View source for Protestantism

{{Short description|Major branch of Christianity}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
[[File:Lutherstadt_Wittenberg_09-2016_photo06.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The door to [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|All Saints' Church]] in [[Wittenberg]], where [[Martin Luther]] is alleged to have posted his ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'' in 1517 detailing his concerns with what he saw as the [[Catholic Church]]'s abuse and corruption. The ''Ninety-five Theses'' gave rise to Christian Protestantism as one of the world's primary religions, making Wittenberg the "cradle of Protestantism".]]
{{Protestantism|expanded=Topics}}
{{Christianity|expanded=hide}}
'''Protestantism''' is a branch of [[Christianity]]{{efn|Generally regarded as a division of [[Western Christianity]], though [[Eastern Protestant Christianity|Eastern Protestant]] denominations have developed outside of the West.}} that emphasizes [[Justification (theology)|justification]] of sinners [[Sola fide|through faith alone]], the teaching that [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] comes by unmerited [[Grace in Christianity|divine grace]], the [[Universal priesthood|priesthood of all believers]], and the [[Bible]] as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice.<ref name="WELS2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.wels.net/what-we-believe/questions-answers/christian/methodist-beliefs|title=Methodist Beliefs: In what ways are Lutherans different from United Methodists?|year=2014|publisher=Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod|access-date=22 May 2014|quote=The United Methodists see Scripture as the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine, emphasizing the importance of tradition, experience, and reason for Christian doctrine. Lutherans teach that the Bible is the sole source for Christian doctrine. The truths of Scripture do not need to be authenticated by tradition, human experience, or reason. Scripture is self-authenticating and is true in and of itself.|archive-date=22 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522105449/http://www.wels.net/what-we-believe/questions-answers/christian/methodist-beliefs|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YGqVAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA159|title=Mothering the Fatherland: A Protestant Sisterhood Repents for the Holocaust|first=George|last=Faithful|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0199363476|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002949/https://books.google.com/books?id=YGqVAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA159|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[five solae|five ''solae'']] summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism.

