Protestantism

• Formation: Early sixteenth century and later
• Founders: Martin Luther (Lutheranism); John Calvin (reformed churches); John Knox (Presbyterianism); Henry VIII (Anglicanism); John and Charles Wesley (Methodism); others

Protestantism is the umbrella term for the various Christian denominations that can trace their roots to the Protestant Reformation, the movement to break away from the Roman Catholic Church in the early sixteenth century. The term Protestant was first used in 1529, in a dispute between Charles V, the Catholic Holy Roman emperor, and German princes who had adopted the Lutheran faith. They were called "Protestants" because they protested an imperial decree that would prevent Lutheran teaching in the empire. Eventually, the term was applied to all the churches that emerged in the Reformation or later broke from them.

Each Protestant church has its own leadership structure and seminaries to train ministers. These are sometimes national in focus, but the various national churches can join together in an international grouping. An example is the Anglican Communion, the collection of Anglican and Episcopal churches found in more than 165 countries. Some Protestant churches take part in ecumenical movements that promote the fellowship of all Christians. The World Council of Churches, for example, includes scores of Protestant churches in its over 350 member institutions. These international bodies differ in impact on member churches. The Anglican Communion can set policy for the entire Anglican community. The World Council of Churches does not have such authority.

History

The Reformation began in Germany in 1517, when Martin Luther, a Catholic monk and university professor, charged the Catholic Church with errors of doctrine and practice. Pope Leo X declared Luther’s ideas to be heresy; Luther burned the papal order and wrote books detailing his ideas. They emphasized that the doctrine must be based on the Bible only and that humans gained salvation through the grace of God, not their own actions. Luther’s ideas spread, giving birth to the Lutheran Church.

Other reformers emerged as well. John Calvin, a French law professor who embraced the reform movement, fled France for his safety and settled in Switzerland, where he published Institutes of the Christian Religion, which differed from Luther in some areas. Calvin advanced the idea of the "elect," that those who were to be saved were chosen by God. Calvin’s ideas were adopted by the Huguenots in France, the Dutch reform churches, and the Presbyterian church of Scotland.

One Protestant church emerged on less doctrinal grounds. King Henry VIII of England had opposed the Reformation but changed his views. When his wife, Catherine of Aragon, failed to produce a male heir, Henry appealed to the pope in 1527 for a divorce so that he could remarry. The pope, then Clement VII, did not wish to anger either the king or Charles V—Catherine’s nephew—and took no action for several years. Finally, Henry convinced the English Parliament to pass laws establishing the independent Church of England, with him as its head. In this way, he got his divorce and was able to remarry, and the Anglican Church was born. It later gave birth to various Episcopal churches in other lands.

Other Protestant denominations emerged over time. The Congregational church of the United States developed from the Puritan movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that tried to strip any hint of Catholic traditions from the Church of England. The Baptist movement of the seventeenth century and the Methodist movement of the eighteenth both began as Anglican reform movements as well. Protestantism has also been affected over the years by movements of religious revival that emphasize a personal feeling of salvation. Additionally, social movements, such as abolitionism and marriage equality, have contributed to Protestant churches breaking with their denomination to form new groupings. Moreover, there are many nondenominational, largely evangelical Protestant churches, particularly in the United States.

Beliefs and Practices

Protestants have a wide diversity of beliefs and practices, making it difficult to generalize about them. Protestantism includes national churches like the Lutheran Church of Denmark or Church of Sweden and fairly independent institutions like Pentecostal churches. It includes denominations that worship with great ritual, such as the Church of England, and evangelical churches that emphasize simpler forms of worship and an emotional experience of piety and spirituality. It encompasses a range of views, from fundamentalist churches that believe in the literal truth of every word in the Bible to more modernist, or liberal, churches that accept marriage between couples of the same sex.

Despite these differences, the Protestant churches do have some common ground. Most accept two creeds, or statements of Christian faith. One is the Apostles’ Creed, which achieved its final form in the early seventh century and is also accepted by the Roman Catholic Church, though not the Eastern rite churches. This creed accepts the Trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit), the virgin birth, the idea that Jesus will return and make a final judgment of all humans, and that those who gain salvation will experience a resurrection of the body. The Nicene Creed, the second of these creeds, was adopted by the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century and is accepted by Catholic and Orthodox churches as well. It deals with the nature of Jesus and proclaims him to be "one in Being with [God] the Father," not created by God. Many Protestant churches also adhere to the Athanasian, a much-longer statement of faith that is also accepted by Catholics.

Protestants generally view salvation as a gift of God, rather than the result of good works. They generally rely strongly on the Bible as the source of doctrine. Each denomination is generally self-organized and is led by individuals who are chosen by its adherents or their chosen representatives. Generally, Protestant churches accept only baptism and communion as sacraments, though some also include some kind of penance for sins. (The Catholic and Orthodox faiths accept seven sacraments.)

There is great variety within these broad similarities, however. For instance, the Baptist churches and some other denominations practice baptism by immersion, and some churches believe only adults should be baptized. Other Protestant churches have infant baptism and simply sprinkle water on the head of the individual being baptized. Adventists and some other evangelical churches believe that the Second Coming of Jesus will occur soon. Some fundamentalists believe in an event called "the Rapture," which will take place when the Second Coming occurs and in which all humans will be taken to heaven to be judged. Unitarians reject the teaching of the Trinity, arguing that it has no scriptural basis. Quakers and Mennonites are pacifists; other denominations do not make pacifism part of doctrine.

Bibliography

Balmer, Randall, and Lauren F. Winner. Protestantism in America. Columbia UP, 2005.

Bouyer, Louis. The Word, Church, and Sacraments: In Protestantism and Catholicism. Ignatius, 2004.

Jones, Robert P., and Daniel Cox. America's Changing Religious Identity: Findings from the 2016 American Values Atlas. Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), Sept. 2017, www.prri.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/PRRI-Religion-Report.pdf. Accessed 30 Jan. 2019.

McGrath, Alister. Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution. HarperOne, 2008.

Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Checkmark, 2008.

Noll, Mark A. Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 2011.

Ortlund, Gavin. What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church. Zondervan Reflective, 2024.