Protestantism
ALTERNATIVE NAME/S: many sects and deniminations
DETAILS/DESCRIPTION:
Of the three main divisions of the Christian Church: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox, Protestantism is the youngest of the three. The core of its existence rest upon the belief that God deals directly with a man as a person, and that salvation is gained “by faith alone.”
Modern Protestantism was born with the protest against the sale by the Catholic Church of indulgences. These were official church documents forgiving sins in return for payment. The first protest came on October 13, 1517, in the form of a set of arguments published against the practice by the German priest Martin Luther*, in Wittenberg, Germany.
His movement soon split, and a variety of Protestant sects emerged in Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, Scotland, England and America, among them:- Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Calvinist, Shaker, Methodist and Quaker.
Protestantism’s success lay in the idea that the practice would offer individuals freedom and a personal relation with God.
ONELINER: Protestantism
OTHER CONNECTIONS: None
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Dunstan, Leslie. Prostestantism. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1961.
Bainton, Roland. The Church of our Fathers. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950.
Bainton, Roland. The Horizon History of Christianity. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1964.
Wikipedia:
Protestantism is a form of Christian faith and practice which originated with the Protestant Reformation,[a] a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church.[1] It is one of the three major divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism andEastern Orthodoxy.[2][3] Anglicanism is sometimes considered to be independent from Protestantism.[b] The term refers to the letter of protestation from Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical.[4]
With its origins in Germany, the modern movement is popularly considered to have begun in 1517 when Luther published The Ninety-Five Theses as a reaction against abuses in the sale of indulgences, which purported to offer remission of sin to their purchasers.[5] Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church — notably by Peter Waldo, Arnold of Brescia,[6] John Wycliffe, and Jan Hus — only Luther succeeded in sparking a wider, lasting movement.[7]
All the many Protestant denominations reject the notion of papal supremacy over the Church universal and generally deny the Roman Catholic doctrine oftransubstantiation, but they disagree among themselves regarding Christ's presence in the Eucharist.[8] The various denominations generally emphasize the priesthood of all believers, the doctrine of justification by faith alone (sola fide) rather than by or with good works, and a belief in the Bible alone (rather than with Catholic tradition) as the sole authority in matters of faith and morals (sola scriptura).[9] The "Five solae" summarize the reformers' basic differences in theological beliefs in opposition to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.[10]
Protestantism diffused on the European continent during the 16th century. Lutheranism spread from Germany into its surrounding areas,[c] Denmark,[d]Norway,[e] Sweden,[f] Prussia,[g] Latvia,[h] and Estonia,[i] as well as other smaller territories.[11] Reformed churches were founded primarily in Germany and its adjacent regions,[j] Hungary,[k] the Netherlands,[l] Scotland,[m] Switzerland,[n] and France[o] by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, andJohn Knox.[12] Arminianism gained supporters in the Netherlands and parts of Germany. In 1534, King Henry VIII put an end to all papal jurisdiction inEngland[x] after the Pope failed to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon;[13] this opened the door to reformational ideas, notably during the following reign of Edward VI, through Thomas Cranmer, Richard Hooker, and other theologians.[14][15] There were also reformational efforts throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation — a response to perceived corruption in both the Roman Catholic Church and the expanding Magisterial Reformation led by Luther and various other reformers — which gave rise to Anabaptist, Moravian, and other Pietistic movements.[16] In later centuries, Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, and other fields.[17]
Collectively encompassing more than 800 million adherents, or nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide, Protestantism is present on all populated continents.[3][18] The movement is more divided theologically and ecclesiastically than either Eastern Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism,[19] lacking both structural unity and central human authority.[19] Some Protestant churches do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership (notably, theAnglican Communion), while others are confined to a single country, or even are solitary church bodies or congregations (such as the former Prussian Union of churches).[19] Nondenominational, evangelical, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity.[20]
An exact number of Protestant denominations is difficult to calculate and depends on definition.[q] Nevertheless, most Protestants are members of just a handful of denominational families:Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches,[r] Lutheranism, Methodism, and Pentecostalism.[3]
United Kingdom before the Reformation[]
Main article: History of Christianity in Britain
Before Protestantism reached England, the Roman Catholic Church was the established state church. Wales and Ireland were also closely tied to Roman Catholicism, but Scotland had been dominated by many pagan religions that the Celts practiced.[2]
Early Reformation[]
In Catholic England, the only Bible available was written in Latin Vulgate, a translation of proper Latin considered holy by the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, only clergy had access to copies of the Bible. Countrymen were dependent on their local priests for the reading of scripture because they could not read the text for themselves. Some believe the Pope arranged this to hide truth from the common people.[3] Early in the Reformation, one of the fundamental disagreements between the Roman Church and Protestant leaders was over the distribution of the Bible in the people's common language.
John Wycliffe helped make the Bible available to all people, regardless of their wealth or social standing. Wycliffe translated the whole Bible into the English language because he believed that Englishmen needed to be familiar with the scriptures on their own terms in order to know Jesus Christ.[4]
In 1526, William Tyndale published the first complete Bible in print. This facilitated distribution at a lower cost, and soon the Bible was not only readable to English citizens, but also affordable for most people.[5] Once the common people had access to the Bible, many more joined the Protestant Church. The revolutionary growth in biblical reading was a notable event of the Reformation, and England was one of the first countries where this occurred. Soon, England's foundational convictions were changing, and new Protestant doctrines were emerging that challenged the Roman Catholic Church.
