Content-Type: text/html

### (redirected from Protestant)

# Protestantism

HomePage | RecentChanges | Preferences
You can edit this page right now! It's a free, community project

Protestantism means any of the religions (or religious sects), of Western European origin, that broke with the Roman Catholic Church as a result of the influence of Martin Luther, founder of Lutheranism?, and John Calvin, founder of Calvinism. Some Roman Catholics label any non-Catholic group as Protestant, even if the sect did not arise from Luther's theology (e.g. Anglican, Unitarian?, Baptist...)

Protestants generally trace their separation from the the Roman Catholic church to the 1500's. This is the time the most successful refomers effected a permanent, substantial break with the church. Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg? in 1517, and Calvin was active a generation after him. Other reformers included Ulrich Zwingli and [Jan Hus]?.

Protestantism's major theological differences with the Catholics include the belief in the sufficiency of faith alone for salvation, the figurative (rather than real) presence of Christ in the bread and wine of communion, the lack of need for penance or indulgences, and the absolute divine rule of the pope. Generally speaking, Protestants thought and think that it is above all most important that one have a personal relationship with the divine, unmediated by a priesthood or church. It is very common for protestants to not believe in the existence of purgatory.

Protestants refer to particular protestantism sects as denominations to imply that they are differently named parts of the whole church, although some denominations are less accepting of others and some are so unorthodox as to be questioned by most. All denominations consider all others to have some points of doctrine wrong. These theological differences are sometimes very small. Many denominations do not consider that the points of doctrine which other denominations have wrong as important enough to keep followers of the other denomination eternally separated from God or Heaven.

HomePage | RecentChanges | Preferences
You can edit this page right now! It's a free, community project
Edit text of this page | View other revisions
Last edited August 6, 2001 2:16 pm (diff)
Search: