Born again

==History and usage==
Historically, Christianity has used various [[metaphors]] to describe its [[Rite (Christianity)|rite]] of initiation, that is, [[baptismal regeneration|spiritual regeneration]] via the [[sacrament]] of [[baptism]] by the power of the water and the [[Holy Spirit|spirit]]. This remains the common understanding in most of [[Christendom]], held, for example, in [[Roman Catholicism]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], [[Lutheranism]],<ref name="Walther2008"/> [[Anglicanism]],<ref>See the section on Anglicanism in [[Baptismal regeneration#brganglican|Baptismal regeneration]]</ref> and in other historic branches of [[Protestantism]]. However, sometime after the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], [[Evangelicalism]] attributed greater significance to the expression ''born again''<ref name="GoodWord">"born-again." ''Good Word Guide.'' London: A&C Black, 2007. Credo Reference. 30 July 2009</ref> as an experience of [[religious conversion]],<ref>{{Bibleverse|Heb|10:16|KJV}}</ref> symbolized by deep-water baptism, and rooted in a commitment to one's own personal faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. This same belief is, historically, also an integral part of [[Methodist]] doctrine,<ref name="Methodist">{{Cite book |last1=Fallows |first1=Samuel |last2=Willett |first2=Herbert Lockwood |url=https://archive.org/details/popularandcriti00willgoog |title=The popular and critical Bible encyclopædia and scriptural dictionary, fully defining and explaining all religious terms, including biographical, geographical, historical, archæological and doctrinal themes, to which is added an exhaustive appendix illustrated with over 600 maps and engravings |publisher=Chicago: Howard-Severance Co. |year=1901 |page=[https://archive.org/details/popularandcriti00willgoog/page/n538 1154] |quote=The New Birth. Regeneration is an important Methodist doctrine, and is the new birth, a change of heart. All Methodists teach that "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." It is the work of the Holy Spirit and is a conscious change in the heart and the life. |access-date=19 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="Primal">{{Cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Charles Spencer |last2=Payne |first2=Daniel Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gmDZAAAAMAAJ&q=born+again+methodism&pg=PA266 |title=A History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church |publisher=Johnson Reprint Corporation |year=1922 |quote=Whatever the Church may do, and there is much that it can and should do, for the betterment of man's physical being, its primal work is the regeneration of man's spiritual nature. Methodism has insisted on this as the supreme end and aim of the Church. |access-date=19 October 2009}}</ref> and is connected with the doctrine of [[Justification (theology)|Justification]].<ref name="Justification">{{Cite book |last1=Southey |first1=Robert |last2=Southey |first2=Charles Cuthbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kI6AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA172 |title=The Life of Wesley: And the Rise and Progress of Methodism |year= 2010 |publisher=[[Nabu Press]] |page=172 |quote=Connected with his doctrine of the New Birth was that of Justification, which he affirmed to be inseparable from it, yet easily to be distinguished, as being not the same, but of a widely different nature. In order of time, neither of these is before the other; in the moment we are justified by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in Jesus, we are also born of the Spirit; but in order of thinking, as it is termed, Justification precedes the New Birth. |access-date=5 July 2011}}</ref>

According to ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'':
{{blockquote|'Rebirth' has often been identified with a definite, temporally datable form of 'conversion'. ... With the voluntaristic type, rebirth is expressed in a new alignment of the will, in the liberation of new capabilities and powers that were hitherto undeveloped in the person concerned. With the intellectual type, it leads to an activation of the capabilities for understanding, to the breakthrough of a "vision". With others it leads to the discovery of an unexpected beauty in the order of nature or to the discovery of the mysterious meaning of history. With still others it leads to a new vision of the moral life and its orders, to a selfless realization of love of neighbour. ... each person affected perceives his life in Christ at any given time as "newness of life."<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', entry for The Doctrine of Man (from Christianity), 2004.</ref>}}

According to [[J. Gordon Melton]]:
{{blockquote|Born again is a phrase used by many Protestants to describe the phenomenon of gaining faith in Jesus Christ. It is an experience when everything they have been taught as Christians becomes real, and they develop a direct and personal relationship with God.<ref>Melton, JG., ''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism (Encyclopedia of World Religions)''</ref>}}

