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The term "Protestant" was first used for German princes who issued a protest or dissent against the edict of the Diet of Speyer, which reversed prior concessions made to Lutherans.[20] During the Reformation, the term was not used outside of German politics. The word "evangelical" (German: evangelisch), which refers to the gospel, was much more widely used during the Reformation for those involved in the religious movement.[21] Theology Fundamental principles Not to be confused with Fundamentalism Key figures of the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther and John Calvin depicted on a church pulpit The Bible translated into vernacular by Martin Luther. The supreme authority of scripture is a fundamental principle of Protestantism Three fundamental principles of traditional Protestantism are the following:[22] Scripture alone The belief in the Bible as the supreme source of authority for the church. The early churches of the Reformation believed in a critical, yet serious, reading of scripture and holding the Bible as a source of authority higher than that of church tradition. The reformers rejected some of the traditions of the Western Church because they did not find justification for them in the Bible. Justification by faith alone The belief that believers are justified, or pardoned for sin, solely on condition of faith in Christ rather than a combination of faith and good works. For Protestants, good works are a necessary consequence rather than cause of justification.[23] Universal priesthood of believers The universal priesthood of believers implies the right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the Bible in the vernacular, but also to take part in the government and all the public affairs of the Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system which puts the essence and authority of the Church in an exclusive priesthood, and makes ordained priests the necessary mediators between God and the people.[23] Trinity Protestants adhere to the Nicene Creed, believe in "three Persons" (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), as one God. Five solae Main article: Five solae The Five Solae of the Protestant Reformation Sola scriptura Sola fide Sola gratia Solus Christus Soli Deo gloria v t e Protestant iconoclasm: the Beeldenstorm during the Dutch reformation The Five solae are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the reformers' basic differences in theological beliefs in opposition to the teaching of the Catholic Church of the day. The Latin word sola means "alone", "only", or "single". The use of the phrases as summaries of teaching emerged over time during the reformation, based on the overarching principle of sola scriptura (by scripture alone). This idea contains the four main doctrines on the Bible: that its teaching is needed for salvation (necessity); that all the doctrine necessary for salvation comes from the Bible alone (sufficiency); that everything taught in the Bible is correct (inerrancy); and that, by the Holy Spirit overcoming sin, believers may read and understand truth from the Bible itself, though understanding is difficult, so the means used to guide individual believers to the true teaching is often mutual discussion within the church (clarity). The necessity and inerrancy were well-established ideas, garnering little criticism, though they later came under debate from outside during the Enlightenment. The most contentious idea at the time though was the notion that anyone could simply pick up the Bible and learn enough to gain salvation. Though the reformers were concerned with ecclesiology (the doctrine of how the church as a body works), they had a different understanding of the process in which truths in scripture were applied to life of believers, compared to the Catholics' idea that certain people within the church, or ideas that were old enough, had a special status in giving understanding of the text. The second main principle, sola fide (by faith alone), states that faith in Christ is sufficient alone for eternal salvation. Though argued from scripture, and hence logically consequent to sola scriptura, this is the guiding principle of the work of Luther and the later reformers. Because sola scriptura placed the Bible as the only source of teaching, sola fide epitomises the main thrust of the teaching the reformers wanted to get back to, namely the direct, close, personal connection between Christ and the believer, hence the reformers' contention that their work was Christocentric. The other solas, as statements, emerged later, but the thinking they represent was also part of the early reformation. Solus Christus: Christ alone. The Protestants characterize the dogma concerning the Pope as Christ's representative head of the Church on earth, the concept of works made meritorious by Christ, and the Catholic idea of a treasury of the merits of Christ and his saints, as a denial that Christ is the only mediator between God and man. Catholics, on the other hand, maintained the traditional understanding of Judaism on these questions, and appealed to the universal consensus of Christian tradition.[24] Sola Gratia: Grace alone. Protestants perceived Roman Catholic salvation to be dependent upon the grace of God and the merits of one's own works. The reformers posited that salvation is a gift of God (i.e., God's act of free grace), dispensed by the Holy Spirit owing to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone. Consequently, they argued that a sinner is not accepted by God on account of the change wrought in the believer by God's grace, and that the believer is accepted without regard for the merit of his works, for no one deserves salvation.