I.

Introduction

Anabaptists, name applied to certain religious sects that arose in Europe, particularly in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, during the Reformation. The name means “one who baptizes again”; it refers to the Anabaptists’ practice of adult baptism, even of persons who had been baptized in infancy. Orthodox reformers, such as Huldreich Zwingli of Zürich and Martin Luther, and their followers often used the name Anabaptist as an opprobrious designation for any radical or unorthodox Protestant sect.