What Is It: Protestantism

In this What Is It series, we are exploring dozens of different topics within the Christian faith that are common, and commonly misunderstood. This series post objectively overviews the Christian term: Protestantism.

As with every series post, we ask you, the community to play an active role in commenting and providing your understanding.

What Is Protestantism?

In the simplest of terms, Protestantism is a Western form of Christian Faith that rejects the authority of the Pope. Protestantism holds to the sainthood of every believer. The direct revelation of Scripture to each believer. And, the absolute authority of Scripture over the believer’s life.

Today, the term protestant is a blanket statement for any believer not part of the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox church. Rather, a protestant belongs to a Christian denomination that resulted from the Reformation.

Martin Luther kickstarted the Reformation in 1517 CE by posting his 95 Theses in protest of Papal authority and abuses of power. His followers became known as Evangelicals and later Lutherans but were not originally called protestants.

Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, former monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation

The term protestant came from a letter of protest in 1529 CE by German princes to The Diet (dee-its or edicts) of Speyer. This edict in part reversed the tolerance of Luther and his followers, condemning them as anathema. Thus, over time those who aligned to this protest became known politically as protesters, or protestants.

Additionally, Martin Luther preferred the terms Christian or Evangelical over the France reforme and the political protestant.

Who Are the Protestants?

In some ways, Protestantism is the culprit to modern denominationalism. The Catholic (universal) Church was the only available church for most of the Western world. The Church of England was established in 1534 CE to break England away from Roman rule while the Eastern Orthodox Church ran parallel to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church of England grew out of this Protestant movement and so have today’s denominations. Groups such as the Lutherans (Martin Luther), Presbyterians (John Knox), and the Calvinists (Jean & John Calvin) are all Protestant.

Much of history also includes Anabaptists in the group of protestants. However, Anabaptists and early reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin were vehemently at odds. The aforementioned Diet of Speyer of 1529 legitimized the drowning of Anabaptists as heretics. Something that some early reformers allegedly agreed with.

These were the same Puritans who eventually came to the shores of America in hopes of escaping the tyranny of the then Church of England. The term Puritan was a derogatory term originally as it referred to a people with a strict moral code enacted by some early reformers. (Including only wearing black and white colors and abstinence from alcohol and most forms of entertainment.)

Today, we include Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Southern/Reformed Baptist, and even Pentecostal groups such as Assemblies of God and Quakers as Protestants.

What Does Protestantism Believe?

Protestantism covers a wide range of denominational beliefs. Primarily, it is focused on the sainthood of all believers. This is in opposition to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views of Sainthood and papal authority.

Likewise, because all believers are saints, they have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit. While many reformed denominations are cessationist (see the What Is It article on Cessationism) in nature, the Assemblies of God and later Pentecostal groups are not. They all however agree on the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture.

Additionally, early and modern reformers held to sola fide, or the belief that we are saved by faith alone, apart from human works. The Roman Catholic doctrines of eschatology state that salvation comes by faith that is completed by works.

Furthermore, reformers believe in Solus Christus. We are saved through Christ alone, not requiring any outside authority such as a pope. The five Solas of reformed theology were born out of the Reformation and Protestantism.

Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) – Solus Christus (Christ Alone) – Sola Fide (by Faith Alone) – Sola Gratia (by Grace Alone) – Soli Deo Gloria (for God’s Glory Alone).

Protestants hold to the Nicene Creed and are Trinitarian. Unitarian groups that sprung up around the same time are not considered Protestant. These include Universalist Unitarianism and later Oneness Pentecostalism.

Finally, Protestantism broke away from Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox Church concerning the Eucharist. Protestants value the Lord’s Supper but they do not believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation.

Transubstantiation states that the wafer and wine are miraculously transformed into the literal flesh (body) and blood of Christ by being blessed by the priest. Protestantism believes the wafer and wine only represent the body and blood of Christ.

The Darker Side of Protestantism

While the Reformation and protestant movement changed the world, it is not without mistakes. Originally designed to reform the Roman Catholic Church, some of its founders were sometimes just as brutal as papal forces.

Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Swiss Reformation and was a key force in anathematizing Anabaptists. At the time, Anabaptists were considered a fringe edge of the protestant movement. Most importantly, they held the stance that infant baptism was not Biblical and re-baptized believers.

This angered the very Catholic reformers like Zwingli, who at extremes, had Anabaptist leaders drowned. Drowning was chosen specifically as a cruel mockery of their beliefs surrounding water baptism.

In 1536 CE a group of radical Anabaptists took over the city of Münster to set up a theocracy. This was later crushed by Roman forces and the Anabaptist leaders were killed and mutilated.

It is noteworthy however that Anabaptists were almost entirely pacifists and shunned violence and rebellion.

The Anabaptist movement during the Reformation is the root of modern groups of Baptists, Mennonites, the Amish, and Quakers.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Protestantism and the Reformation changed the future of the Christian Faith. Today, with over 800 million adherents in diverse groups, it is the second largest group of Christians.

In essence, you are a Protestant if you believe that all believers are saints, that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the Word to all, and that salvation comes by Faith alone, through Grace alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, with all authority being placed not in man, but in Scripture alone.