I was raised Catholic. Can you tell me?

Question

The differences between Protestant and Catholic religions? Or just more about the Protenstant religion, what it's based on or some quick information on the religion?

Answer 1

The main difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is that Protestants don't have a Pope, and don't believe that the Pope is God's sole representative on Earth. Most Protestant denominations don't have confession. Many do not believe in infant baptism.

Other than that, Protestantism is wide open. There are some denominations that are highly ritualistic, and others that have absolutely no ritual at all. Some are very legalistic, while others have no rules other than confessing that Jesus died for our sins. There are some that don't believe in the Trinity.

It's hard to describe the Protestant religion because there are so many different denominations with different creeds.

Edit: Most of the previous answerers are Catholic, and I am Protestant. I have to rebut some of their answers. First of all, nobody is saved by claiming they believe in Jesus as the Son of God. They have to believe it. Second, Pentecostals don't handle snakes and drink poison. Third, you are saved by faith, not by works. Works is evidence of faith. So if somebody made a profession of faith and went out the next day and raped and killed a bunch of kids, his works would show he wasn't saved.

Answer 2

There's is so much dis-information in this section I don't know where to start. First of all, let's be clear that these are not different "religions" but different expressions of Christianity. There are Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox believers who love the Lord Jesus and follow Him in faith and obedience. Most Protestants, at least those who acknowledge the authority of the Bible and who know their history, adhere to the most ancient creeds that define the basics of the Chrsitian faith. I'm speaking of the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed. Both Protestants and Catholics (and Orthodox, let's not forget them) hold to these fundamentals. As for Protestants, there are may varieties and it is not easy to make general statements. The chief differences between Protestants (as a whole) and Roman Catholics are related to the location of ultimate authority, the nature of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the role of the priesthood, and, to some degree, the emphasis on the inividual versus the community. Find CatholicAnswers.com or check out ewtn.com where you'll find much more about this subject. In summary, if I had to boil it down to four items, I'd say:
1. solo Scriptura: Protestants say the bible alone is the source of all authority; Catholics say the Bible is indeed authoritative but so is the Church's oral Tradition handed down by the apostles which resides ultimately in the pope, the successor of Peter, and 'the Magisterium', the deposit of faith that remains unchanged and is the official teaching of the Church dating from the apostles;
2. solo fide: Protestants say justification (being right with God and being forgiven) is by faith alone; Catholics say faith in Christ's sacrifice and rising is necessary, of course, but that faith must be lived out in a consistent life of mercy, love, and justice, too (see James 2).
3. the Eucharist: Protestants say it is just a symbol or, at best, an occasion where Christ is present; Catholics say the elements become the real body and blood of Christ.
4. "Once saved, always saved": Conservative Protestants believe that there is solid assurance of salvation in Christ and this cannot be lost. Catholics also have great assurance (or should - too many don't) but say that it is possible for someone to start well but blow it by making dumb choices in disobedience that eventually leads to spiritual shipwreck.

I know this is quite brief, but I hope it partly answers your question.

Answer 3

Hello,

The Roman Catholic church technically started about 330 AD where the Emperor Constantine had many leaders of the various Christian churches meet together and come up with some sort of cohesive politicl type union. The first split of this Church came with the formation of the Greek Orthodox in the 5th century and the next big schism came about 1517 when a German monk, Martin Luther got fed up with the corruption, nepotism etc in Rome and the papacy and wanted to make many reforms in the church. Things did not work out, his ideas were condemned but he had the backing of many German and other European kings and emperors who did not like the RC church intefering in their affairs. Things eventually spiraled away and the new churches broke yoke with Rome. Essentially they initial taught that you recieved salvation by faith and beliefs but not works and one could interpret the bible themselves etc. The churches without strong leadership or discipline got rid of the Rome and the pope but in turn continually divided over the centuries like cell division. Also in England, Henry VIII later in the 1500's wrote a book called the Defense Of The Seven Scarements which cut Luther's ideas to pieces in so far as logic was concerned. The Pope gave him the title Defender of The Faith which the royal family still holds today but this buddy - buddy relationship was short lived since the Pope, not wanting to piss off the Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire refused to grant Henry an annulment on his marriage to Catherine Of Aragon. This caused Henry to split with Rome and form the Anglican church which still kept all the Catholic vestiges... he had no use for the protestant faiths in England and still surpressed them at his liesure.

This is quite oversimplified here but it would take 3 or 4 hundred pages to do a reasonably detailed missive on this subject.


Cheers,

Michael Kelly

Answer 4

Protestant is a huge grouping of sects that split off of the Roman Catholic church after the reformation. The sects vary from Episcopalian (who are so similar to Catholics that certain Episcopalian congregations have switched to Catholic wholesale) to Pentacostals (who handle snakes and "speak" in tongues). It's a huge grouping, even though Catholics outnumber Protestants 3:1.

Answer 5

http://www.catholiceducation.org/links/search.cgi?query=catholics+and+protestants&mh=25&type=keyword&bool=and

has some articles highlighting differences.

here are some more
http://catholiceducation.org/links/search.cgi?query=catholicism

use other key words to find precisely what you need.

here is the truth of the first church from scripture
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/

it highlights other differences aswell.

hope it helps and god bless.

pancake...... read isaiah 22 and the following link to see why a leadership under peter and continuing through the papacy is in no way absurd,perfectly scriptural and the way jesus intended it to be. it can't even be contrasted to the queen being the head of the church, whilst i do agree she is of no purpose as she does nothing but take our taxes.
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/

and lastly pancake you wrote
during the reformation people disagreed with how the pope was running things and decided to set up a new church which was the 'true' way

martin luther did not disagree with how the pope was doing things, his problem was only in a localized area amongst a select very few number of priests concerning indulgences. martin luther complained but he refused to meet with the pope and was excommunicated for being a heretic, he couldn't handle some teachings,was foul mouthed and bad tempered, after this things escalated and luther deleted several books,even wanting to exclude hebrews and revelations, and he added words to the bible. the problem of indulgences in that particular area could have easily been rectified if luther had not been so stubborn and could have coped with his own failings.

Answer 6

"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.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html

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

With love in Christ.

Answer 7

protestant religion is a digression of the catholic religion

during the reformation people disagreed with how the pope was running things and decided to set up a new church which was the 'true' way

protestants dont believe in mary as much as catholics and add a little extra to the our father im from northern ireland so know all this

its also pretty ridiculous to appoint a monarch as head of a religion queen elizabeth head of church of england she doesnt do anything one of the most useless non-leaders in the world

Answer 8

There are many differences. The most crucial one to me is that in the catholic church there is intercession of the priest between God and the faithfull. In the protestant church the focus is on personal study and development of a relationship with God without the intercession of a priest.

Answer 9

its based on the belief that all catholics will go to hell

they believe

grape juice and wine are the same thing its just a drink and snack

mary was just some person same as joseph

jesus went to hell (lutherans)

halloween is satans birthday, although it is the birthday of the lutherin faith

we should completely forget about jesus suffering

once saved always saved. so if Im saved now and go rape a bunch of kindergardners im still going to heaven

all I have to do to be saved is CLAIM that christ is my savior, I dont even have to believe it

they think the pope is a hethenistic satanic minion

anyone else think of anything I forgot?

Answer 10

protestant religions basically is catholic, bcuz they all came from the catholic religion. the main thing is, they didnt lik traditions and ceremonies, they just wanted their services to b plain, w/o special routines and all the stuff us catholics have. so they broke away from the church, and formed protestant, they have less strict services, usually w/o hymns and communion.