[Matt. 7:21] Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God alone All glory is due to God alone since salvation is accomplished solely through his will and action — not only the gift of the all-sufficient atonement of Jesus on the cross but also the gift of faith in that atonement, created in the heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit. The reformers believed that human beings — even saints canonized by the Catholic Church, the popes, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy — are not worthy of the glory. Christ's presence in the Eucharist Main article: Eucharistic theology A Lutheran depiction of the Last Supper, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1547 The Protestant movement began to diverge into several distinct branches in the mid-to-late 16th century. One of the central points of divergence was controversy over the Eucharist. Early Protestants rejected the Roman Catholic dogma of transubstantiation, which teaches that the bread and wine used in the sacrificial rite of the Mass lose their natural substance by being transformed into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. They disagreed with one another concerning the presence of Christ and his body and blood in Holy Communion. Lutherans hold that within the Lord's Supper the consecrated elements of bread and wine are the true body and blood of Christ "in, with, and under the form" of bread and wine for all those who eat and drink it,[1Cor 10:16] [11:20,27] [25] a doctrine that the Formula of Concord calls the Sacramental union.[26] God earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament,[Lk 22:19-20][27] forgiveness of sins,[Mt 26:28][28] and eternal salvation.[29] The Reformed churches emphasize the real spiritual presence, or sacramental presence, of Christ, saying that the sacrament is a means of saving grace through which only the elect believer actually partakes of Christ, but merely with the bread and wine rather than in the elements. Calvinists deny the Lutheran assertion that all communicants, both believers and unbelievers, orally receive Christ's body and blood in the elements of the sacrament but instead affirm that Christ is united to the believer through faith — toward which the supper is an outward and visible aid. This is often referred to as dynamic presence. A Protestant holding a popular simplification of the Zwinglian view, without concern for theological intricacies as hinted at above, may see the Lord's Supper merely as a symbol of the shared faith of the participants, a commemoration of the facts of the crucifixion, and a reminder of their standing together as the body of Christ (a view referred to somewhat derisively as memorialism). History Main article: History of Protestantism Proto-Reformation See also: Arnoldists, Taborites, Waldensians, Hussites and Lollards Execution of Jan Hus in 1415 In the late 1130s, Arnold of Brescia, an Italian canon regular became one of the first theologians to attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church. His teachings on apostolic poverty gained currency after his death among Arnoldists, and later more widely among Waldensians and the Spiritual Franciscans, though no written word of his has survived the official condemnation. In the early 1170s, Peter Waldo founded the Waldensians. He advocated an interpretation of the Gospel that led to conflicts with the Roman Catholic Church. By 1215, the Waldensians were declared heretical and subject to persecution. Despite that, the movement continues to exist to this day in Italy. In the 1370s, John Wycliffe—later dubbed the "Morning Star of Reformation"—started his activity as an English reformer. He rejected papal authority over secular power, translated the Bible into vernacular English, and preached anticlerical and biblically-centred reforms. Beginning in the early 1400s, Jan Hus—a Roman Catholic priest, Czech reformist and professor—influenced by John Wycliffe's writings, founded the Hussite movement. He strongly advocated his reformist Bohemian religious denomination. He was excommunicated and burned at the stake in Constance, Bishopric of Constance in 1415 by Roman Catholic Church authorities for unrepentant and persistent heresy. After his execution, a revolt erupted. Hussites defeated five continuous crusades proclaimed against them by the Pope. Starting in 1475, an Italian Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola was calling for a Christian renewal. Later on, Martin Luther himself read some of the friar's writings and praised him as a martyr and forerunner whose ideas on faith and grace anticipated Luther’s own doctrine of justification by faith alone. Some of Hus' followers founded the Unitas Fratrum—"Unity of the Brethren"—which was renewed under the leadership of Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf in Herrnhut, Saxony in 1722 after its almost total destruction in the Thirty Years' War and the Counter-Reformation. Today, it is usually referred to in English as the Moravian Church and in German as the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Reformation proper Main article: Protestant Reformation Distribution of Protestantism (red) and Catholicism (blue) in Central Europe on the eve of the Thirty Years' War Approximate spread of Protestantism during the Reformation and after the Counter Reformation in Europe The Protestant Reformation of the early 16th century began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church. German theologian Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses on the sale of indulgences in 1517. Parallel to events in Germany, a movement began in Switzerland under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli. The political separation of