Jurists

• Clement Bailhache, commercial lawyer and judge
• Hugo Black, Supreme Court associate justice
• Charles Evans Hughes, Supreme Court chief justice
• Howell Edmunds Jackson, Supreme Court associate justice
• Robert Lush, judge and Privy Councillor
• Roy Moore, Alabama State Supreme Court chief justice and Republican politician
• Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court associate justice

  Politicians

• A. V. Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough Labour-Conservative politician and Minister of Defence
• Daniel Axtell, officer in the New Model Army, later executed as a regicide
• Reuben Barrow, Liberal politician and member of Parliament
• Ernest Bevin, Labour politician and trade union leader
• Cyril Black, Conservative politician, member of Parliament, and businessman
• Audrey Callaghan, Labour Party councilor and wife of Prime Minister James Callaghan
• James Callaghan, British Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party
• Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
• Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
• Chuck Colson, senior aide to President Richard Nixon
• George Goodman, Liberal Mayor of Leeds and MP
• Al Gore, 45th Vice President
• Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States
• Yukio Hatoyama, 60th Prime Minister of Japan
• Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and 2008 Presidential candidate
• Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist and Baptist minister; candidate for Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988; shadow senator for District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997
• Richard M. Johnson, United States Vice President under Martin Van Buren
• Norman Kember, biophysics professor and pacifist
• Muriel Lester, social activist and pacifist
• Elizabeth Lilburne, Leveller
• Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, raised a Baptist.
• Edmund Ludlow, parliamentarian and regicide
• John McCain, Senator Arizona, presidential candidate
• George Hay Morgan, Liberal UK politician
• Ron Paul, Congressman and former Libertarian Party presidential candidate; known for his libertarian leanings
• Nelson Rockefeller, Vice President under Gerald Ford
• Wynne Samuel, politician
• Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd, Welsh Liberal politician
• Harry Truman, 33rd President of the United States
• Oleksandr Turchynov, interim President of Ukraine since 23 February 2014