Protestants follow the [[theological]] tenets of the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]], a movement that began in the 16th century with the goal of reforming the [[Catholic Church]] from perceived [[Criticism of the Catholic Church|errors, abuses, and discrepancies]].<ref>Löffler, K. (1910), [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09162a.htm Pope Leo X] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501164045/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09162a.htm |date=1 May 2012 }}, [[The Catholic Encyclopedia]], New York: Robert Appleton Company, "The immediate cause was bound up with the odious greed for money displayed by the Roman Curia, and shows how far short all efforts at reform had hitherto fallen...Abuses occurred during the preaching of the Indulgence. The money contributions, a mere accessory, were frequently the chief object, and the "Indulgences for the Dead" became a vehicle of inadmissible teachings...(The pope) gave himself up unrestrainedly to his pleasures and failed to grasp fully the duties of his high office."</ref>{{efn|Some movements such as the [[Hussites]] or the [[Lollards]] are also considered Protestant today, although their origins date back to centuries before the launch of the Reformation. Others, such as the [[Waldensians]], were later incorporated into another branch of Protestantism; in this case, the Reformed branch.}} The Reformation began in the [[Holy Roman Empire]]{{efn|Specifically, in [[Wittenberg]], [[Electoral Saxony]]. Even today, especially in German contexts, [[Saxony]] is often described as the "motherland of the Reformation" ({{langx|de|Mutterland der Reformation}}).}} in 1517, when [[Martin Luther]] published his ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'' as a reaction against abuses in the sale of [[indulgence]]s by the Catholic Church, which purported to offer the remission of the [[Purgatory|temporal punishment]] of sins to their purchasers.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLBa5aO7fgQC|title=Protestants: A History from Wittenberg to Pennsylvania 1517–1740|first=C. Scott|last=Dixon|date=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1444328110|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002943/https://books.google.com/books?id=xLBa5aO7fgQC|url-status=live}}</ref> The term, however, derives from the [[Protestation at Speyer|letter of protestation]] from German Lutheran [[Fürst|princes]] in 1529 against an [[edict]] of the [[Diet of Speyer (1529)|Diet of Speyer]] condemning the [[Theology of Martin Luther|teachings of Martin Luther]] as [[Heresy in Christianity|heretical]].<ref>''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (1974) art. "Speyer (Spires), Diets of"</ref> In the [[Christianity in the 16th century|16th century]], [[Lutheranism]] spread from Germany{{efn|At the time Germany and the surrounding region was fragmented into [[States of the Holy Roman Empire|numerous states]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Areas which turned Protestant were primarily located in northern, central and eastern areas of the Empire.}} into [[Denmark–Norway]], [[History of Sweden (1523–1611)|Sweden]], [[Finland under Swedish rule|Finland]], [[Terra Mariana|Livonia]], and [[History of Iceland#Iceland under Norwegian and Danish kings (1262–1944)|Iceland]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Htz8M1Xlqi4C&pg=PA9|title=Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism|first1=Günther|last1=Gassmann|first2=Duane H.|last2=Larson|first3=Mark W.|last3=Oldenburg|date=2001|publisher=Scarecrow Press|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0810866201|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=10 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610070110/https://books.google.com/books?id=Htz8M1Xlqi4C&pg=PA9|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Calvinist]] churches spread in Germany,{{efn|Several states of the Holy Roman Empire adopted Calvinism, including the [[Electoral Palatinate|County Palatine of the Rhine]].}} [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Hungary]], the [[Habsburg Netherlands|Netherlands]], [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]], [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Switzerland]], [[France in the early modern period|France]], [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]] and [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]], led by [[Protestant Reformers]] such as [[John Calvin]], [[Huldrych Zwingli]] and [[John Knox]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1asvyE-1DUkC&pg=PT19|title=Calvinism|first=Abraham|last=Kuyper|date=1899|publisher=Primedia E-launch LLC|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1622090457|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=10 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610070117/https://books.google.com/books?id=1asvyE-1DUkC&pg=PT19|url-status=live}}</ref> The political separation of the [[Church of England]] from the Catholic Church under [[Henry VIII|King Henry VIII]] began [[Anglicanism]], bringing England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement, under the leadership of reformer [[Thomas Cranmer]], whose work forged Anglican doctrine and identity.{{efn|For further information, see [[English Reformation]]. In this article, Anglicanism is considered a branch of Protestantism as a part of movements derived directly from the 16th century Reformation. While today the [[Church of England]] often considers itself to be a ''[[via media]]'' between Protestantism and the Catholic Church, until the rise of the [[Oxford Movement]] in the 1830s the church generally considered itself to be Protestant. (Neill, Stephen. ''Anglicanism'' Pelican 1960, pp. 170, 259–260)}}