Leading reformers and philosophers of the time, such as Wycliffe, helped establish these doctrines by preaching to large groups of people. Wycliffe, among others, opposed the Catholic belief of transubstantiation. Some Catholics believe that when they participate in the Eucharist, the bread and wine transform into the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ when the priest prays over it. All Protestant leaders rejected this belief as false.[6]
Many Protestant leaders also disapproved of Catholic monasticism because they believed it was unnecessary for salvation and harmful to those who practiced it. The practice of penance and the belief that good works could balance the punishment of sin or lead to salvation were particularly common among the monks living in monasteries. Protestants rejected this doctrine, believing that good works alone could not allow one to enter heaven. Rather, Protestants rely on the doctrines of sola scriptura and sola fide.
Protestant influence on politicals[]
Monarchs[]
During the 16th and 17th centuries, nearly all the monarchs and resulting governments of Scotland, Ireland, and England were defined by either Catholicism or Protestantism.
Henry VIII was the first monarch to introduce a new state religion to the English. In 1532, he wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon. When Pope Clement VII refused to consent to the divorce, Henry VIII decided to separate the entire country of England from the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope had no more authority over the people of England. This parting of ways opened the door for Protestantism to enter the country.[7]
Henry VIII established the Church of England after his split with the Pope. However, England stayed much the same, even with the new state religion. Its doctrines and practices were, at first, very similar to those of the Catholic Church. The king did not establish the Church of England as a result of religious differences with Catholicism; his motives were mainly political, and he persecuted radical Protestants who threatened his church.[8]
Henry VIII's successor, Edward VI, supported the Reformation, but his belief in Protestantism was not only political. He was more devout in his faith, and persecution of Protestant subjects ceased.[2]
Under the next monarch, however, Protestants were persecuted once again. Queen Mary I was raised Catholic, and she saw it as her duty to purge the evil of Protestantism from her country.[8] During her reign, reformers of the church, such as Thomas Hawkes, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, Thomas Cranmer, and George Wishart, were executed for their faith. These executions did not destroy the Protestant movement. In fact, many joined the church when they saw how committed these martyrs were to their religion.[9]
The next monarch, Elizabeth I, was a Protestant. Under her rule, the Protestant Church flourished. Protestants now filled many leadership positions in government. With this new power, however, came the persecution of many Catholics.[2] Similarities between the Catholic and Protestant churches steadily decreased during this time.
The reign of King James I established a definite victory for Protestantism in England. The King James Bible introduced a new Protestant form of the Bible to church members throughout the country. This translation was in a language and dialect specific to the English people and to their Protestant religion. James I fulfilled the efforts of Protestant reformers who had been supporting the distribution of Bibles in common language for decades.[2]
Political events[]
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was largely influenced by the Protestant Reformation. While England struggled between Catholicism and Protestantism, Scotland was experiencing a significant impact from the Reformation and its ideas. A strong Presbyterian following had developed, but the Church of Scotland did not agree with King Charles I's expectations of the Protestant religion. Charles I threatened to change the Church of Scotland by turning to Ireland, which was a strong Catholic state.[2]
Oliver Cromwell, an Englishman born in Huntingdon, emerged victorious at the end of the Civil War. Once he gained control of England, Cromwell established a radical religious government. He organized the Assembly of Saints, a firm and strict sect of Protestantism that was very similar to Puritanism. The Assembly remained strong in England until the reign of Charles II, who ended many of the strict practices of Puritanism.
When Parliament passed the Act of Toleration of 1689, dissenters received freedom of worship within England. Catholics were not included in this act of Parliament, but members of other religions, most notably Protestantism, were officially protected from persecution based on their faith.[2]
Protestantism in other countries of the United Kingdom[]
Scotland[]
Scotland experienced a much deeper movement of Protestant reformation than any other nation in the UK. John Knox is credited with introducing the Reformation to Scotland. Knox sparked the Scottish Reformation in 1560 when he began preaching about Protestantism to large groups of people throughout the country.[10] Later on, Scotland became involved in the English Civil War when Charles I threatened the country's Presbyterian Church.[2]
Wales[]
Wales became a part of England when the Tudor dynasty conquered the nation.[11] The religious and political histories of Wales and England were closely tied during the reign of the Tudor monarchs, and the impact of the Reformation in both nations was similar. In 1588, William Morgan published the Welsh Bible. Welsh is the only non-state language in which the entire Bible was published during the Protestant Reformation.[12]For the most part, faithful Catholics made it more difficult for radical Protestantism to advance in the country. However, Protestants and non-conformists still compose the largest religious group in Wales.[12]
Northern Ireland[]
Although Northern Ireland is considered more Protestant than the Republic of Ireland, it has still retained more Catholicism than other nations in the United Kingdom. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the Church of Scotland have been closely tied in the past.[13]