Protestants: Why do some protestants dislike Catholicism so much?

Question

I know some of you are trained to attack the Catholic Church and Catholicism. Why? Why does it matter so much to you what the Catholic Church does and believes?

What I find shocking are the unabashedly belligerent, ignorant, and bigoted responses.
All over R&S are several answers, several times, to the issues raised in these answers, yet "these type" of protestants continue to operate as though they have not been told numerous times that they are mistaken about their stereotypes of Catholicism.
How many more times must you be told that Catholics do NOT worship Mary, do NOT practice idolatry, DO have biblical foundations for their beliefs, ARE Christians (the first Christians), do NOT practice witchcraft or paganism?
This is what I mean by being trained. You have been told what to pick out for criticism, but even after these points have been explained to you, you still pick them. You refuse to hear where Catholics are coming from and why their practices are biblically founded and in direct relation to what the very first Christians did.
(this is not intended as a response to ALL protestants)

Answer 1

Pastor Billy says: very simply Protestantism doesn't exist unless it rejects Catholicism. Protestantism started as a revolt of Catholic Christianity. Wait that isn't fully accurate, Protestantism started as a rejection of a caricature of Catholicism.

"there are not 100 people who hate the Catholic Church but there are millions who hate what they think it to be" Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Things are changing however and the hope of those Protestant communities which still have much in common with the first Church (Anglicans, Lutherans etc) coming home is promising. As for the other communities, conversion to the fullness of Christian faith will happen one person at a time as all the old lies on Catholicism fall away.

for the person claiming child abuse is the reason, take a look at this website on Protestant clergy. This is a societal problem not merely one of Catholicism, get educated.

http://www.reformation.com

Hey Pastor Fish you are shameful, you know fully well if you are a pastor that Catholicism views communion differently than you and it truly is what it is labelled a communion of common belief, you are not in unity with Catholicism or Catholic belief on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist so why would you receive communion. You were restricted from receiving it for your safety. Try reading Paul's letter to the Corinithians, 1Cor

Answer 2

I was raised in a Protestant Christian home and was taught that Catholicism focuses too much attention on honoring the Virgin Mary and the saints, and focuses too much on the rituals of the sacrament while not giving Christ the full glory and honor for his sacrifice.

Personally, however I consider the Catholic Church to be the most beautiful form of Christianity because it does not dogmatically praise Jesus as the sole purpose behind its belief. 1000 years ago, the Catholic Church was the center of Western Culture, and was responsible for the creation of some of the most beautiful art in the world. As a non-Christian, I can appreciate the art and beauty created by the Catholic Church and the (overall) positive impact it has had on the world. However, I find modern evangelical Christianity too empty and narrow-minded.

Evangelicals are too focused on converting others to their beliefs and on the "second coming of Christ." I shutter whenever I hear Christians preach about the rapture because it only shows me how little they care for making this world a better place. In the past century, however, the Catholic Church has done incredible work to promote peace and inter-faith understanding throughout the world.

That is why i love the Catholic Church, even though I do not follow it: because their focus is on THIS world, not some far away magical kingdom.

Answer 3

Because the Catholic Church is the condition for the possibility for the existence of Protestantism. Therefore, despite all Protestantism's protests, there is not way they can be anything but positioned by the reality of the Catholic Faith. This engenders resentment. Further, Protestantism is essentially dialectical in its theological epistemology and needs an opponent to explicate its system of convictions. Also, the continued existence of the Catholic Church casts doubts on the theological claims of Protestantism. Finally, the human propensity to use scapegoats as a means of understanding ambiguity and negotiating difference lends any social movement a sense of purpose and provides a bond to the collective identity of the group.

Answer 4

I know different ones believe different things. But I am concerned if any church teaches erroneously, be it Catholic or Protestant. I don't know much about the Catholic Church except what my cousins and aunt says. And they may not be totally correct either.
If some other way should be taught about the way to Heaven, other than through Christ, then I would speak out against that body, no matter who it was.

