What are the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants?

Question

I am not a Christian but recent unrest in Ireland made me curious enough to ask this. Ok forget abt what's happening in Ireland and pls focus on my Question. I would appreciate if you could provide me some websites from both parties or the ones which point out differences in table form.

Answer 1

+ Similarities +

"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)

Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.

Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):

By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.

There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.

A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

+ Northern Ireland +

The issue in Northern Ireland is political not religious. The media, who is always looking for short cuts and not the whole story, calls the participants Catholics and Protestants.

The conflict is about whether the British territory (probably the wrong word) of Northern Ireland should remain British or should become part of Ireland.

The majority of people in Ireland are Catholics. The majority of people in England and Northern Ireland are Protestants. There are actually Catholics and Protestants on either side.

The terrorists on either side of the issue are not Christian in any sense of the word.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Actually the original King James Version included all 73 inspired books, just as they were defined once and for all time by the bishops of the Catholic Church at the Council of Carthage in 397 AD. It was the decision of Martin Luther to remove 10 of the inspired books from the Holy Bible - 3 New Testament books and 7 Old Testament books. Fortunately his followers would not hear of removing the writings of the Apostles themselves, and were close to a revolt over the issue. So Luther backed off and left the New Testament intact, but still removed the 7 Old Testament texts. This is why the Protestant Bible is incomplete, having only 66 books instead of the full 73. And if Luther had his way, Protestants would have only 63 books. The Catholic Church still uses the full and complete Holy Bible, as it was originally defined, and as it was used by every Christian on earth for 1,200 years between the time it was compiled and the time Luther removed parts he didn't like. Other than these 7 missing books, the only differences between the original version and the Protestant version are a few words Luther inserted into the text here and there, in an effort to support some of his new doctrines. For example, in places where the text states that faith is required for salvation (a true statement), Luther inserted the word "alone", in effect rewriting the text to say that "faith alone" is required for salvation (an untrue statement that directly contradicts other statements in the Word of God).

Answer 3

The term "Protestant" can be tricky-who do you mean. I would think a Protestant would be -Anglican, Church of England, Episcopal, and possibly in a far stretch Methodist -or Lutheran, churches of that type. In that case they would be similar with few exceptions.
Then, there are Baptist, Amish, Mennonite, Presbyterian (maybe), Pentecostal and some Independents. There are not Catholic in any way, neither are they Protestant.

The one major difference is that Catholics have a pope, and Protestants have a queen, or in some cases a chancellor.

Answer 4

nothing any more. they have all united in what is known as, the world "council of ecumenical churches. it was formed in 1948. this united roman catholicism and all the protestant denomianations together in a great big religious cess pool that they think fulfills christ's words, let them be one father as you and I are one. which is a lie.
that prayer will manifest when the individual believer becomes one with God as christ and God are one(which won't be many), not a bunch of churches uniting together.
this just fulfills the prophecy of the image of the beast. the beast is the head of rome-the pope that sits in that rotten religious structure called the vatican formed at a council in 325 ad known as the nicene council.
the image of the beast was founded at a council(world council of ecumenical churches in 1948) with another rotten religious structure known as the vatican 2 in new york city. the pope is the head of that too.

i would recommend getting all 1182 of bro. branham's cd's at www.dayofthevoice.com for only $15 or you may read them online at www.branham.org. also www.leevayle.net has a few good series to listen to: godhead, rapture, presence, and paradox. www.messagedoctrine.com is interesting too.

www.biblelight.net documents very well the title of the pope,"vicarivs filii dei." which is written in roman numerals and adds up to 666.