the Church of England from Rome under Henry VIII, beginning in 1529 and completed in 1536, brought England alongside this broad reformed movement. The Scottish Reformation of 1560 decisively shaped the Church of Scotland[30] and, through it, all other Presbyterian churches worldwide. Some of the most important activists of the Protestant Reformation include: Jacobus Arminius (Dutch theologian, founder of school of thought known as Arminianism), Heinrich Bullinger (successor of Zwingli, leading reformed theologian), John Calvin (French theologian, reformer and resident of Geneva, Switzerland; he founded the school of theology known as Calvinism), Balthasar Hubmaier (influential Anabaptist theologian, author of numerous works during his five years of ministry, tortured at Zwingli's behest, and executed in Vienna), John Knox (Scottish Calvinist and leader of the Scottish Reformation), Martin Luther (church reformer and founder of Protestantism, whose theological works guided those now known as Lutherans), Philipp Melanchthon (early Lutheran leader), Menno Simons (Anabaptist leader who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized Mennonitism), John Smyth (early Baptist leader) and Huldrych Zwingli (founder of Swiss Reformed tradition). Following the excommunication of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the Pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various groups in Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. In the course of this religious upheaval, the German Peasants' War of 1524–25 swept through the Bavarian, Thuringian and Swabian principalities. After the Eighty Years' War in the Low Countries and the French Wars of Religion, the confessional division of the states of the Holy Roman Empire eventually erupted in the Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648. This left Germany weakened and fragmented for 223 years more, until the unification of Germany under Prussia in 1871. The success of the Counter-Reformation on the continent and the growth of a Puritan party dedicated to further Protestant reform polarized the Elizabethan Age, although it was not until the Civil War of the 1640s that England underwent religious strife comparable to that which its neighbors had suffered some generations before. The "Great Awakenings" were periods of rapid and dramatic religious revival in Anglo-American religious history, generally recognized as beginning in the 1730s. They have also been described as periodic revolutions in colonial religious thought. Mainstream Protestantism began with the Magisterial Reformation, so called because the movement received support from the civil authorities known as magistrates. In the 20th century, Protestantism, especially in the United States, was characterized by accelerating fragmentation. The century saw the rise of both liberal and conservative splinter groups, as well as a general secularization of Western society. Notable developments in the 20th century of American Protestantism were the rise of Pentecostalism, Christian fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. While these movements have spilled over to Europe to a limited degree, the development of Protestantism in Europe was more dominated by secularization, leading to an increasingly "post-Christian Europe". Radical Reformation Main article: Radical Reformation Dissatisfaction with the outcome of a disputation in 1525 prompted Swiss Brethren to part ways with Huldrych Zwingli Unlike mainstream Protestant/Evangelical (Lutheran) and Protestant/Evangelical/Reformed (Calvinist, Zwinglian) movements, the Radical Reformation, which had no state sponsorship, generally abandoned the idea of the "Church visible" as distinct from the "Church invisible". It was a rational extension of the state-approved Protestant dissent, which took the value of independence from constituted authority a step further, arguing the same for the civic realm. The Radical Reformation was non-mainstream. Protestant ecclesial leaders such as Hubmaier and Hofmann preached the invalidity of infant baptism, advocating baptism as following conversion ("believer's baptism") instead. This was not a doctrine new to the reformers, but was taught by earlier groups, such as the Albigenses in 1147. In the view of many associated with the Radical Reformation, the Magisterial Reformation had not gone far enough. Radical Reformer, Andreas von Bodenstein Karlstadt, for example, referred to the Lutheran theologians at Wittenberg as the "new papists".[31] Since the term "magister" also means "teacher", the Magisterial Reformation is also characterized by an emphasis on the authority of a teacher. This is made evident in the prominence of Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli as leaders of the reform movements in their respective areas of ministry. Because of their authority, they were often criticized by Radical Reformers as being too much like the Roman Popes. A more political side of the Radical Reformation can be seen in the thought and practice of Hans Hut, although typically Anabaptism has been associated with pacifism. Denominations See also: List of Christian denominations § Protestantism and List of the largest Protestant churches Protestantism as state religion Protestants refer to specific groupings of churches that share in common foundational doctrines and the name of their groups as denominations.[32] Protestants reject the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine that it is the one true church, believing in the "invisible church," which consists of all who profess faith in Jesus Christ.