Choosing the Church: Anabaptist Origins and the Formation of Mennonite Identity

To be born into a church was once the norm. To choose one was an act of defiance.

Choosing the Church examines the Anabaptist origins of the Mennonite tradition and the historical conditions that made voluntary religious commitment both dangerous and transformative. Set against the backdrop of Reformation Europe, the book traces how early Anabaptists rejected infant baptism, challenged the union of church and state, and redefined Christian belonging as a conscious adult decision.

Moving from martyrdom and exile to community formation and internal division, this study follows Mennonites as they struggled to preserve a faith rooted in conscience rather than coercion. Through historical analysis and close readings of Mennonite memoirs and diaries, the book reveals how stories of persecution, conversion, and discipline became central to Mennonite identity.

Rather than defending or critiquing belief, Choosing the Church traces how a religious tradition emerged from the insistence that faith must be chosen, even at great cost.