Protestantism

The Protestant Churches
RELATED TOPICS	Branches of Protestantism Index - Anabaptist, Anglican Communion, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed churches, Salvation Army, Seventh-day Adventist, Uniting churches Protestant Doctrine - Justification by faith History of Protestantism - Reformation, Puritan Movement Modern movements - Evangelicalism, Liberalism, Charismatic
SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS
CONTENTS

The Protestant Churches are one of the main groups of churches or branches in Christianity. The Protestant Churches developed because of a split from the Roman Catholic Church that occurred during the sixteenth century in Europe — a period known as the Protestant Reformation. The split occurred primarily over issues of doctrine (belief), especially the issue of Justification by faith versus Justification by faith plus works. Some of the main Protestant church denominations today include the Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion and the Baptist Church.

Definition and origins - Reformation

The term Protestant originally applied to the group of princes and imperial cities who protested the decision by the 1529 Diet of Speyer to reverse course and enforce the 1521 Edict of Worms. The 1521 edict forbade Lutheran teachings within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1526 session of the Diet had agreed to toleration of Lutheran teachings (on the basis of Cuius regio, eius religio) until a General Council could be held to settle the question, but by 1529 the Catholic forces felt they had gathered enough power to end the toleration without waiting for a Council.

In a broader sense of the word, Protestant began to be used as the collective name for a sudden movement of separation from the Roman Catholic Church, the beginning of which is ordinarily connected with the public disputes raised by Martin Luther. Later, John Calvin, French theologian of the Swiss, Zwinglian, Reformed churches, figured prominently in a movement that embraced a wider, more international diversity of churches. A third major branch of the Reformation, which encountered conflict with the Catholics, as well as with the Lutherans and the Reformed, is sometimes called the Radical Reformation. Some Western, non-Catholic, groups are labeled as Protestant (such as Quakers, for example), even if the sect acknowledges no historical connection to Luther, Calvin or the Roman Catholic Church.

In German speaking and Scandinavian lands, the word Protestant still refers to Lutheran churches in contrast to Reformed churches, while the common designation for all churches originating from the Reformation is Evangelical.

As an intellectual movement, Protestantism grew out of the Renaissance and universities, attracting some learned intellectuals, as well as politicians, professionals, and skilled tradesmen and artisans. The new technology of the printing press allowed Protestant ideas to spread rapidly, as well as aiding in the dissemination of translations of the Bible in native tongues. Nascent Protestant social ideals of liberty of conscience and individual freedom were formed through continuous confrontation with the authority of the Bishop of Rome, and the hierarchy of the Catholic priesthood. The Protestant movement away from the constraints of tradition, toward greater emphasis on individual conscience, anticipated later developments of democratization, and the so-called Enlightenment of later centuries.

Basic theological tenets of the Reformation

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Later development - History of Protestantism

Protestants can be differentiated according to how they have been influenced by important movements since the magisterial Reformation and the Puritan Reformation in England. Some of these movements have a common lineage, sometimes directly spawning later movements in the same groups.

Pietism 17th Century - Methodist movement 18th century

The German Pietist movement together with the influence of the Puritan Reformation in England in the 17th century were important influences on John Wesley and Methodism, as well as through smaller, new groups such as the Quakers.

The practice of a spiritual life, typically combined with social engagement, predominates in classical Pietism, which was a protest against the doctrine-centeredness Protestant Orthodoxy of the times, in favor of depth of religious experience. Many of the more conservative Methodists went on to form the Holiness movement, which emphasized a rigorous experience of holiness.

Evangelicalism 18th Century

Beginning at the end of 18th century, several international revivals of Pietism (such as the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening), took place across denominational lines, which are referred to generally as the Evangelical movement. The chief emphases of this movement were individual conversion, personal piety and Bible study, public morality often including Temperance and Abolitionism, de-emphasis of formalism in worship and in doctrine, a broadened role for laity (including women) in worship, evangelism and teaching, and cooperation in evangelism across denominational lines.

Pentecostalism 20th Century

Pentecostalism as a movement began in the United States early in the 20th century, starting especially within the Holiness movement. Seeking a return to the operation of New Testament gifts of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as evidence of the "baptism of the Holy Ghost" became the leading feature. Divine healing and miracles were also emphasized. Pentecostalism swept through much of the Holiness movement, and eventually spawned hundreds of new denominations in the United States. A later "charismatic" movement also stressed the gifts of the Spirit, but often operated within existing denominations rather than coming out of them.

Modernism 20th Century

Modernism, or Liberalism, does not constitute a rigorous and well-defined school of theology, but an inclination of some writers and teachers to integrate Christian thought with the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment. New understandings of history and the natural sciences of the day led directly to new approaches to theology. See also: Modernist Christianity

Fundamentalism 20th Century

In reaction to liberal Bible critique, Fundamentalism arose in the 20th century, primarily in the United States and Canada, among those denominations most affected by Evangelicalism. Fundamentalism placed primary emphasis on the authority and sufficiency of the Bible, and typically advised separation from error, and cultural conservatism, as important aspects of the Christian life.