  Preachers and theologians

• Ralph Abernathy, pastor and civil rights activist
• William Adam, missionary
• John Allen, preacher and radical
• Joseph Angus, preacher and biblical scholar
• Annie Armstrong, missionary organizer; the SBC's Easter mission offering is collected in her honor
• Melbourn Aubrey, minister, ecumenist, and General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland
• Charles C. Baldwin, Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force, 2004–2008
• Jeremy Balfour, preacher and politician
• Alistair Begg, preacher
• Francis Bellamy, minister and author of the Pledge of Allegiance
• Margaret Bevan, evangelist and singer
• John Birch, missionary to China and anti-communist
• James Black, preacher and evangelist
• Abraham Booth, preacher and religious writer
• David Bowen, preacher
• Samuel Breeze, preacher and schoolteacher
• Hugh Stowell Brown, preacher and activist
• Charles Bulkley, preacher
• John Bunyan, preacher and writer: The Pilgrim's Progress
• Thomas Burchell, missionary
• John G. Burkhalter, U.S. Army Chaplain in World War II and Korean War
• Dawson Burns, preacher and temperance campaigner
• Matthew Caffyn, preacher and writer
• Tony Campolo, pastor and professor of sociology
• William Carey, missionary
• Benajah Harvey Carroll, pastor, theologian, founding president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
• J. M. Carroll, pastor and author of The Trail of Blood
• Charles Henry Carter, missionary and translator of Old Testament, Book of Psalms, and New Testament into Sinhalese;
• Douglas Carver, Major General who served as Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
• Oswald Chambers, pastor and author of My Utmost for His Highest, son of a converted pastor
• Oren B. Cheney, abolitionist and founder of Bates College
• John T. Christian, US, church historian
• Dr. John Clarke, medical doctor, early proponent of separation of church and state
• Walter Thomas Conner, Professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
• Elijah Craig, preacher, educator and entrepreneur, purported inventor of bourbon whiskey
• W. A. Criswell, pastor, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, founder of Criswell College
• David Crosley, evangelist and pastor
• Henry Danvers,, preacher and radical
• Charles Davies, preacher
• David Davies, preacher and college principal
• David Christopher Davies, missionary in Congo
• Gwilym Davies, preacher and peace activist
• Henry Davies, preacher
• Jacob Davies, preacher and missionary
• Owen Davies, preacher and college lecturer
• George Dawson, preacher and lecturer
• Miguel A. De La Torre, prolific author on Hispanic religiosity
• Henry Denne, preacher and controversialist
• Morgan Edwards, preacher and religious historian
• Benjamin Evans, preacher and local politician
• Christmas Evans, preacher
• John Evans, preacher
• Jerry Falwell, televangelist, founder of the Moral Majority
• Enoch Francis, preacher and religious writer
• John Gano, founding pastor of the First Baptist Church in the City of New York, chaplain in the Continental Army, and alleged baptizer of General George Washington
• John Gill, pastor and theologian
• Benjamin Godwin, abolitionist leader in Bradford
• George Gould, preacher in Norwich
• Billy Graham, evangelist
• Peter Grant, preacher
• George Grenfell, missionary and explorer
• John Griffith, preacher, founder of a London congregation
• James Griffiths, preacher and President of the Baptist Union of Wales
• W. J. Gruffydd, preacher and poet
• Robert Hall, preacher and theologian
• Robert Hall, preacher and theologian
• Mordecai Ham, tent revivalist who preached the sermon that converted Billy Graham
• John Harper, preacher
• John Harris, preacher and controversialist
• Joseph Harris, preacher, poet and editor
• Obadiah Holmes, New England Baptist minister whipped in Boston for his beliefs; pastor at Newport, Rhode Island
• Thomas Humphreys, preacher and local councillor
• Johnny Hunt, author and once President of the Southern Baptist Convention
• Jack Hyles, pastor and prominent identity in the Independent Baptist movement
• Joseph Ivimey, preacher and religious historian
• David Bevan Jones, preacher and controversialist
• Clarence Jordan, pastor and author of The Cotton Patch Gospel
• William Kiffin, London minister, politician and wool merchant
• Grantham Killingworth, controversialist
• Isaac Kimber, preacher and biographer
• Martin Luther King, Jr., martyred civil rights leader, Nobel Peace Prize recipient
• Kenneth Scott Latourette, pastor; missionary and church historian
• Titus Lewis, preacher and lexicographer
• John F. MacArthur, pastor and theologian
• Andrew MacBeath, preacher and writer
• John MacBeath, preacher
• Hugh Martin, preacher and publisher
• Benjamin Meredith, preacher
• Charlotte Diggers Moon, missionary; the SBC's Christmas missionary offering is named in her honor.
• Abel Morgan, minister and religious writer
• David Eirwyn Morgan, minister, college tutor and politician
• William Morris minister and President of the Baptist Union of Wales
• J. Frank Norris, preacher and Christian fundamentalist
• Ernest Alexander Payne, religious writer and General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain
• Fred Phelps, minister opposed to funerals of homosexuals and servicemen
• John Piper, preacher at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis; head of Desiring God
• Thomas Price, preacher and politician
• R Guy Ramsay, preacher and religious writer
• Morgan John Rhys, preacher and politician
• William Richards, preacher and lexicographer
• Adrian Rogers, televangelist
• David Syme Russell, theologian and General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain
• Frances Shimer, founder of Shimer College
• John Smyth, founding pastor of first English-speaking Baptist church
• C. H. Spurgeon, pastor known as "The Prince of Preachers"
• Charles Stanley, televangelist founder of In Touch Ministries
• Jeff Struecker, pastor, author and former U.S. Army Ranger Chaplain
• Joshua Thomas, preacher and religious historian
• Neiliezhü Üsou, theologian, church musician, music teacher and composer from the Nagaland, North-East India
• Lewis Valentine, preacher, politician and author
• Paul Washer, founder of HeartCry Missionary Society
• Sidney Abram Weltmer, Baptist preacher, professor, magnetic pealer, mental scientist; from Nevada, Missouri; founder of Weltmer Institute for Suggestive Therapeutics and American School of Magnetic Healing.
• Rhydwen Williams, preacher, poet and novelist
• Roger Williams, founded First Baptist Church in America
• Jonathan Woodhouse, British Army chaplain and preacher
• Nigel G. Wright, theologian, writer and President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain

  Others

• Larry Birkhead, father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead
• Brian Bluhm, one of the students killed in the Virginia Tech massacre and a member of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry
• Martha Gurney, printer, bookseller and abolitionist
• Henry Havelock, British army general in India
• Paul Hobson, New Model Army soldier in the English Civil War and controversialist
• Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick, Executive Board member of the Louisiana Baptist Convention
• Newton Knight, Confederate deserter who led a band of escaped slaves
• Malcolm X, raised Baptist, but later converted to Islam

  Fictional Baptists

Film

• Arachnophobia Coach Beachwood, his wife, daughter and son.
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd says that he was raised a Baptist.
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Pete Hogwallop and Delmar O'Donnell are baptized by a Baptist minister
• The Preacher's Wife, The pastor Rev. Henry Biggs, his wife Julia, his mother-in-law Margueritte Coleman, his son Jeremiah and many other characters were members of St. Matthew's Baptist Church.

