Why do so many Protestant Christians dislike or even hate Catholics and the Catholic church?

Question

Most Cathlics just want to be accepted as fellow Christians. We do not put Mary above God or whatever other strange rumors you have heard. When it boils down to it we believe in the same God, his Son Jesus who died for our sins and rose from the dead and the Holy Spirit to complete the Holy Trinity. God still forgives our sins just like He does yours and we will all be in Paradise together as God's children not as "Protestants" or "Christians" and "Crazies" or "Cult members." Next time you are thinking about insulting the Catholics be sure you aren't talking to one. Maybe you could reach out and say "I accept you as a fellow Christian, my brother."

Answer 1

POLITICS.
Politics and religion go together. Since protestantism began in the XV, XVI centuries, many kings became the head of their own church. That way they had ALL the power in their hands.
Eventually, it became "the other religion " the symbol of an enemy, but rather because of political reasons disguised as religious ones. Belonging to "the other religion" meant that you were an enemy

Answer 2

I'm a catholic going to a protestant church and I believe among the persons right here would not have a lot appreciate for different religions. I do not care in the event that they believe their faith is right considering that they comply with it however they should not arise for your face and say you are flawed WITH the WRONG tips. One man got here as much as me and stated that the catholics believe Mary is GOD! But the intent of that is that the academics coach matters that good I believe don't seem to be that right. They believe it is humorous making jokes approximately different religions however each unmarried child who listens will believe that is real. So of path from early youth they have been taught that every person else was once flawed, in order that they hate catholics or no less than attempt to right you.

Answer 3

I certainly do not hate Catholics! My Mother is one and I was one for 31 years.
The coming of the Holy Spirit happened for me soon after I joined a Protestant Church. The preaching was much more applicable to my life, the prayers were spontaneous, and people actually talked to each other and have a community of caring and support. That all worked to change my heart and see God in new ways, that I had not as a Catholic.
The primary differences I see is that Protestants are encouraged to know and read the Bible, ( In Catholicism that is the Priest's job ), and in the Catholic church there is emphasis on what "the church" says or teaches, rather than the Bible or other Spirit-filled direction. While there is more agreement than difference between Catholics and Protestants,the Catholic "Church" has added so many things that are not scriptural such as praying to Mary and the Saints (the Bible says all believers are saints), having to confess your sins to a Priest, so many rituals, canned prayers, etc. that are not small issues.
Do I believe Catholics are saved and will go to heaven? Yes, those that are born again of the Spirit as the Bible says. And, obviously, there are many.
But there are certainly many practices that are ancient church practices that continue that are of man. I guess that is what Martin Luther expressed

Answer 4

I think this is primarily the case with the fundies and evangelicals more than the mainline denominations. It has to do at its base with the notion that those within are the chosen and those without are the damned. Notice how many protestant denominations there are? They can't agree on who is and isn't right or going to hell etc. But most protestants can all agree that Mary is biblically insignificant and that praying to the dead is necromancy which the old testament says merits the death penalty. Most protestants can also agree that idolatry is on vivid display in most every cathedral, and that notions such as holy water and amulets is simply the Catholic version of magic and also not biblical.

Underneath it all, there is an attraction to feeling oneself approved of God and looking down on others as heretics. It's particularly hilarious given the notion of unmerited grace, but most Christians couldn't even give you a theological definition of grace. They simply know "those people over there aren't right with God like us people over here." This is why you see these religious feelings expressed more as hatred and loathing for the heterodox as opposed to sincere concern for their errors. It's really bigotry and xeonophobia, i.e. small people wanting to feel important while at the same time scared to death that contact with the infidel will pollute them somehow.

Answer 5

Excellent responses.

I grew up Protestant and am now an Independent Catholic priest. In my experience the majority of Protestants do not dislike or hate their Catholic brothers and sisters. There is a degree of uncertainty which comes from memories of past actions on behalf of both the Catholic Church and those associated with the birth of the Protestant Churches.

There is also the idea outside the Catholic Church that the Church still clings to the idea of "no salvation outside the (Catholic) Church." This was addressed at Vatican II, however, is still a concern today, especially amongst young people.

All who acknowledge and accept Jesus' teachings are Christian and part of the Universal Church. We need not all believe or express ourselves the same to share in our history, traditions, and salvation offered through our Lord and Savior.

Peace be with you,
Michael

Answer 6

Some Protestants forget the Golden Rule. They also hate Jews, homosexuals, and anyone who disagrees with them. Look up Jack Chick for a perfect example.


They don't like feeling that they are heretics, probably. They can't admit that they are the outsiders, that Catholics were first, and that they diverged from the Church that began with Peter.


Let me clarify a few points:
So because Catholicism doesn't have mandated Bible study classes, they must be encouraging ignorance of the Bible?

Catholics do no pray to the dead. We pray for the dead.

When mentioning saints, it is important to realize that Catholics do not worship them. I'll give you a metaphor. If you have ever gotten seriously ill or injured, you probably went to the hospital. And what you probably asked your close friends and family to do is pray for your health. It is the same thing.

We allow our priests to rape children? That happens across the board, and some Protestant ministers are likely guilty of it too. In fact, rates of pedophilia and such are much lower among priests that the average population. However, Catholics began learning about it the same time everyone else did: when it was on the news. And it was blown way out of proportion by the media.

Catholics do not worship the Pope. He is akin to the eldest priest. Catholics listening to him is the same as you believeing everything that your pastor or reverend or whatever tells you.

So becasue the Catholic Church didn't teach everyone in the world to read, they were trying to keep the Bible secret?

Answer 7

I went to two Protestant churches when I was a teenager, the 1st for 18 months, and the 2nd for 6 months. After that, I returned to Catholicism.