Neo-orthodoxy 20th century

A non-fundamentalist rejection of liberal Christianity associated primarily with Karl Barth, neo-orthodoxy sought to counter-act the tendency of liberal theology to make theological accomodations to modern scientific perspectives. Sometimes called Crisis theology, according to the influence of philosophical existentialism on some important segments of the movement; also, somewhat confusingly, sometimes called neo-evangelicalism.

Neo-evangelicalism mid 20th Century

Neo-evangelicalism is a movement from the middle of the 20th century, that reacted to perceived excesses of Fundamentalism, adding to concern for biblical authority an emphasis on liberal arts, co-operation among churches, Christian Apologetics, and non-denominational evangelization.

Ecumenism 20th Century

The ecumenical movement has had an influence on mainline churches, beginning at least in 1910 with the Edinburgh Missionary Conference. Its origins lay in the recognition of the need for cooperation on the mission field in Africa, Asia and Oceania. Since 1948 the World Council of Churches has been influential. There are also ecumenical bodies at regional, national and local levels across the globe. One, but not the only expression of the ecumenical movement has been the move to form united churches, such as the Church of South India, the Church of North India, The United Church of Canada and the Uniting Church in Australia. There has been a strong engagement of Orthodox churches in the ecumenical movement.

Protestant denominations

Protestants often refer to specific Protestant churches and groups as denominations to imply that they are differently named parts of the whole church. This "invisible unity" is assumed to be imperfectly displayed, visibly: some denominations are less accepting of others, and the basic orthodoxy of some is questioned by most of the others. Individual denominations also have formed over very subtle theological differences. Other denominations are simply regional or ethnic expressions of the same beliefs. The actual number of distinct denominations is hard to calculate, but has been estimated to be over thirty thousand. Various ecumenical movements have attempted cooperation or reorganization of Protestant churches, according to various models of union, but divisions continue to outpace unions. Most denominations share common beliefs in the major aspects of the Christian faith, while differing in many secondary doctrines.

Please note that only general families are listed here (tens of thousands of individual denominations exist):

• Anabaptist and Baptist
• Anglican / Episcopalian
• Calvinist / Reformed and Presbyterian
• Lutheran
• Methodist / Wesleyan and the Holiness movement
• Pentecostal and Charismatic

Number of Protestants

There are about 590 million Protestants worldwide. These include 170 million in North America, 160 million in Africa, 120 million in Europe, 70 million in Latin America, 60 million in Asia, and 10 million in Oceania. 27% of all Christians today are Protestants.

Well-known Protestant and Anglican religious figures

Some of the well known 16th century Protestants include:

• Jacobus Arminius, Dutch theologian, founder of school of thought known as Arminianism
• John Calvin, French speaking Reformer, theologian, founder of school of thought known as Calvinism
• Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII, leader of the English Reformation
• John Knox, Scottish Calvinist reformer,
• William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury under Charles I of England
• Martin Luther, German religious reformer, theologian, founder of the Lutheran church in Germany, founder of Lutheranism
• Philipp Melanchthon, early Lutheran leader
• Menno Simons, founder of Mennonitism
• Philipp Jakob Spener, "godfather" of the Pietist movement
• Huldrych Zwingli, early Swiss religious reformer

Some of the well known Protestants from the 17th to 19th centuries include:

• Jacob Amman, founder of the Amish church
• Francis Asbury, early bishop of American Methodism
• Jonathan Edwards, American Puritan theologian, Great Awakening reformist preacher, Calvinist
• George Fox, Founder of the Society of Friends
• Friedrich Schleiermacher, German theologian considered founder of Liberal Christianity
• Charles Wesley, Anglican priest, Methodist leader, poet, & hymn writer
• John Wesley, Anglican priest, founder of the Methodist movement
• George Whitefield, Great Awakening reformist preacher

Some of the more recent well known Protestants include:

• Billy Graham, American evangelist
• Martin Luther King Jr., peace and civil rights activist
• Jerry Falwell, American evangelist and political activist
• C. S. Lewis, apologist / fiction writer
• Karl Barth, German theologian along with Emil Brunner known for Dialectical theology and Neo-orthodox theology
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian, involved in the resistance against Nazism and executed shortly before the end of World War 2
• Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologion and ethicist
• Pat Robertson, American charismatic/fundamentalist leader
• Paul Tillich, Lutheran existentialist theologian
• Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, peace activist
• John Howard Yoder, Mennonite theologian and ethicist
• Franklin Graham, American evangelist (son of Billy Graham)
• John B. Cobb, theologian, involved in Process Theology
• Stanley Hauerwas, American Christian theologian and ethicist

Links

Defense of Protestant Christianity

• Protestant criticisms of Roman Catholicism
• Apologetics Information Ministry

Criticisms of Protestant Christianity

• Anti-protestant analysis
• Why Only Catholicism Can Make Protestantism Work by Mark Brumley

Miscellaneous

• The Future of American Protestantism from Catalyst (United Methodist perspective)

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