Protestantism is diverse, being divided into various denominations on the basis of [[Christian theology|theology]] and [[Protestant ecclesiology|ecclesiology]], not forming a single structure as with the Catholic Church, [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] or [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodoxy]].<ref name="Hillerbrand" /> Protestants adhere to the concept of an [[Church invisible|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).<ref name="Karl Heussi 1956 pp. 317–319">Heussi, Karl (1956). ''Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte'', 11., Tübingen (Germany), pp. 317–319, 325–326</ref><ref name="Remensnyder1893" /><ref name="Frey1918" /> Some [[Christian denomination|denominations]] do have a worldwide scope and distribution of [[church membership]], while others are confined to a single country.<ref name="Hillerbrand">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Hillerbrand |editor-given=Hans J. |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |volume=1–4 |year=2004 |place=London; New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-92472-6 |url={{Google books|id=PMSTAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=y|page=59}} |archive-date=2020-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002949/https://books.google.com/books?id=PMSTAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA349 |url-status=live}}</ref> A majority of Protestants{{efn|According to Pew 2011 report on Christianity about 60% (defined strictly, as some denominations given individual percentages in the report could be considered a part of one of the seven main distinguishable Protestant branches, e.g. [[The Salvation Army]] could be considered a part of Methodism). The majority figures given in such reports or in other sources may vary considerably.}} are members of a handful of Protestant denominational families;<!--Do not add Presbyterianism or Congregationalism, both of which belong to the Reformed tradition.--> [[Adventism|Adventists]], [[Anabaptism|Anabaptists]], [[Anglicanism|Anglicans/Episcopalians]], [[Baptists]], [[Reformed Christianity|Calvinist/Reformed]],{{efn|This branch was first called ''Calvinism'' by Lutherans who opposed it, but many find the word ''Reformed'' to be more descriptive.<ref name="Hägglund 2007">{{cite book |last=Hägglund|first=Bengt|title=Teologins Historia|language=de|trans-title=History of Theology|others=Translated by Gene J. Lund|edition=Fourth Revised|year=2007|location=Saint Louis|publisher=Concordia Publishing House}}</ref> It includes [[Presbyterianism]], [[Congregational church|Congregationalism]], many of [[united and uniting churches]], as well as historic [[Continental Reformed church]]es in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, and elsewhere.}} [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Methodism|Methodists]], [[Moravian Church|Moravians]], [[Pentecostals]], [[Plymouth Brethren]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]], and [[Quakerism|Quakers]].<ref name="pewforum1">{{cite web |date=19 December 2011 |title=Pewforum: Grobal Christianity |url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101114257/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf |archive-date=1 November 2013 |access-date=14 May 2014}}</ref><!--Do not add further (minor) denominational families here--> [[Nondenominational Christianity|Nondenominational]], [[Charismatic movement|charismatic]] and [[Independent (religion)|independent]] churches are also on the rise, having recently expanded rapidly throughout much of the world, and constitute a significant part of Protestantism.<ref>[http://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/evangelical-churches World Council of Churches: Evangelical churches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107095948/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/evangelical-churches/ |date=7 January 2015 }}: "Evangelical churches have grown exponentially in the second half of the 20th century and continue to show great vitality, especially in the global South. This resurgence may in part be explained by the phenomenal growth of Pentecostalism and the emergence of the charismatic movement, which are closely associated with evangelicalism. However, there can be no doubt that the evangelical tradition "per se" has become one of the major components of world Christianity. Evangelicals also constitute sizable minorities in the traditional Protestant and Anglican churches. In regions like Africa and Latin America, the boundaries between "evangelical" and "mainline" are rapidly changing and giving way to new ecclesial realities."</ref> These various movements, collectively labeled "popular Protestantism"{{efn|A flexible term; defined as all forms of Protestantism with the notable exception of the historical denominations deriving from the Protestant Reformation.}} by scholars such as [[Peter L. Berger]], have been called one of the contemporary world's most dynamic religious movements.<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ic5pyiIkTxAC&pg=PA16|title=Religion in Global Civil Society|editor-first=Mark|editor-last=Juergensmeyer|chapter=Religion and Global Civil Society|last=Berger|first=Peter L.|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0198040699|access-date=8 January 2016|archive-date=19 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319211612/http://books.google.com/books?id=Ic5pyiIkTxAC&pg=PA16|url-status=live}}</ref> There are currently more than 1.18 billion Protestants worldwide.<ref name="pewforum1" /><ref name="gordonconwell.edu">{{cite web |url=https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2025/01/Status-of-Global-Christianity-2025.pdf |title=Status of Global Christianity, 2025, in the Context of 1900 –2050 |publisher=Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary  |access-date=28 March 2025 |archive-date=15 Feb 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215101012/https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2025/01/Status-of-Global-Christianity-2025.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|Author Hans Hillerbrand estimated a total Protestant population of 833,457,000 in 2004,<ref name="books.google.pl">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Hillerbrand |editor-given=Hans J. |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |volume=1–4 |year=2004 |place=London; New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-92472-6 |page=2 |url={{Google books|id=PMSTAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=y|page=2}} |archive-date=2020-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002949/https://books.google.com/books?id=PMSTAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA349 |url-status=live}}</ref> while a report by Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary 1,189,781,000 in early 2025.<ref name="gordonconwell.edu"/>}}{{TOC limit|3}}