In the 2nd church, people didn't really dwell on Catholics. They were a bunch of good, positive people, and they didn't bother spreading hatred and lies about Catholics. However, in the 1st church, seems that EVERYONE had an anti-Catholic agenda. In that I ever heard Pastor Alex Montoya preach, he always had lots of mean, snide remarks against the Catholic Church. If you don't ever wanna hear that kind of trash, then don't ever go to First Fundamental Bible Church in Monterey Park, CA, Montoya is still preaching. This was 20 yrs ago, he may have already retired.

(Fundamental... big hint, lol!!!)

Almost everyone there was an ex-Catholic and Hispanic, including Montoya. I say Hipsanic to paint a picture, because Catholicism is bone-deep in Hisp culture. They seemed to have nothing better to do than to talk about how evil Catholicism is, how evil the Pope is, how stupid it is to say formal prayer, how sacriligious it is to light candles and pray to saints, etc. Montoya would also LIE about Catholics, said they worship Mary, said they worship statues, said they have no idea why Christ came, etc. I ate it up.

After attending a Catholic wedding, I returned to Catholicism. Upon entering the church for the wedding, I was stiff, stubborn, and nervous. "I can't believe I've stepped into THIS place again!" However, during the nuptial Mass, especially during the homily, I realized that Montoya, and all the other anti-Catholic freaks LIED!!!!! They LIED about the Catholic Church! Yes, Catholics know why Jesus came, yes they pray to Him, no they don't worship Mary, and no they don't worship statues. I felt ANGRY, so so angry. I was LIED to by a church!!! Shortly after that, I entered the RCIA. Three years later, I became a full member of the Church by receiving Communion and Confirmation. To hell with the liars! I also joined the choir, YAM (Young Adult Ministry), and became a Eucharistic Minister. I was able to give blessings, so when my grandma couldn't go to church, I blessed her.

From then on, I was sooooo angry with Protestantism. I hated Protestantism for years, and even today, it still irkes me. Not as much as it did before, but it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

I can say from experience that some Protestants hate Catholicism because they Catholicism. Pure and simple. If they did know it, some might even convert. While in the RCIA, one person was converting who was Protestant all of his life. Come to think of it, several were.

Ignorance is the answer. Ignorance is not an insult, and in this case it's the answer to your question as to "Why?"

Answer 8

I love being catholic, I love my faith and I know why we believe what we believed. I know that Protestants love Jesus and have so much faith in Him. It is really sad that as Christians we are very divided. I mean there is so much division among us. I just recently found out that there are 40,000+ Christian denominations, all of them who claim are the true church/path to salvation. I'm not even sure if that number includes non-denominational Christian churches. It looks like to me that there are many wolves dressed in sheep's clothing, people starting their own churches, creating more, more and more division. Keep in mind that even the devil quoted scripture to Jesus. Not everyone that speaks about the bible knows how to translate it. Many Christians believe that they can translate it with the help of the holy spirit, but if that is the case, why is the holy spirit sending out so many mixed messages? Again 40,000+! There is something wrong with this approach to reading the bible. It is clear that these churches are founded on differing opinions and emotions. We certainly do need a prepared individual to bring us Gods message as clearly as possible, someone who knows the bible, the prophecies, the stories, the letters, the history behind it, tradition, theology, someone who devotes their whole being to spreading Gods word, someone like a Catholic priest. Yes I said it. Hopefully I didn't offend anyone. But lets be real here, these guys prepare for the priesthood like no other religious leader. I'm not saying they're saints but they really prepare themselves for the difficult role of spreading God's message, in their scripture studies and actions. Actions such as leaving their families, states, and even countries! to go visiting the sick in the hospitals, the imprisoned, counsel people, celebrate mass everyday and ultimately spreading the word of God. What other religious leader leaves everything behind to follow God?

This video reminds me of how other denominations try to create division among the Catholic faith. Instead of focusing on why do Catholics do this? why do Catholics do that? Ask yourself why don't we celebrate mass? Why don't we celebrate the Holy Eucharist? Why do we put off baptism even after we have proclaimed that Jesus is our Lord and Savior? Doesn't your new Christian life begin the moment you accept Christ? What is the significance of baptism?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBQUHRL_eC8

If you have any questions about Catholicism I highly recommend visiting www.catholic.com. I'm sure that every Christian can agree that 40,000+ Christian denominations is ridiculous.

Answer 9

Although I am Protestant, most of my friends are Catholic. And I respect them as Christian brothers and sisters, even though some of my Protestant friends and family do not. I don't understand the people who say Catholics aren't Christian, because as you say, all the important beliefs are the same. And we should live together as children of God, without the petty centuries-old arguments.

Answer 10

They were brainwashed against the catholic church. And lots and lots of lies were created about the catholic church by their ministers and founders (Read Protestant Reformation). For those who were ignorant and won't verify, then they also buy that propaganda against the Catholic Church, especially if these people were living a kind of life which the catholic church forbids a person to live. They then destroy the Catholic Church. Better read history and trace the roots of these non-Catholic churches. They were actually rebels against the established Catholic Church.

Answer 11

Well it's good to see that so many of the Protestants do bond with Catholics in brotherhood.

Certainly, Martin Luther and John Calvin did have strong enough disliking's of the Pope enough to separate from the Catholics Church; in turn receiving Ex-Communication. However, I witnessed much of the healing John Paul II did to bring back brotherhood for all Christan's (Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Baptists). The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" does strongly show desire to unite the Church again.

From what I understand to be the major separating factor is the authority of the Pope. Dunno, but I do wish to unite with John Paul II's hope to repair this riff.