[33] Some Protestant denominations are less accepting of other denominations, and the basic orthodoxy of some is questioned by most of the others. Individual denominations also have formed over very subtle theological differences. Other denominations are simply regional or ethnic expressions of the same beliefs. Because the five solas are the main tenets of the Protestant faith, Non-denominational groups and organizations are also considered Protestant. Various ecumenical movements have attempted cooperation or reorganization of the various divided Protestant denominations, according to various models of union, but divisions continue to outpace unions, as there is no overarching authority to which any of the churches owe allegiance, which can authoritatively define the faith. Most denominations share common beliefs in the major aspects of the Christian faith while differing in many secondary doctrines, although what is major and what is secondary is a matter of idiosyncratic belief. Protestants can be differentiated according to how they have been influenced by important movements since the Magisterial Reformation, Radical Reformation and the Puritan Reformation. Some of these movements have a common lineage, sometimes directly spawning individual denominations within denominational families. These are only the largest denominational families (due to the earlier stated multitude of denominations) in alphabetical order: Adventist, Anglican, Baptist, Congregational, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian and Reformed. Several countries have established their national churches, linking the ecclesiastical structure with the state. Jurisdictions where a Protestant denomination has been established as a state religion include several Nordic countries; Denmark (including Greenland),[34] the Faroe Islands (its church being independent since 2007),[35] Iceland[36] and Norway[37][38][39] have established Evangelical Lutheran churches. Tuvalu has the only established church in Reformed tradition in the world.[40] The Church of England is the officially established religious institution in England,[41][42][43] and also the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 1869, Finland was the first Nordic country to disestablish its Evangelical Lutheran church by introducing the Church Act.[d] Although the church still maintains a special relationship with the state, it is not described as a state religion in the Finnish Constitution or other laws passed by the Finnish Parliament.[44] In 2000, Sweden was the second Nordic country to do so.[45] Historical chart Historical chart of the main Protestant branches Spread and demographics Main article: Protestants by country See also: Christianity by country Protestant majority countries Countries by percentage of Protestants There are about 800 million Protestants worldwide,[3][17][46][47][48][49][e] among approximately 2.2 billion Christians.[50][51][52][53][f] These include 300 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million in the Americas, 140 million in Asia-Pacific region, 100 million in Europe and 2 million in Middle East-North Africa.[3] Protestants account for nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide and more than one tenth of the total human population.[3] Various estimates put the percentage of Protestants in relation to the total number of world's Christians at 33%,[46] 36%,[54] 36.7%,[3] and 40%,[17] while in relation to the world's population at 11.6%[3] and 13%.[49] In European countries which were most profoundly influenced by the Reformation, Protestantism still remains the most practiced religion.[46] These include the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom.[46][55] In other historical Protestant strongholds such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia and Hungary, it remains one of the most popular religions.[56] Although Czech Republic was the site of one of the most significant pre-reformation movements,[57] there are only few Protestant adherents;[58][59] mainly due to historical reasons like persecution of Protestants by the Catholic Habsburgs,[60] restrictions during the Communist rule, and also the ongoing secularization.[57] Over the last several decades, religious practice has been declining as secularization has increased.[46][61] According to a 2012 study about Religiosity in the European Union in 2012 by Eurobarometer, Protestants made up 12% of the EU population.[62] According to Pew Research Center, Protestants constituted nearly one fifth (or 17.8%) of the continent's Christian population in 2010.[3] Clarke and Beyer estimate that Protestants constituted 15% of all Europeans in 2009, while Noll claims that less than 12% of them lived in Europe in 2010.[46][48] Changes in worldwide Protestantism over the last century have been significant.[17][48][63] Since 1900, Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America.[22][49][63] That caused Protestantism to be called a primarily non-Western religion.[48][63] Much of the growth has occurred after World War II, when decolonization of Africa and abolition of various restrictions against Protestants in Latin American countries occurred.[49] According to one source, Protestants constituted respectively 2.5%, 2%, 0.5% of Latin Americans, Africans and Asians.[49] In 2000, percentage of Protestants on mentioned continents was 17%, more than 27% and 5.5%, respectively.[49] According to Mark A. Noll, 79% of Anglicans lived in the United Kingdom in 1910, while most of the remainder was found in the United States and across the British Commonwealth.[48] By 2010, 59% of Anglicans were found in Africa.[48] In 2010, more Protestants lived in India than in the United Kingdom or Germany, while Protestants in Brazil accounted for as many people as Protestants in the United Kingdom and Germany combined.[48] Almost as many lived in each of Nigeria and China as in all of Europe.