Protestants and Catholics are two of the dominant groupings inside Christianity, the major religion of the west and one that is based upon Jesus and His teachings. Jesus is believed to be the son of God that took birth as a human being and served his role as a divine figure by being a savior of mankind. The life of Jesus, or Christ, as he is known worldwide, his teachings, and his sacrifice form the gospels or the good messages. He is seen as a divine source of salvation. There are differences of opinions and methods of worship between Catholics and Protestants that will be talked about in this article.
Catholic
Catholics are the largest of groupings inside Christianity, and many believe the term catholic to be the one that is used for all that Christianity stands for. In reality, catholic is a term that arose mainly to contrast the grouping in relation with the protestant reformers. However, the word catholic is as old as Christianity itself as it has been used as early as 107 AD to describe a place of worship wherever there is Jesus Christ. The word has since then been used as a synonym for Christianity.
The Catholic Church refers to the Roman Catholic Church and firmly believes in full authority of the Pope. While there was only Catholic Church till 1054 AD, there was a schism in the monolithic religion at that time, and Christianity got divided between the Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The final split took place during the Protestant reformation during the 16th century, and Protestants got away from Catholics to form a dominant grouping within Christianity.
Protestants
Protestants are Christians who believe in the faith called Protestantism. This grouping within Christianity arose as a result of the reformation that started in the 16th century in Germany. Protestantism is characterized by belief in the supremacy of Bible and defiance of Pope as the sole authority of Christians. While Martin Luther and his followers established reformed churches in Germany and Scandinavia, reformed churches were founded by John Calvin in Scotland, Hungary, France, and Switzerland. Martin Luther published 95 theses that were against the practices and beliefs followed at that time in Catholic Church. In particular, he was against the practice of selling of indulgences that were done to raise money for the construction of St. Peters Basilica. He also rejected Papal supremacy and put forward infallibility of the Bible.
What is the difference between Protestant and Catholic?
• There are many meeting points and common grounds in Protestantism and Catholicism. However, there are also clear differences between the two denominations.
• Protestants believe that Bible is the only source of God’s revelations to humans and Bible is the only scripture that is sufficient and necessary for the salvation of human beings. This belief is called Sola Scriptura.
• On the other hand, though Bible is revered and is considered sacred, it is not regarded as sufficient by the Catholics. Catholics believe that Christian traditions are just as important for the salvation of mankind.
• Catholics view Pope as the substitute of Jesus and call him Vicar of Christ. On the other hand, Protestants reject Papal authority maintaining that Christ alone is supreme and no human being can be head of the church.
• Catholics believe that the Roman Church can interpret the Bible in the best possible manner while Protestants believe that all believers have the power to understand the gospels contained in the Bible. They believe in the superiority of the Bible.
• Catholics believe that faith in Christ alone cannot save a man and that good deeds are equally necessary for salvation. On the other hand, Protestants believe that faith alone is sufficient to lead to salvation.
• There are differences of opinions on life after death between Protestants and Catholics. While Catholics believe that faith in Christ alone cannot guaranty a place in heaven and that there is a place and time for temporal punishment even for the believers who have sinned in their lifetime, Protestants believe that faith in Christ alone is sufficient for a place in heaven.