What is the difference between a Catholic chruch and a prosatant church?

Answer 1

Catholicism emphasizes the Authority of the Church, & then the authority of Sacred Scripture.

Protestantism emphasizes the authority of Sacred Scripture, & then the authority of their various churches.

Orthodoxy is just like Catholicism: It emphasizes the authority of the Church first, & then Sacred Scripture.

Catholicism also emphasizes Church governance, History, Tradition, Rules and Symbolism. Protestantism leans more on a personal relationship with Christ. Catholicism tends to be more formal. Protestantism tends to be more open to change and contemporary trends.

Answer 2

There are a lot of answers posted in earlier threads : == This question requires a historical and a theological answer. Historical Answer: The Romans Catholic Church is basically the Church that was began by Christ's Apostles in the first century. For the first thousand years of its life the Christian Church lived for the most part in unity. In order to distinguish itself from heretical versions of Christianity it called itself the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. In that time all Christians were Catholic because there was only one Church. Then sometime around the year 1000 the east split from the west because of a few issues but mainly because of political reasons. At this time the Christian Church in the West became the Roman Catholic Church and the Christian Church in the East became the Eastern Orthodox Church. About 500 years after that in the 1500s a monk named Martin Luther questioned the teachings of Catholicism and inadvertently started the Protestant movement. In developing, teaching, and popularizing Protestantism he was helped a great deal by two other reformers named Calvin and Zwingli. From that time until now Protestantism as split within itself hundreds of times with the result that there are now hundreds of Protestant denominations. So in answer to your question Protestantism is an off-shoot of Catholicism. Protestants believed that the Catholic Church had abused its power and strayed from Scriptural teaching so they started their own Church which has since split again and again and again into a whole bunch of other Churches. Theological Answer: Protestants and Catholics are both orthodox Christians and in all the things that matter most they believe the same. Having said that there are many differences. More than I could intelligently provide here. Here are some of the differences: While Protestants ephasise salvation as a free gift apart from human achievment, Roman Catholics tend to emphasize the human role in salvation more. They both, however, see salvation as something that is only achieved by God's grace. Catholics pray to Mary and other saints to help them in their path towards Christ, while Protestants follow the Biblical teaching that Christians should pray to God alone. Catholics have seven Sacraments while Protestants generally have only two. Catholics believe that Christ's body and blood are truly present in the bread and wine at Communion. While some Protestant denominations believe this as well many of them see Communion as symbolic in nature. Catholics have a higher view of Church tradition that Protestants who tend to focus on Scripture alone as the only indicator of correct Christian faith. There are a few other differences but those are the main ones. == Catholics and Protestants are both Christians, so they do have some things in common - the main one being the belief in Jesus. However, Catholics have seven sacraments (baptism, holy communion, confession, marriage, holy orders, anointing of the sick, confirmation) whereas Protestants only have the Eucharist, and baptism. Also, Catholics believe that Mary was a virgin all her life, most Protestants on the other hand deny Mary's perpetual virginity. Martin Luther, a very famous Catholic monk who started the Protestant movement believed that divine authority is inherent to the Bible, Catholics believe that divine authority is inherent to the Church.

== The main difference is the Protestants use the Bible as their authority, whereas Catholics follow the pope and the Church. I believe that the popes and various elders have developed and changed what Catholics believe over time and that Protestants follow whatever interpretation of scripture they choose to believe. == Catholics see the Pope as their leader on earth. They confess their sins to a priest, believing him to act as Christ through his holy orders . Protestants do not see the need for a third party to confess to. Catholics believe that the bread and wine turn into Christ's body and blood. Some protestant groups see them as symbols. Catholics believe that Mary, as Jesus' mother should be venerated. She is known as "Our Lady". Catholics pray to saints, asking them for intercession. Protestants pray to God alone. Catholics believe in Purgatory, a place that people may go to when they die, a time of purification before heaven. They believe that it is pious to pray for people's souls to be released from Purgatory to Heaven. Latin rite Catholic priests must be celibate and are not allowed to marry. This is not the case for protestant ministers. == One main difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Catholics tend to hail from parts of the world where the Catholic Church had influence, while Protestants tend to hail from parts of the world where the Protestant Churches held power. Doctrinal differences or tendencies certainly exist, e.g Catholics have a tendency to favor sacraments as a visible sign of the invisible God while Protestants have a tendency to favor the Bible as the point of entry rather than sacraments (or the Church as a sacrament for that matter). However, the similarities between Catholics and Protestants are great, especially once the historical and political factors that contributed to the Reformation have withered away and lost their salience for most contemporary Catholics and Protestants alike. A more useful division today might be between traditionalist (or conservative) Christians versus progressive (or liberal) Christians. An example of the latter would be the Jesus Seminar which includes many Catholic and Protestant scripture scholars mostly of a liberal bent trying to understand the historical Jesus. This would contrast to literalist/fundamentalist Christians where the traditionalist Protestants favor inerrant scriptures along with traditionalist Catholics favoring an inerrant Church. The main point however is that all of these groups are Christian and share the belief that Jesus is an important focus in the search for God. == == I believe the difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Protestants read the Bible to know what to do. Catholics on the other hand let other people read the Bible for them and you really shouldn't do that because what if that person misunderstood? Plus Catholics are constantly changing stuff, I've got an Italian friend that says he doesn't believe in Christ because of how often the Vatican changes "rules". == == Contrary to the above, both Catholics and Protestants read and look to the Bible for guidance. One difference is the structure of both Churches. The word Catholic means "universal". The goal of the Catholic Church was, and still is, to unite the world in Christ. The Reformation stemmed out of corruption in the Church. Since the Reformation, the Catholic Church has undergone a "Counter-Reformation", fixing the problems within the Church. What really angers me about the above response is that it is completely misinformed but is still a widely held belief. The Vatican is in place to guide Catholics and serve as a moral authority. I doubt your "Italian friend" was alive or even knows what Vatican II is. Vatican II was a complete reworking of the Church in the 1960s. It brought forth a new age in the Church. These "changes" were actually beneficial. Now there is much more participation in mass, the masses are said in English (or the native language), and countless other changes. The main difference between Protestants and Catholics is not whether they read the Bible; It is the structure. === === There are some key differences between born-again Christians (Protestants) and Catholics.

One, is that Catholics believe in transubstantiation which is the belief that when a Catholic priest pronounces the words of consecration in the Mass, the bread and wine substantial transform into the real Body and Blood of Christ. Catholics cite the Last Supper as the origin of this practice when Christ said while holding the bread "This is my body, do this remembrance of me". Protestants believe that Christ is speaking figuratively and symbolically whereas Catholics take it literally. Two, is that Catholics believe in infant baptism where as born-again Christians believe in a "believer's baptism". Basically, the born-again view is that an infant is unable to make a decision for itself and therefore should be baptized later at a point where they are old enough to make that decision for themselves. Catholics believe that no one can go to heaven without baptism and thus babies must be baptized lest they die in infancy.

Three, Catholics believe that they attain salvation at death by a combination of Faith which is aided through the seven sacraments and the virtuous living they do on earth, while Protestants believe that they are saved by Christ alone, and though good works are important, they are not contingent for salvation.

Four, Protestants believe in the teaching of the Holy Bible as the absolute Word of God and authority of God's Will. Catholics believe this as well, though they rely on the teachings of the Church and Its hierarchy who preach how the Bible is and has always been interpreted in its entirety throughout the centuries. Catholics do not believe in private interpretation, instead, they view that Tradition is the overall authority on how God's Word is interpreted and that the pope is the guardian of this Tradition.

Furthermore, Catholics believe in papal infallibility meaning that the Pope can make declarations on Faith or morals that are definitive. Papal infallibility means that the pope, when invoking the infallibility latent in his office as pope and speaking as the leader of all Christians on a subject of Faith or morals is able to invoke the Holy Ghost so that he may speak truly without the possibility of error. The invocation of papal infallibility is so rare that it has only happened once in the past 50 years.

== == Catholics pray to the Saints in Heaven asking for their intercession as well as praying directly to Jesus. Protestants pray only to Jesus.

Catholics have statues of the saints in their churches. Protestants do not.

Catholics call priests by the title "Father" believing them God's representatives on Earth. Protestants believe that only God should be called "Father".

Catholics believe Communion really becomes Our Lord's Flesh and Blood. Protestants believe that communion is symbolic.

Catholics believe in the possibility of going to Purgatory after death. Protestants do not. While both Protestants and Catholics believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, protestants restd their belief there, while Catholics would add the traditions of the Church and Papal Edicts (known as Bulls). Protestants believe that we are saved by grace through faith and no of ourselves ... Ephesians and that faith without works is dead ... James. Catholics believe that while we are saved by God's grace it is only accomplished fully by our works ie the sacraments. Both groups believe that Christ died once for all and it is by and through His blood that we are cleansed. There are some major differences as are found in the five 'solas'. Protestants believe that man can come to God through scripture alone. There is one mediator between God and man ie Christ. Catholics believe in the intercession of the saints and the infallicy of the Pope. The answer to this question basically comes down to the difference between 'catholic' [ with a small 'c'] and 'Catholic' [with a capital 'C'] as they are not the same.

According to the Collins Dictionary [http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Booksources&isbn=000 433174-5] the word 'catholic' means 'universal, relating to all men, all-inclusive' and comes from the Latin 'catholicus', which came from the Greek 'katholikos' meaning 'universal', while on the other hand 'Catholic' means 'the Christian Church before separation [ie in 330AD] into the Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western churches' and after the [official] separation [ie in 1054AD] 'especially the Roman catholic Church.'

Although this separation was made official in 1054AD, it had actually begun over 700 years before in 330AD when:-

This slow process of separation was encouraged in 330 AD when Emperor Constantine decided to move the capital of the Roman Empire to the city of Byzantium (Byzantine Empire, modern-day Turkey) and called it Constantinople. When he died his two sons divided their rule, one taking the Eastern portion of the empire and ruling from Constantinople and the other taking the western portion, ruling from Rome.

"In 1054 AD a formal split occurred when Pope Leo IX (leader of the Roman branch) excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius (leader of the Eastern branch), who in turn condemned the pope in mutual excommunication."

(Taken from "Eastern Orthodox Church History: A Brief History of the Eastern Orthodox Denomination" http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/a/orthodoxhistory.htm)

These differences were the basic reason for the Reformation. Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Biblical Literature in the Union Theological Seminary N.Y. wrote in "The Creeds of Christendom" that:-

The Reformation was eminently practical in its motive and aim. It started from a question of conscience: 'How shall a sinner be justified before God?' And ... 'What shall I do to be saved?' The answer given by the Reformers ... was: 'By faith in the all-sufficient merits of Christ, as exhibited in the holy Scriptures.' And by faith they understood not a mere intellectual assent to the truth, or a blind submission to the outward authority of the Church, but a free obedience, a motion of the will, a trust of the heart, a personal attachment and unconditional surrender of the whole soul to Christ, as the only Saviour from sin and death [and] The absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Christ and his Gospel in doctrine and life, in faith and practice, is the animating principle [of] the Reformation, and the essential unity of Protestantism ...

...

The Reformers were baptized, confirmed, and educated, most of them also ordained, in the Catholic Church, and had at first no intention to leave it, but simply to purify it by the Word of God. They shrank from the idea of schism...When the Pope refused to satisfy the reasonable demand for a reformation of abuses, and hurled his anathemas on the reformers, they were driven to the necessity of organizing new churches and setting forth new confessions of faith, but they were careful to maintain and express in them their consensus with the old Catholic faith as laid down in the Apostles' Creed.

The doctrinal principle of evangelical Protestantism, as distinct from Romanism, is twofold-objective and subjective.

The objective ... principle maintains the absolute sovereignty of the Bible, as the only infallible rule of the Christian faith and life, in opposition to the Roman doctrine of the Bible and tradition, as co-ordinate rules of faith. Tradition is not set aside altogether, but is subordinated, and its value made to depend upon the measure of its agreement with the Word of God.

The subjective ... principle is the doctrine of justification by the free grace of God through a living faith in Christ, as the only and sufficient Saviour, in opposition to the Roman doctrine of (progressive) justification by faith and good works, as ...conditions of justification. Good works are held by Protestants to be necessary, not as means and conditions, but as results and evidences, of justification.

...a third, the social principle,... affects chiefly the government and discipline of the Church, namely, the universal priesthood of believers, in opposition to the exclusive priesthood of the clergy. Protestantism emancipates the laity from slavish dependence on the teaching and governing priesthood, and gives the people a proper share in all that concerns the interests and welfare of the Church; in accordance with the teaching of St. Peter, who applies the term clergy ('heritage', 1 Pet 5:3 see (KJV) " Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock."; (NET) "And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock") to the congregation,...

It is impossible to reduce the fundamental difference between Protestantism and Romanism to a single formula without doing injustice to the one or the other.... But if we look at the prevailing character and the most prominent aspects of the two systems, we may draw the following contrasts:

Protestantism corresponds to the Gentile type of Apostolic Christianity, as represented by Paul;

Romanism, to the Jewish type, as represented by James and Peter, though not in Peter's Epistles (where he prophetically warns against the fruitful germ of the Papacy, viz., hierarchical pride and assumption), ...

Protestantism is the religion of freedom

Romanism, the religion of authority.

Protestantism is mainly subjective, and makes religion a personal concern;

Romanism is objective, and sinks the individual in the body of the Church.

The Protestant believes on the ground of his own experience,

the Romanist on the testimony of the Church

Protestantism is the religion of evangelism and spiritual simplicity;

Romanism, the religion of legalism, asceticism, sacerdotalism, and ceremonialism.

Protestantism appeals to the intellect and conscience,

Romanism to the senses and the imagination.

Protestantism is internal,

Romanism is external, and comes with outward observation.

Protestantism is the Christianity of the Bible;

Romanism, the Christianity of tradition.

Protestantism directs the people to the fountain-head of divine revelation,

Romanism directs the people to the teaching priesthood.

Protestantism freely circulates the Bible, as a book for the people;

Romanism keeps it for the use of the clergy, and overrules it by its traditions.

Protestantism is the religion of immediate communion of the soul with Christ through personal faith;

Romanism is the religion of mediate communion through the Church, and obstructs the intercourse of the believer with his Saviour by interposing an army of subordinate mediators and advocates.

The Protestant prays directly to Christ;

the Romanist usually approaches him only through the intercession of the blessed Virgin and the saints.

Protestantism puts Christ before the Church, and makes Christliness the standard of sound churchliness;

Romanism virtually puts the Church before Christ, and makes churchliness the condition and measure of piety.

Protestantism claims to be only one, but the most advanced portion of the Church of Christ;

Romanism identifies itself with the whole Catholic Church, and the Church with Christianity itself.

Protestantism claims to be the safest way to salvation.

Romanism claims to be the only way to salvation.

Protestantism is the Church of the Christian people;

Romanism is the Church of priests, and separates them by education, celibacy, and even by their dress as widely as possible from the laity.

Protestantism is the Christianity of personal conviction and inward experience;

Romanism, the Christianity of outward institutions and sacramental observances, and obedience to authority.

Protestantism lays the main stress on living faith, as the principle of a holy life;

Romanism lays the main stress on good works, as the evidence of faith and the condition of justification.

Protestantism proceeds from the invisible Church to the visible;

Romanism, vice versa, from the visible to the invisible.

Protestantism is progressive and independent;

Romanism, conservative and traditional.

Protestantism is centrifugal,

Romanism is centripetal.

Protestantism is exposed to the danger of radicalism and endless division;

Romanism to the opposite danger of stagnation and mechanical and tyrannical uniformity.

The exclusiveness and anti-Christian pretensions of the Papacy, especially since it claims infallibility for its visible head, make it impossible for any Church to live with it on terms of equality and sincere friendship. And yet we should never forget the difference between Popery and Catholicism, nor between the system and its followers. It becomes Protestantism, as the higher form of Christianity, to be liberal and tolerant even towards intolerant Romanism.

(Source "THE CREEDS OF CHRISTENDOM IN THREE VOLUMES with A HISTORY AND CRITICAL NOTES" , Volume 1 :"The History of the Creeds" , Chapter 2, byY

PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D., LL.D.

PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, N.Y.

Bibliotecha Symbolica Ecclesiæ Universalis

SIXTH EDITION

Harper and Row, Publishers

Copyright, 1905, 1919 by David S. Schaff)

* One major difference is that Catholics pray to Mary and other saints, which Protestants obviously do not agree with- the Bible specifically states that people should pray to ONLY GOD AND NO ONE ELSE.

Answer 3

The Catholic church was founded directly by Jesus. The numerous Protestant religions formed as offshoots from the Catholic church about 1500 years later, and then offshoots of offshoots of offshoots and so on.

Answer 4

One of the first major differences between Catholicism and Protestantism is the issue of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Protestants believe that The Bible alone is the sole source of God's special revelation to mankind, and as such it teaches us all that is necessary for our salvation from sin. Protestants view the Bible as the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. This belief is commonly referred to as "Sola Scriptura" and is one of the "Five Solas" (sola being Latin for "alone") that came out of the Protestant Reformation as summaries of some of the important differences between Catholics and Protestants.

While there are many verses in the Bible that establish its authority and its sufficiency for all matters of faith and practice, one of the clearest is 2 Timothy 3:16 where we see that "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Catholics on the other hand reject the doctrine of "Sola Scriptura" and do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They believe that both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition are equally binding upon the Christian. Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc. have little or no basis at all in Scripture, but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. Essentially the Roman Catholic Church's denial of "Sola Scriptura" and their insistence that both the Bible and their "Sacred Tradition" are equal in authority undermines the sufficiency, authority and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many of, if not all, the differences between Catholics and Protestants.

Another major but closely related difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is over the office and authority of the Pope. According to Catholicism the Pope is the "Vicar of Christ" (a vicar is a substitute), and takes the place of Jesus as the visible head of the Church. As such he has the ability to speak "ex cathedra" (with authority on matters of faith and practice), and when he does so his teachings are considered infallible and binding upon all Christians. On the other hand, Protestants believe that no human being is infallible, and that Christ alone is the head of the church. Catholics rely on apostolic succession as a way of trying to establishing the Pope's authority. But Protestants believe that the church's authority does not come from apostolic succession, but instead is derived from the Word of God. Spiritual power and authority does not rest in the hands of a mere man, but in the very Word of God recorded in Scripture. While Catholicism teaches that only the Catholic Church can properly and correctly interpret the Bible, Protestants believe that the Bible teaches that God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all born again believers, enabling all believers to understand the message of the Bible.