  Music

• "Preachin Blues" contains the lines
• "Cowboys Days" contains the lines
• "Guilty" contains the lines
• "Lonely Lubbock Lights", a singer in a Broken Spoke reveals that a love interest is the daughter of a Baptist minister who is keeping them apart.
• "Southern Baptist Heartbreak" contains the lines
• "Uneasy Rider", a hippie is stranded in a bar in the deep South and the locals start making trouble when the fast-thinking hippie accuses one of the locals of being a spy sent to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. The local replies that he's a "faithful follower of Brother John Birch and a member of Antioch Baptist Church."

  Literature

• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg
• *Idgie Threadgood
• *Rev. Scroggins
• The Mitford series by Jan Karon
• *Sophia Burton, single mother raising two daughters
• *Absalom Greer, elderly minister and friend of the series'protagonist, Father Tim Kavanagh.
• *Madelaine Kavanagh, Father Tim's mother
• *Emma Newland, Father Tim's secretary, raised Baptist, converted to Episcopal, returned to Baptist church on marriage.
• *Harold Newland, Emma's husband and local postal worker
• *Rodney Underwood, town's chief of police
• *Lew Boyd, owner-operator of local Exxon gas station
• *Mule Skinner, semi-retired realtor
• *Fancy Skinner, Mule's wife and unisex hairdresser
• *Bill Sprouse, jovial minister of Mitford's First Baptist Church
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• *Miss Maudie Atkins, neighbor of Scout Finch, protagonist; more moderate than "Footwashing Baptists" who make a brief appearance
• *Mr. Radley's father, another of Scout's neighbors
• Superman comic book series
• *Perry White, editor of the Daily Planet

  Television

• Designing Women, Julia Sugarbaker, presumably Suzanne Sugarbaker and Charlene Frazier. Specifically Charlene reveals that she is a "First Baptist" in the episode "Oh Suzanna". In the episode "How Great Thou Art" Charlene quits her church when she discovers her pastor is opposed to the ordination of women, which was her dream at one time. Mary Jo Shively briefly dates Julia's minister.
• Sanford And Son, Fred Sanford's former sister-in-law, Aunt Esther is a devout Baptist who often annoys Fred with her constant bible-thumping.
• The Jeffersons, George Jefferson is revealed to be a Baptist during the third season in "The Christmas Wedding" episode where his son Lionel weds Jenny Willis. The wedding is held up because George wants a Baptist minister to conduct the service while the Willis' want a minister of their denomination. Jenny and Lionel quickly marry when a minister , is going door-to-door with a group of carolers.
• Gimme a Break!, Nell Harper is the daughter of a Baptist minister.
• Golden Girls, Blanche Deveraux is a Southern Baptist
• The Grady Nutt Show, Rev. Grady Williams, a minister in a short-lived sitcom on NBC who balances family and ministry as he does in the pilot episode where he must preach the funeral of a disliked man while coming to terms with teenage daughter's dating.
• LA Law, Jane Halliday, fundamentalist Baptist and attorney, alumna of Bob Jones University. Introduced to the series in the eighth season premiere, when she revealed she intended to remain a virgin until her wedding night.
• The Waltons, almost all principal characters were Baptists or attended the Baptist church. In the fourth-season episode "The Sermon", Rev. Matthew Fordwick asks John Boy to deliver a sermon while he goes on honeymoon. In fifth-season episode "The Baptism", John Walton, Sr. refuses to attend a tent revival or be baptized.
• Young Sheldon, young Sheldon Cooper, raised a Baptist, lacks a belief in God. In the 2019 episode "Albert Einstein and the Story of Another Mary", he considers converting to Judaism to emulate famous scientists like Albert Einstein, but abandons this, telling his parents he will remain "the atheist Baptist you know and love."