[48] China is home to world's largest Protestant minority.[3][g] Protestantism is growing in Africa,[22][64][65] Asia,[22][65][66] Latin America,[65][67] and Oceania,[22][63] while remaining stable or declining in Anglo America[63] and Europe,[46][68] with some exceptions such as France,[69] where it was eradicated after the abolition of the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau and the following persecution of Huguenots, but now is claimed to be stable in number or even growing slightly.[69] According to some, Russia is another country to see a Protestant revival.[70][71][72] In 2010, the largest Protestant denominational families were historically Pentecostal denominations (10.8%), Anglican (10.6%), Lutheran (9.7%), Baptist (9%), United and uniting churches (unions of different denominations) (7.2%), Presbyterian or Reformed (7%), Methodist (3.4%), Adventist (2.7%), Congregationalist (0.5%), Brethren (0.5%), The Salvation Army (0.3%) and Moravian (0.1%). Other denominations accounted for 38.2% of Protestants.[3] United States is home to approximately 20% of Protestants.[3] According to a 2012 study, Protestant share of U.S. population dropped to 48%, thus ending its status as religion of the majority for the first time.[73][74][75] The decline is attributed mainly to the dropping membership of the Mainline Protestant churches,[73][76] while Evangelical Protestant and Black churches are stable or continue to grow.[73] Catholic and Orthodox view on Protestant denominations Passional Christi und Antichristi, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, from Luther's 1521 Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist. The Pope as the Antichrist, signing and selling indulgences St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants, 1572 The view of the Roman Catholic Church is that Protestant denominations cannot be considered "churches" but rather that they are ecclesial communities or "specific faith-believing communities" because their ordinances and doctrines are not historically the same as the Catholic sacraments and dogmas, and the Protestant communities have no sacramental ministerial priesthood and therefore lack true apostolic succession.[77][78] According to Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev) the Orthodox Catholic Church shares the same view on the subject.[79] Contrary to how the Protestant Reformers were often characterized, the concept of a catholic or universal Church was not brushed aside during the Protestant Reformation. On the contrary, the visible unity of the catholic or universal Church was seen by the Reformers as an important and essential doctrine of the Reformation. The Magisterial Reformers, such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli, believed that they were "reforming" the Roman Catholic Church, which they viewed as having become corrupted. Each of them took very seriously the charges of schism and innovation, denying these charges and maintaining that it was the Roman Catholic Church that had left them.[80] In order to justify their departure from the Roman Catholic Church, Protestants often posited a new argument, saying that there was no real visible Church with divine authority, only a "spiritual", "invisible", and "hidden" church— this notion began in the early days of the Protestant Reformation. Wherever the Magisterial Reformation, which received support from the ruling authorities, took place, the result was a reformed national Protestant church envisioned to be a part of the whole "invisible church", but disagreeing, in certain important points of doctrine and doctrine-linked practice, with what had until then been considered the normative reference point on such matters, namely the Papacy and central authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformed churches thus believed in some form of Catholicity, founded on their doctrines of the five solas and a visible ecclesiastical organization based on the 14th and 15th century Conciliar movement, rejecting the papacy and papal infallibility in favor of ecumenical councils, but rejecting the latest ecumenical council, the Council of Trent. Religious unity therefore became not one of doctrine and identity but one of invisible character, wherein the unity was one of faith in Jesus Christ, not common identity, doctrine, belief, and collaborative action. Roman Catholic apologists, citing 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 , Ephesians 4:1-6 , Philippians 2:1-2 , and 1 Peter 3:8 , have opposed this view.[81] Today there is a growing movement of Protestants, especially of the Calvinist tradition, that either reject or down-play the designation "Protestant" because of the negative idea that the word invokes in addition to its primary meaning, preferring the designation "Reformed", "Evangelical" or even "Reformed Catholic" expressive of what they call a "Reformed Catholicity" and defending their arguments from the traditional Protestant confessions.[82] Movements Anglicanism Main article: Anglicanism St Columb's Cathedral is the first Anglican cathedral to be built after the Reformation in the British Isles and the first non-Roman Catholic cathedral to be built in Western Europe The original separation of the Church of England (then including the Wales) and the Church of Ireland from Rome under King Henry VIII was largely political and its religious dimension smaller than some historians have assumed.[83] Apart from the introduction of the vernacular "Great Bible" in 1539 and a few minor changes, official stances on Christian faith and practice remained virtually unchanged until Henry's death.[84] A "programme of coherent Protestant reform" was implemented after his death by the Privy Council, its chief component being Cranmer's two Books of Common Prayer of 1549 and 1552.