Answer 5

I'd like to know where you get your information from, the Vatican actually trains people to enter into Protestant Bible believing churches and throw dirt at the preachers, and compromise the churches so they bow the knee to Rome, - check it out with Jack Chick!
The Roman catholic church pretends to be Christian yet it encourages idol worship and prayers to the dead, - which is witchcraft! It teaches that God is a bit of wafer and does what the priest tells it to do! The god of the RCs comes in a box and the priests make people bow down to a bit of bread!!!
They worship mary and have processions where they carry ststues of her above the people, then everyone bows down to the statues - this is blatent IDOL WORSHIP!
The TRUE God of the Bible HATES what the RC church teaches as it is all based on LIES.
The RCs have just got rid os limbo, - what about the money making purgatory then does that exist? Only in the mionds of the Rc priests who make a killling every time someone wants a mass said and has to pay for it!!
The RCs teach heresy. You will only find salvation through the true word of God by the Gospels of Scripture, the Bible, read it - you will be amazed how many times the RCs do things they should NOT be doing and teaching.

Answer 6

Its all religions really. But most protestant groups formed because they disagreed with the catholic church. That is why they formed. And it goes both ways, you can't say that catholicism made it easy for anyone to disagree or coexist with them. And Islam, Judaism and christianity-catholicism all share similarities, and all hate each other, why do they care so much what the other believes. Everybody wants to be right and everyone wants to convert everybody else.

Think about it this way, as with most religious conflicts it has nothing to do with Spirituality it has to do with history.

Answer 7

I would say, mainly through fear or ignorance. Many fundamentalist Protestants view Catholic teachings as blasphemous or, through lack of understanding,accuse Catholics of idolatry. In the US, many Protestants see Catholics as being less than true Americans, i.e., Irish, Mexican, South American etc in other words, foreign. Others think the Pope rules Catholics lives and tells them who to vote for etc. (not true). To accuse the clergy of rampant paedophilia is just plain bigotry. Catholics are no more prone to this abomination than any other religion, just Catholics have got more bad publicity than others. Some people just fear the unknown, and if they took the truble to mix more they would find Catholics no different to any other human being.

Answer 8

It's history should be a clue. It's foundation is based on laws written by insane monks. The council of Nicea corrupted it even more, making the Bible into what they wanted it to be and cutting out the books that made things difficult for them. The Spanish Inquistion, the witch-hunts, the killing of innocents, killing because of "heresy", bringing on the Dark Ages, becoming too wealthy and powerful and a government on Earth which is against Jesus teachings, pedophilia, Mary worship, Idolatry, pagan rites and rituals infiltrated into their worship, their role in promoting the hating of Jews for being Christ-killers and their involvement in the Holocaust, imposing a celebate priesthood that is inhumane and leads to many crimes against humanity, denying assistance to poor people who do not enter their fold...I can go on...

Their belief of miracles, their praying to saints, performing exorcisms while stating that the church is against it, many churches have bits of body parts of saints that they worship (bones, fingers, blood, hair, and in some case whole corpses), they encouraged the creation of fraudulent religious relics for profit, i.e. the Shroud of Turin....

Answer 9

Well, I don't think anyone's really trained to attack Catholicism. However, as we are all Christians, we are reflections on each other. That being said, one of my main disagreements are how Catholics seem to hold the Pope higher than God. As far as I'm concerned, the bible is unchangeable. The Pope though, can speak for God? As far as I understand it, what he says is scripture. Also, I don't need to confess to anyone but Jesus Christ himself. I don't need a mere human to tell me that my sins are forgiven.

Answer 10

some protestants,your correct there. henry viii declared himself the head of the church of england for one reason only, his marriage to catherine of aragon could not be dissolved. he sent his friend to the tower sir thomas more, now, saint. and beheaded him. what followed was the dissoultion ot the monasterys, all had to take the OATH OF SUPREMECY, acknowledging henry to be head of the church, those who refused were either imprisoned, executed,or had their property confiscated. all because he lusted after ANN BOLEYN. she didnt last too long. as for protestants disliking the catholic church? their dislike is irrelevant to me as a catholic i can easily pray in my own church as in a protestant church. in either i find myself close to christ the king, and god his father. we will all face him one day...........protestant, or catholic, jew or muslim, believers or non/believers