Answer 5

I'm a Catholic now, but I was a Protestant (a United Methodist) when I was first a Christian ... so I can tell you quite a bit about the 'difference' between a Catholic and a Protestant.
If you are a Catholic, you should 'believe in' certain things ... you believe that God is the only 'one' who can make the decision of 'life or death' for a person (including the person, although now 'suicide' is not a 'sin' because it is assumed that the person who commits suicide was 'psychologically impaired' and unable to tell the difference between 'right and wrong' in their decision to take their own life). You believe in the 'Eucharist' being 'the true body and true blood' of Jesus Christ (even if it is also just 'bread and wine'), and you believe that to 'take Communion' is a PRIVILEGE to be EARNED through 'baptism' and 'confirmation' and is something that is to be taken ONLY IN COMMUNION with others of 'the same faith' (which includes most Episcopalians, who are 'more Catholic' than they are Protestant) in a 'church setting.' A Catholic believes in Jesus Christ as the SON OF GOD and also as a HUMAN in the 'same body at the same time' ... The 'BIGGEST THING' about any Catholics (including Episcopalians) is 'apostolic procession' ... we believe that all priests can 'trace their ordination' back through the 'bishops and archbishops' who ordained them to the real Apostles ... the men Jesus 'named' as the Apostles at the Last Supper. After these 'very basic' beliefs, there are really many 'different kinds' of Catholics ... some are Marians (they pray to Mary to intercede with Christ for them) and Jesuits (they pray directly to Jesus) and there are those who 'follow' the teachings of other 'church fathers' ... Benedictines follow St. Benedict, etc.
Protestants don't believe in 'Apostolic procession.' A 'minister' must be 'ordained' in most of the Protestant churches, but only by 'another minister' who may or may not be able to trace his own ordination back to the Apostles. SOME 'ministers' don't even 'need to be ordained' in a ceremony ...
The 'beliefs' are as 'different' as the NAMES of the various Protestant Churches ... Baptists believe in ADULT baptism by water, but there are other Protestant churches that believe that 'all that is necessary' is to 'turn your life over to Christ' and even THAT is 'different' according to each 'type' of Protestant church. I could give you a 'tree' of different churches and how 'close' or far' they are to the Catholic 'way of doing things' but I don't think that you are asking about that. May I make a 'suggestion' to you? Try going to a 'different church' every week for one year ... and you should include in that going to the nearest 'Cathedral' in both the Catholic and the Episcopalian churches, as well as a 'regular church' in both of those 'denominations' as well as going to as many DIFFERENT Protestant churches as you can. ASK QUESTIONS about each from someone who has gone to that church for 'a long time' ... but don't 'commit yourself' to ANY RELIGION until your year of 'exploring the many different paths to God' ... and if you have the time, you should also 'investigate' the OTHER RELIGIONS ... from Islam (Muslims) to Judaism (Jewish) to Buddhist, Hindu, Vedantist, etc. Make as 'wise a decision' as you can when 'the time is right' for you (you'll KNOW when it 'feels right' and that will be a much 'fuller knowledge' after you've done some research) ... or DON'T JOIN A CHURCH AT ALL. I'm a Catholic, but I BELIEVE that God is 'more loving and more forgiving' than anyone on Earth could ever be, and I expect to 'see you in Heaven' even if you decide to become an 'Atheist' (one who does not even believe in a god of any kind) ... as long as you are a 'good person' ... and THAT I'll leave up to God to 'tell you how to do' (whether you are 'listening' to Him or not) ...

Answer 6

Mary and the saints show no real importance in the Protestant movement. And Protestants have no pope.

Answer 7

Catholics put a lot more emphasis on symbolism, liturgy etc. Protestantism is a bit more austere.

Answer 8

The difference is who they write the checks to

Answer 9

Catholics are much more strict

Answer 10

The Protestant Churches teach Scripture, with no traditions added to it.
The Bible teaches that Scripture alone is the supreme and infallible authority for the church and the individual believer. This is not to say that creeds and tradition are unimportant, but the Bible alone is our final authority. Creeds and tradition are man made.
Jesus said, "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). He said "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matthew 5:18). He said, "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the law" (Luke 16:17).
Jesus used Scripture as the final court of appeal in every matter under dispute. He said to some Pharisees, "You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down" (Mark 7:13). To the Sadducee's He said, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God". (Mat 22:29). To the devil, Jesus consistently responded, "It is written..." (Mat 4:4-10). So following Jesus' lead, the Scriptures alone are our supreme and final authority.
The Protestants broke from the Catholic church because they did not agree with the traditions that were being held as the authority, rather than God's word the Bible.