According to [[Andrew Purves]] and Charles Partee:
{{blockquote|Sometimes the phrase seems to be judgmental, making a distinction between genuine and nominal Christians. Sometimes ... descriptive, like the distinction between liberal and conservative Christians. Occasionally, the phrase seems historic, like the division between Catholic and Protestant Christians. ... [the term] usually includes the notion of human choice in salvation and excludes a view of divine election by grace alone.<ref>Purves, A. and Partee, C., ''Encountering God: Christian Faith in Turbulent Times'', Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, p. 96</ref>}}

The term ''born again'' has become widely associated with the [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] Christian renewal since the late 1960s, first in the United States and then around the world. Associated perhaps initially with [[Jesus movement|Jesus People]] and the Christian counterculture, ''born again'' came to refer to a conversion experience, accepting Jesus Christ as lord and savior in order to be saved from hell and given eternal life with God in heaven, and was increasingly used as a term to identify devout believers.<ref name="MSM" /> By the mid-1970s, ''born again'' Christians were increasingly referred to in the mainstream media as part of the born again movement.

In 1976, [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]] conspirator [[Chuck Colson]]'s book ''Born Again'' gained international notice. [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] named him "One of the 25 most influential Evangelicals in America."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/5.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624163631/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/5.html|url-status=dead|title=The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America|archivedate=24 June 2011}}</ref> The term was sufficiently prevalent so that during the year's presidential campaign, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party]] nominee [[Jimmy Carter]] described himself as "born again" in the first ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine interview of an American presidential candidate.

Colson describes his path to faith in conjunction with his criminal imprisonment and played a significant role in solidifying the "born again" identity as a [[cultural construct]] in the US. He writes that his spiritual experience followed considerable struggle and hesitancy to have a "personal encounter with God." He recalls:
{{blockquote|while I sat alone staring at the sea I love, words I had not been certain I could understand or say fell from my lips: "Lord Jesus, I believe in You. I accept You. Please come into my life. I commit it to You."  With these few words...came a sureness of mind that matched the depth of feeling in my heart. There came something more: strength and serenity, a wonderful new assurance about life, a fresh perception of myself in the world around me.<ref>Colson, Charles W. ''Born Again.'' Chosen Books (Baker Publishing), 2008.</ref>}}

[[Jimmy Carter]] was the first President of the United States to publicly declare that he was born-again, in 1976.<ref>Hough, JF., ''Changing party coalitions'', Algora Publishing, 2006, p. 203.</ref> By the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 campaign]], all three major candidates stated that they had been born again.<ref>Utter, GH. and Tru, JL.,''Conservative Christians and political participation: a reference handbook'', ABC-CLIO, 2004, p. 137.</ref>

Sider and Knippers<ref>Sider, J. and Knippers, D. (eds), ''Toward an Evangelical Public Policy: Political Strategies for the Health of the Nation,'' Baker Books, 2005, p. 51.</ref> state that "[[Ronald Reagan]]'s election that fall [was] aided by the votes of 61% of 'born-again' white Protestants."

The [[Gallup (company)|Gallup Organization]] reported that "In 2003, 42% of U.S. adults said they were born-again or evangelical; the 2004 percentage is 41%" and that, "[[African American|Black Americans]] are far more likely to identify themselves as born-again or evangelical, with 63% of blacks saying they are born-again, compared with 39% of [[white American]]s. [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] are far more likely to say they are born-again (52%) than [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] (36%) or independents (32%)."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winseman. A.L., ''Who has been born again'', Gallup, 2004 |date=18 January 2005 |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/14632/who-has-been-born-again.aspx |access-date=11 August 2012 |publisher=Gallup.com}}</ref>

''The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics'', referring to several studies, reports "that 'born-again' identification is associated with lower support for government anti-poverty programs." It also notes that "self-reported born-again" Christianity, "strongly shapes attitudes towards economic policy."<ref>Smidt, C., Kellstedt, L., and Guth, J., ''The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics'', Oxford Handbooks Online, 2009, pp. 195–196.</ref>