As an often persecuted minority, Baptists have been champions of religious liberty for all people. We believe that everyone has the ability and responsibility to respond to God personally. Faith in Jesus must be individually and voluntarily. Baptists are against using force or threat to convert people to Christianity or our way of worshipping God. The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message preamble states: "Baptists cherish and defend religious liberty, and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches. We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God."