Christianity vs Protestantism

Diffen › Philosophy › Religion › Christianity

Protestantism is a type of Christianity. Protestants broke away from Catholicism some time around the 15th century. The original Protestant Reformer was Martin Luther. Unlike Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Christianity usually has no Apostolic Succession. Protestantism is further divided into thousands of churches, the main ones being Lutheran, Anglican (Episcopalian), Presbyterian, and Methodist. In recent years, Evangelical churches, such as Baptist and Pentecostal denominations, have been gaining adherents rapidly.

Comparison chart

Christianity versus Protestantism comparison chart
	Christianity	Protestantism
Use of statues and pictures	In Catholic & Orthodox Churches.	Not used
Place of worship	Church, chapel, cathedral, basilica, home bible study, personal dwellings.	Church, chapel,
Founder	The Lord Jesus Christ.	Martin Luther was the first Protestant.
Place of origin	Roman province of Judea.	Germany
Clergy	Priests, bishops, ministers, monks, and nuns.	priests, monks, ministers, pastors
Literal Meaning	Follower Of Christ.	Protestant - to 'protest'
Scriptures	The Holy Bible	Holy Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts (the Old Testament and the New Testament) and does not include the apocrypha
Practices	Prayer, sacraments (some branches), worship in church, reading of the Bible, acts of charity, communion.	Regularly visit the church, especially on Sundays, Prayers, Sacraments, reading the Holy Bible, communion-partaking in the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, under the appearance of Bread and Wine.
Belief of God	One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity.	Believe in the Holy Trinity, God is the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Holy, Just, Loving Creator of the Universe. Jesus the Christ is the Son of God who died to save us from our sins. The Holy Spirit sustains us after Jesus left the earth.
Goal of religion	To love God and obey his commandments while creating a relationship with Jesus Christ and spreading the Gospel so that others may also be saved.	To love God and obey his commandments. To gain a relationship with Jesus Christ, live forever with Christ, spread the good word of God and to gain eternal salvation.
Means of salvation	Through Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection.	Through Christ's Death, and Resurrection-saved by faith alone, not through works
Human Nature	Man has inherited "original sin" from Adam. Mankind then is inherently evil and is in need of forgiveness of sin. By knowing right and wrong Christians choose their actions. Humans are a fallen, broken race in need of salvation and repair by God.	"original sin" inherited from Adam, tendency towards evil, and the sins of the father pass through the son, therefore children are not holy.
Second coming of Jesus	Affirmed.	Affirmed
Life after death	Eternity in Heaven or Hell, in some cases temporal Purgatory.	Eternal Salvation in Heaven or Eternal Damnation in Hell.
View of the Buddha	Christians believe that the Buddha was a false teacher, and do not adhere to anything he taught.	Buddha is viewed as a false deity.
Holy Days	Christmas (celebration of the birth of Jesus), Good Friday (death of Jesus), Sunday (day of rest), Easter (resurrection of Jesus), Lent (Catholicism), saints' feast days.	Sunday is the Lord's Day, Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas
Religious Law	Varies among denominations. Has existed among Catholics in the form of canon law.	Christians no longer live under the curse of the law but under grace. We are still expected to live by the law.
Belief	The Ante-Nicene Creed sums up Christian belief in the Holy Trinity.	Believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah & the Savior.
About	Christianity broadly consists of individuals who believe in the deity Jesus Christ. Its followers, called Christians, often believe Christ is "the Son" of the Holy Trinity and walked the earth as the incarnate form of God ("the Father").	Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church, & follow strict adherance to their own interpretations of the Bible.
Birth of Jesus	Virgin Birth, through God.	Virgin Birth, through the Holy Spirit.
Branches	Roman Catholics, independent Catholics, Protestants (Anglicans, Lutherans etc.), Orthodox (Greek orthodox, Russian orthodox).	Thousands of different branches.
Confessing sins	Protestants confess straight to God, Catholic confess mortal sins to a Priest, and venial sins straight to God (Orthodox have similar practice) Anglicans confess to Priests but considered optional. God always forgives sins in Jesus.	To God
Day of worship	Sunday (most denominations), Saturday (Seventh-Day Adventist, Seventh-Day Baptist)	Sunday is the day to go to church, but worship can and is encouraged to continue personally
Geographical distribution and predominance	As the largest religion in the world, Christianity has adherents are all over the world. As a % of local population, Christians are in a majority in Europe, North and South America, and Australia and New Zealand.	North America, Europe
