Baptism, Redemption, and Salvation

Does the Episcopal Church believe Baptism is required for redemption?

An explanation of Holy Baptism can be found in our Catechism on pages 858-859 of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. I don't intend to plagiarize, but this response restates some of the Catechism.

Several years ago, I wrote a pamphlet About Baptism, which you can access here.

Holy Baptism is a sacrament, meaning it is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ's Body, the Church, and inheritors of the Kingdom of God. Through Baptism, we share citizenship in the Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption by God.

For the believer, Baptism is the initiatory rite or way into the community of faith. It's our way of acknowledging what we believe through ritual action as we repent of our sins, renounce evil, and accept Jesus as our Savior. In Baptism, we receive God's spiritual graces (favor), are in union with Christ in his death and resurrection, are forgiven of our sins, and receive new life in the Holy Spirit. 

The Episcopal Church follows the ancient tradition of baptizing infants so they, too, can share citizenship in the Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption by God. In the case of infant Baptism, parents and sponsors make the vows on behalf of the infant and take on the responsibility of raising the child in a life of faith.

Jesus did the redeeming work (Ephesians 1:7, Titus 2:14, etc). Redemption is ours for the asking (Romans 10:13, Acts 2:21). If we genuinely believe, turn to God, and repent of our sins, then we are redeemed and restored to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Baptism is the logical next step (Acts 2:38-41), which joins us with the body of believers that can help us grow in faith and live out the Covenant. So, one should not need Baptism to be redeemed, but one should be baptized as a sign of redemption, and claim their rightful place among the baptized believers who have received redemption through Jesus.

There's another way to think about Baptism and redemption. Suppose we take the account from scripture of the thief on the cross who repented and asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Jesus assured him he would be with him in paradise (Luke 23:42-43). Hanging on a cross next to Jesus, the thief didn't benefit from being part of a covenantal faith community, nor was he baptized, but he received complete redemption.

Do you have to be baptized to go to heaven?

I discuss Baptism in the above question. As stated above, Baptism is the response to faith. As Christians, faith in Jesus as Lord is what our eternal salvation is based on. God's grace through our faith is what redeems us (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is no hard and fast rule that one must be baptized to spend eternity with our Creator.