Dr. Boettner then gives us "Some Roman Catholic Heresies And Inventions" and the dates that these alleged "Apostolic" traditions were added to Roman Catholic theology &endash;
* Prayers for the dead, began about A.D. 300
* Making the sign of the cross 300
* Veneration of angels and dead saints, and use of images 375
* The Mass, as a daily celebration 394
* Beginning of the exaltation of Mary, the term "Mother of God" first applied to her by the Council of Ephesus 431
* Priests began to dress differently from laymen 500
* Extreme Unction 526
* The doctrine of Purgatory, established by Gregory I 593
* Latin used in prayer and worship, imposed by Gregory I 600
* Prayer directed to Mary, dead saints and angels, about 600
* Title of pope, or universal bishop, given to Boniface III 607
* Kissing the pope's foot, began with pope Constantine 709
* Worship of the cross, images and relics, authorized in 786
* Holy water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by a priest 850
* Canonization of dead saints, first by pope John XV 995
* The Mass, developed gradually as a sacrifice, attendance made obligatory in the 11th century
* Celibacy of the priesthood, decreed by pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) 1079
* The Rosary, mechanical praying with beads, invented by Peter the Hermit 1090
* Sale of Indulgences 1190
* Transubstantiation, proclaimed by pope Innocent III 1215
* Auricular Confession of sins to a priest instead of to
God, instituted by pope Innocent III, in Lateran Council 1215
* Bible forbidden to laymen, placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Council of Valencia 1229
* Purgatory proclaimed a dogma by Council of Florence 1439
* The doctrine of Seven Sacraments affirmed 1439
* Tradition declared of equal authority with the Bible by the Council of Trent 1545
* Apocryphal books added to the Bible by the Council of Trent 1546
* Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, proclaimed by pope Pius IX 1854
* Syllabus of Errors, proclaimed by pope Pitts IX, and ratified by the Vatican Council; condemned freedom of religion,conscience, speech, press, and scientific discoveries which are disapproved by the Roman Church; asserted the pope's temporal authority over all civil rulers 1864
* Infallibility of the pope in matters of faith and morals, proclaimed by the Vatican Council 1870
* Public Schools condemned by pope Pius XI 1930
* Assumption of the Virgin Mary (bodily ascension into heaven shortly after her death), proclaimed by pope Pius XII 1950
* Mary proclaimed Mother of the Church, by pope Paul VI 1965

And then Dr. Boettner concludes:
Add to these many others: monks - nuns -monasteries - convents - forty days Lent - holy week - Palm Sunday - Ash Wednesday - All Saints day - Candlemas day - fish day - meat days - incense - holy oil - holy palms - Christopher medals - charms - novenas - and still others.
There you have it - the melancholy evidence of Rome's steadily increasing departure from the simplicity of the Gospel, a departure so radical and far-reaching at the present time (1965) that it has produced a drastically anti-evangelical church. It is clear beyond possibility of doubt that the Roman Catholic religion as now practiced is the outgrowth of centuries of error. Human inventions have been substituted for Bible truth and practice. Intolerance and arrogance have replaced the love and kindness and tolerance that were the distinguishing qualities of the first century Christians, so that now in Roman Catholic countries Protestants and others who are sincere believers in Christ but who do not acknowledge the authority of the pope are subject to all kinds of restrictions and in some cases even forbidden to practice their religion. The distinctive attitude of the present day Roman Church was fixed largely by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), with its more than 100 anathemas or curses pronounced against all who then or in the future would dare to differ with its decisions.