==Terminology==
{{multiple image
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|image1=Gedaechtniskirche Speyer Sued.jpg
|caption1=[[Gedächtniskirche, Speyer|Memorial Church]], finished and consecrated 1904, in [[Speyer]], Germany commemorates the [[Protestation at Speyer|Protestation]].
|image2=Protestierende-Speyer Worms Lutherdenkmal (37a).jpg
|caption2=''The Protesting Speyer'', part of the [[Luther Monument (Worms)|Luther Monument]] in [[Worms, Germany]]}}

===Protestant===
Six princes of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and rulers of fourteen [[Imperial Free City|Imperial Free Cities]], who issued [[protestation at Speyer|a protest]] (or dissent) against the edict of the [[Diet of Speyer (1529)]], were the first individuals to be called Protestants.<ref name="etymonline.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=protestant|title=protestant – Origin and meaning of protestant |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=31 December 2014|archive-date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231135327/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=protestant|url-status=live}}</ref> The edict reversed concessions made to the [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]] with the approval of [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] [[Diet of Speyer (1526)|three years earlier]]. The term ''protestant'', though initially purely political in nature, later acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church which subscribed to the main Protestant principles.<ref name="etymonline.com"/> A Protestant is an adherent of any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Definition of Protestant |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/protestant |website=Dictionary.com |access-date=15 October 2019 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015034937/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/protestant |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the Reformation, the term ''protestant'' was hardly used outside of German politics. People who were involved in the religious movement used the word ''evangelical'' ({{langx|de|evangelisch}}). For further details, see the section below. Gradually, ''protestant'' became a general term, meaning any adherent of the Reformation in the German-speaking area. It was ultimately somewhat taken up by Lutherans, even though [[Martin Luther]] himself insisted on ''Christian'' or ''evangelical'' as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed faith in Christ. [[Huguenots|French]] and [[Reformation in Switzerland|Swiss Protestants]] instead preferred the word ''reformed'' ({{langx|fr|réformé}}), which became a popular, neutral, and alternative name for Calvinists.

===Evangelical===
The word ''evangelical'' ({{langx|de|evangelisch}}), which refers to [[the gospel]], was widely used for those involved in the religious movement in the German-speaking area beginning in 1517.<ref>{{cite book |last=MacCulloch |first=Diarmaid |title=The Reformation: A History |location=New York |publisher=Penguin |year=2003 |author-link=Diarmaid MacCulloch |page=xx|title-link=The Reformation: A History}}</ref> ''Evangelical'' is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran, Calvinist, and United (Lutheran and Reformed) Protestant traditions in Europe, and those with strong ties to them. Above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the [[German-speaking Europe|German-speaking area]], such as the [[Protestant Church in Germany]]. Thus, the [[German language|German]] word ''{{lang|de|evangelisch}}'' means Protestant, while the German ''{{lang|de|evangelikal}}'', refers to churches shaped by [[Evangelicalism]]. The English word ''evangelical'' usually refers to [[evangelical Protestant]] churches, and therefore to a certain part of Protestantism rather than to Protestantism as a whole. The English word traces its roots back to the [[Puritans]] in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the [[United States]].

