What does the term "Protestant" mean whenever you talk to a Catholic?

Question

Why do Catholics refer to anyone else apart from the Roman Catholic church a protestant? Is that a religion? or a term to an "outsider"?

Answer 1

Protestants are basically catholics who broke off with the Roman Catholic church. They are similar with Catholics except that they don't have idols (statues and images) except for a cross (crucifix) without the human image attached. Oh and Protestants don't hear confessions....you confess directly to God.

Answer 2

--Is Catholic--

Catholics understand Protestants to be any Christian group that descended from the heretical groups that broke away from the Western Church during the Protestant "Revolt" of the 16th century.

The term Protestant comes out of Germany. There was a local council "The Diet of Speyer" 1529 where it was agreed upon that all matters, in terms of doctrine and local church structure, should be put on hold until an Ecumenical Council could be convened and the world wide Church could deal with the issue that Luther et. al had raised. The Lutheran groups (6 princes and 14 cities) who were a minority in Germany protested against this decree and that is where the name Protestant came from. When the Ecumenical Council was eventually held, one in which the Protestants pushed greatly for in the beginning, the Protestant groups, though invited, refused to attend.

The term Protestant, in its modern sense, whose core belief system descends from the fluctuations of the 15th century, yet hold onto some semblance of Trinitarian theology. Here is a great breakdown of Protestantism
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12495a.htm http://www.creeds.net holds a good references for specific beliefs for various groups.

This term does not cover those non Trinitarian groups (Mormons, JW, Oneness Pentecostals) that descended from Protestantism because those groups are not Christian.

This term does not cover non-Protestant groups that broke from the Western Church such as the "Old Catholics", Jansenists, SSPXers.

This term, in no way, covers any group that broke from the Church (both Western and Eastern) before the 16th century, nor any Eastern Group that broke from the Church since the 16th century.

In addition, there is a scholarly debate as to whether or not the global Charismatic Pentecostal movement (particularly what is transpiring in Africa) might be a completely new category due to its utter absence of doctrine and complete ahistorical nature.


NOTE: Catholics are taught NOT TO CALL MODERN PROTESTANTS HERETICS as a general blanket statement about individual people. Certainly Protestant denominations formaly contain heretical beliefs and hence a great many Protestants believe that false things are true things, but there is a difference between material and formal heresy, the latter is held without knowledge and formal condemnation, while the later is held with knowledge and formal condemnation.

Answer 3

When I tell Catholic that I am Protestant when I'm in a religious discussion group, the end mostly turns bad if you are talking to a fundalmentalist Catholic. They'll probably call you a heretic. However, most catholics are nice and will respect you for believeing in Martin Luther's Refomation. Protestant refers to people who split from the Roman Catholic Church after the Reformation. By the way, the Catholic Church is pretty corrupt. We already got 2 Nazi Popes.

Answer 4

A Protestant is one who protests - think "protest" -ant. Back when the Middle Ages were winding down men like Martin Luther began to see that some of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church were not true to the scriptures. There was a good deal of corruption in the RCC since it was so powerful. These men "protested" the teachings and many lost their lives for doing so. Luther posted his his list of 95 grievances against the RCC on Oct. 31, 1517. He was Catholic at the time and now is recognized as the founder of the Lutheran church.
At that time in history if you were a Christian as opposed to Muslim, Jew, heathen, etc. you were a Catholic. There were no denominations like we have today: Baptist, Methodist, etc. So Christians fell into 2 broad categories - Catholic or Protestant.

Answer 5

It's a Religion. It's a sect of Christianity that broke from Catholicism. The King of England made the first Protestant Church because Catholics were too strict. Then Protestants became Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Calvinists, Pentecostals, etc. because typical Protestantism was too harsh or lax depending on viewpoint. Catholics tend to call all these Protestant, because they aren't the original Church and therefore, just about the same.

Answer 6

A protestant is a member of any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth; broadly : a Christian not of a Catholic or Eastern church

Answer 7

It is a branch of Christianity that includes many different denominations. It can mean Christian but not Catholic, though there are some groups that consider themselves Christian and are neither Protestant nor Catholic. Some of the Protestant denominations are Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran. There are others, too.

Answer 8

Traitor probaby... name for any group/denomination that split from the RC cult... There have always been those who never bowed to the RCs so are not from those who split from The RCs.

A true Baptist, among others, would not be a protestant...though society has lumped all who are not Rc into the Protestant soup mix... I am not Protestant and am in direct oposition to RC doctrin and dogma.


RCs are not of The Christian Faith

Answer 9

Actually Catholics refer to anyone else apart from their church as a "heretic." They also feel that "heretics" should be punished and forced to comply with their religion. Want sources? Contact me.

Answer 10

what are you talking about. I am Catholic, and we dont call EVERYONE else as a protestant.