[84] This reform was reversed by Mary I (1553-8) but restored in a slightly more conservative shape by Elizabeth I in 1559, who resisted all attempts to move the Church of England towards a more extreme form of Protestantism.[84] In the 19th century some of the Tractarians argued that the Church of England and the other Anglican churches were not Protestant but a "reformed Catholic" or middle path (via media) between Rome and Protestantism. This assertion was attacked by, among others, the Church Association.[85] Today, the Anglican Communion continues to be composed of theologically diverse traditions, from reformed Sydney Anglicanism to Anglo-Catholicism, but the general understanding of its position is now that it contains both "Catholic" and "Protestant" elements of doctrine and practice.[86] Pietism and Methodism Main articles: Pietism and Methodism The German Pietist movement, together with the influence of the Puritan Reformation in England in the 17th century, were important influences upon John Wesley and Methodism, as well as new groups such as the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers") and the Moravian Brethren from Herrnhut, Saxony, Germany. The practice of a spiritual life, typically combined with social engagement, predominates in classical Pietism, which was a protest against the doctrine-centered "Protestant orthodoxy" of the times, in favor of depth of religious experience. Many of the more conservative Methodists went on to form the Holiness movement, which emphasized a rigorous experience of holiness in practical, daily life. Protestantism is the form of Christian faith and practice which originated with the Protestant Reformation,[a] a movement against what the Protestants considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church.[1] It is one of the major divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.[2][3] Anglicanism is often considered to be independent from Protestantism, although its origins lie in the English Reformation, which was concurrent with the Protestant Reformation. The term refers to the letter of protestation from Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical.[4] With its origins in present-day Germany, the modern movement is popularly considered to have begun in 1517 when Luther published The Ninety-Five Theses as a reaction against perceived abuses in the sale of indulgences, which purported to offer remission of sin to their purchasers.[5] Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church — notably by Peter Waldo, Arnold of Brescia,[6] John Wycliffe, and Jan Hus — only Martin Luther succeeded in sparking a wider, lasting movement.[7] All the many Protestant denominations reject the notion of papal supremacy over the Church universal and generally deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but they disagree among themselves regarding Christ's presence in the Eucharist.[8] The various denominations generally emphasize the priesthood of all believers, the doctrine of justification by faith alone (sola fide) rather than by or with good works, and a belief in the Bible alone (rather than with Christian tradition) as the sole authority in matters of faith and morals (sola scriptura).[9] The "Five solae" summarize the reformers' basic differences in theological beliefs in opposition to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.[10] Protestantism diffused throughout the European continent during the 16th century. Lutheranism spread into numerous states of the Holy Roman Empire (primarily in northern, central, and eastern areas of the Reich), Denmark–Norway, Sweden, Duchy of Prussia, Duchy of Courland and Livonia, amongst other polities.[11] Reformed churches were founded primarily in several states of the Holy Roman Empire (including the County Palatine of the Rhine), Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland, and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Knox.[12] In 1534, King Henry VIII put an end to all papal jurisdiction in England after the Roman Pope failed to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon;[13] this opened the door to reformational ideas, notably during the following reign of Edward VI, through Thomas Cranmer, Richard Hooker, and other theologians.[14][15] There were also reformational efforts throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation — a response to perceived corruption in both the Roman Catholic Church and the expanding Magisterial Reformation led by Luther and various other reformers — which gave rise to Anabaptist, Moravian, and other Pietistic movements.[16] In later centuries, Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, and other fields. Encompassing more than 800 million adherents, or nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide, Protestantism is present today on all continents.[3] The movement is more divided theologically and ecclesiastically than either Eastern Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism,[17] lacking both structural unity and central human authority.[17] Some Protestant churches do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership (notably, the Anglican Communion),[b] while others are confined to a single country, or even are solitary church bodies or congregations (such as the former Prussian Union of churches).[17] An exact number of denominations is difficult to calculate and depends on definition. Nevertheless, most Protestants are members of just a handful of denominational families: Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches,[c] Lutheranism, Methodism, and Pentecostalism.[3] |
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