Death of Jesus	Death by crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Will return.	Death by Crucifixion, Resurrection, and the Ascent to Heaven. He will return again.
Prophets	Prophets in the Bible are venerated.	Prophets are people Chosen By the Holy Spirit, to reveal His Message to humanity.
God's role in salvation	Humans cannot save themselves or ascend on their own to a higher level. Only God is good and therefore only God is able to save a person. Jesus came down from Heaven to save mankind.	Salvation is a completely free gift from the Lord and comes by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ only. This faith is demonstrated through accepting His message of selfless compassion and love.
Position of Mary	Mother Of Jesus. Revered in all denominations. Degree of reverence varies from denomination.	Mother of God.
Rites	Seven sacraments: Baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, matrimony (Catholic and Orthodox). Anglicans: Baptism and Eucharist. Other denominations: Baptism and communion.	Two sacraments: Baptism and Eucharist (not matrimony)
Identity of Jesus	The Son Of God.	Son of God, God Incarnate, Savior of the world.
View of other Abrahamic religions	Judaism is regarded as a True religion but incomplete (without Gospel, and Messiah) Islam is regarded as a false religion, Christianity does not accept the Qur'an as true.	Judaism is a true religion, but with incomplete revelation. Islam regarded as false.
Holy days/Official Holidays	The Lord's Day; Advent, Christmas; New Year, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, every day is dedicated to a Saint.	Sunday, Christmas, Easter.
Promised Holy one.	Second Coming of Christ	The Lord Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of Old Testament Prophecy; He Will Come again at the end of time, to Fulfill New Testament Prophecy.
Resurrection of Jesus	Affirmed	Affirmed
Use of Statues	Varies by denomination. Not used in Protestant denominations; icons are used in Catholic & Orthodox denominations.	Prohibited.
Goal of Philosophy	Objective reality. Worship of God who created life, the universe, and is eternal. Christianity has its own philosophy, found in the Bible. That philosophy is Salvation from sin, through the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.	Eternal Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Religion which atheists may still be adherents of	No.	No.
Place and Time of origin	Jerusalem, approx. 33 AD.	Germany 15'Th Century
Status of Muhammad	N/A.	False Prophet
Authority of Pope	Leader and overseer of the Catholic Church. his authority is completely rejected by Protestants, and is viewed by Orthodox as first among equals. Orthodox and Protestants reject Papal infallibility and Papal supremacy.	N/A.
Ressurection of Jesus	Affirmed.	affirmed
View of God	One Trinity God, Who Is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.	Believe in the Holy Trinity. God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Views on the afterlife	Eternity in Heaven or Hell; some believe in temporal suffering in Purgatory, before admittance into Heaven.	Eternal life in Heaven or Hell.
View of other Oriental religions	N/A.	N/A.
imams identified as	N/A.	N/A.
View of Animistic religions	Paganism is Heathenism. Witchcraft is communication and interaction with demons, fallen evil angelic beings. These have no real interest ultimately, in helping their worshipers. Demonic possession is common.	Pagan.
Original Language	Aramaic, Greek, and Latin	German
Original Languages	Aramaic, Common (Koine) Greek, Hebrew.	German
Legislation	Varies through denomination.	Prerogative of the people
Prophet	Moses, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, etc., as well as both Johns in the New Testament too.	Moses, Abraham, John the Baptist, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Nahum, Elijah, Elisha, Obadiah, Amos, Hosea, Zechariah, Zephaniah, Malachi, Daniel, Nathan, and many others
Praying to Saints,Mary, and Angel	Affirmed, in Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, & Anglican(Episcopalian)Christianity; most Protestants do not.	With the exception of Anglicans(Episcopalians) and quite possibly Lutherans, most Protestants do not believe that one needs to pray to Saints, Mary or Angels. Only pray to God the Father and God the Father alone.
Virtues in which religion is based upon	Love, charity, and mercy.	Love.
Status of Adam	The first man. Humanity is in a state of Original Sin, due to Adam's disobedience to God.	Disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden.
Concept of God	One God, Who Is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.	One God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Concept of Deity	1 God, in 3 Divine Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.	believe in the Trinity; three persons in one Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit