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What does Protestantism mean?

Definitions for Protestantism
ˈprɒt ə stənˌtɪz əmprotes·tantism

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Protestantism.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Protestantismnoun

    the theological system of any of the churches of western Christendom that separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation

Wiktionary

  1. Protestantismnoun

    The Protestant (rather than the Roman Catholic or Orthodox) Christian faith.

  2. Protestantismnoun

    Collectively, the Protestant churches or the Protestants.

  3. Protestantismnoun

    The beliefs held by the Protestant churches.

Wikipedia

  1. Protestantism

    Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to be errors, abuses, and discrepancies within it.Protestantism emphasizes the Christian believer's justification by God in faith alone (sola fide) rather than by a combination of faith with good works as in Catholicism; the teaching that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only (sola gratia); the priesthood of all faithful believers in the Church; and the sola scriptura ("scripture alone") that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. Most Protestants, with the exception of Anglo-Papalism, reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy, and have variant views on the number of sacraments, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and matters of ecclesiastical polity and apostolic succession. Other Protestant denominations and non denominational Protestants may be typically unconcerned about most of these theological issues and focus only on their perception of explicit Christian teachings in the Bible itself. The five solae of Lutheran and Reformed Christianity summarize basic theological differences in opposition to the Catholic Church. Today, it is the second-largest form of Christianity, with a total of 800 million to 1 billion adherents worldwide or about 37% of all Christians.The Reformation began in Germany in 1517, when Martin Luther published his Ninety-five Theses as a reaction against abuses in the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church, which purported to offer the remission of the temporal punishment of sins to their purchasers. The term, however, derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks and attempts to reform the Catholic Church, notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, only Luther succeeded in sparking a wider, lasting, and modern movement. In the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Iceland. Calvinist churches spread in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by Protestant Reformers such as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and John Knox. The political separation of the Church of England from the Holy See under King Henry VIII began Anglicanism, bringing England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement, under the leadership of reformer Thomas Cranmer, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, whose work forged Anglican doctrine and identity.Protestants have extensively developed a unique culture that has made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts and many other fields. Protestantism is diverse, being divided into various denominations on the basis of theology and ecclesiology, not forming a single structure as with the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy. Protestants adhere to the concept of an invisible church, in contrast to the Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Ancient Church of the East, which all understand themselves as the one and only original church—the "one true church"—founded by Jesus Christ (though certain Protestant denominations, including historic Lutheranism, hold to this position). Some denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of church membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of Protestant denominational families: Adventists, Anabaptists, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Baptists, Calvinist/Reformed, Lutherans, Methodists, Moravians, Plymouth Brethren, Presbyterians, and Quakers. Nondenominational, charismatic and independent churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestantism.

ChatGPT

  1. protestantism

    Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that originated from the Reformation movement in the 16th century led by Martin Luther, against the doctrines and institutional structure of the Roman Catholic Church. Protestants reject the authority of the Pope and many of the Catholic traditions and doctrines, emphasizing instead the reading of the Bible as the sole source of authority, justification by faith alone, and the priesthood of all believers. There are many different Protestant denominations, including Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Protestantismnoun

    the quality or state of being protestant, especially against the Roman Catholic Church; the principles or religion of the Protestants

  2. Etymology: [Cf. F. protestantisme.]

Wikidata

  1. Protestantism

    Protestantism is one of the major divisions within Christianity. It has been defined as "any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth" and, more broadly, to mean Christianity outside "of an Orthodox or Catholic church". It is a movement that is widely seen as beginning in Germany with The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 as a reaction against medieval doctrines and practices, especially in regard to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology. The doctrines of the over 33,000 Protestant denominations vary, but most include justification by grace through faith alone, known as Sola Gratia and Sola Fide respectively, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the supreme authority in matters of faith and morals, known as Sola Scriptura, Latin for "by scripture alone". In the 16th century, the followers of Martin Luther established the evangelical churches of Germany and Scandinavia. Reformed churches in Hungary, Scotland, Switzerland and France were established by other reformers such as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Knox. The Church of England declared independence from papal authority in 1534, and was influenced by some Reformation principles, notably during the English Civil War. There were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian, and other pietistic movements.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Protestantism

    the name given to a movement headed by Luther in the 16th century, in protestation of the supremacy in spiritual things claimed by the Church of Rome, and made on the ground of the authority of conscience enlightened by the Word of God, conceived of as the ultimate revelation of God to man.

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. protestantism

    1. A splinter from the cross of Christ. 2. Acrobatic theologic mugwumpery. 3. Any one of fifty-seven varieties of hate. 4. Sects which have taken the petticoats off of the saints and put them on their pastors.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Protestantism

    The name given to all Christian denominations, sects, or groups rising out of the Reformation. Protestant churches generally agree that the principle of authority should be the Scriptures rather than the institutional church or the pope. (from W.L. Reese, Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, 1999)

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Protestantism in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Protestantism in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of Protestantism in a Sentence

  1. Mary Ziegler:

    The connection between evangelical Protestantism, or the South, or even Republican politics, and opposition to abortion was not a thing.

  2. Eyal Poleg:

    Written between 1539 and 1549, they were covered and disguised with thick paper in 1600. until recently, it was widely assumed that The Reformation caused a complete break, a Rubicon moment when people stopped being Catholics and accepted Protestantism, rejected saints, and replaced Latin with English.

  3. Andrew Chesnut:

    The Mexican Church already was very concerned by expanding Protestantism and now it must contend with a folk saint venerated mostly by Mexicans who still consider themselves Catholic.

  4. H. L. Mencken:

    The chief contribution of Protestantism to human thought is its massive proof that God is a bore.

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"Protestantism." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Protestantism>.

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