Martin Luther always disliked the term ''Lutheran'', preferring the term ''evangelical'', which was derived from ''euangelion'', a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. "[[The Gospel|gospel]]".<ref name=OOE796>Espín, Orlando O. and Nickoloff, James B. ''An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies''. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, p. 796.</ref> The followers of [[John Calvin]], [[Huldrych Zwingli]], and other theologians linked to the [[Reformed tradition]] also began to use that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to the two groups as ''Evangelical Lutheran'' and ''Evangelical Reformed''. The word also pertains in the same way to some other mainline groups, for example ''Evangelical Methodist''. As time passed by, the word ''evangelical'' was dropped. Lutherans themselves began to use the term ''Lutheran'' in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the [[Philippists]] and [[Calvinists]].

===Reformational===
The [[German language|German]] word ''{{lang|de|reformatorisch}}'', which roughly translates to English as "reformational" or "reforming", is used as an alternative for ''{{lang|de|evangelisch}}'' in German, and is different from English ''reformed'' ({{langx|de|reformiert}}), which refers to churches shaped by ideas of [[John Calvin]], [[Huldrych Zwingli]], and other Reformed theologians. Derived from the word "Reformation", the term emerged around the same time as ''Evangelical'' (1517) and ''Protestant'' (1529).

==Theology==

===Main principles===
{{multiple image
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| width             = 250
| image1            = Mikolow protestant church pulpit.jpg
| caption1          = Two central figures of the [[Reformation]], [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Calvin]], depicted on a church [[pulpit]]; both Luther and Calvin emphasized making preaching a centerpiece of worship.
| image2            = Lutherbibel.jpg
| caption2          = The [[Bible]] translated into [[vernacular]] by Martin Luther. In Protestantism, the Bible is the supreme authority of [[religious text|scripture]].
}}

Many experts have proposed criteria to determine whether a Christian denomination should be considered part of Protestantism. A common consensus approved by most of them is that if a Christian denomination is to be considered Protestant, it must acknowledge the following three fundamental principles of Protestantism.<ref name = "Encyclopedia of Protestantism">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Melton |editor-given=J. Gordon |editor-link=J. Gordon Melton |year=2005 |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions |url={{Google books|id=bW3sXBjnokkC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-8160-5456-8 |archive-date=2021-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323181207/https://books.google.com/books?id=bW3sXBjnokkC&pg=PR11 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Scripture alone====
{{main|Sola scriptura}}
The belief, emphasized by Luther, in the Bible as the highest 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 [[Sacred Tradition|church tradition]]. The many abuses that had occurred in the Western Church before the Protestant Reformation led the Reformers to reject much of its tradition. In the early 20th century, a less critical reading of the Bible developed in the United States—leading to a "[[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist]]" reading of Scripture. Christian fundamentalists read the Bible as the "inerrant, [[Biblical infallibility|infallible]]" Word of God, as do the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches, but interpret it in a [[Biblical literalism|literalist]] fashion without using the [[historical-critical method]]. Methodists and Anglicans differ from Lutherans and the Reformed on this doctrine as they teach ''[[prima scriptura]]'', which holds that Scripture is the primary source for Christian doctrine, but that "tradition, experience, and reason" can nurture the Christian religion as long as they are in harmony with the Bible ([[Protestant Bible|Protestant canon]]).<ref name="WELS2014"/><ref name="Humphrey2013">{{cite book|last=Humphrey|first=Edith M.|title=Scripture and Tradition |year=2013|publisher=Baker Books|language=en |isbn=978-1-4412-4048-4|page=16|quote=historically Anglicans have adopted what could be called a prima Scriptura position.}}</ref>

"Biblical Christianity" focused on a deep study of the Bible is characteristic of most Protestants as opposed to "Church Christianity", focused on performing rituals and good works, represented by Catholic and Orthodox traditions. However, [[Quakers]], [[Pentecostalists]] and [[Spiritual Christianity|Spiritual Christians]] emphasize the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] and personal closeness to God.<ref>Woodhead, Linda. ''Christianity: A Very Short Introduction'' (Oxford University Press, 2014). pp. 57–70.</ref>

====Justification by faith alone====
{{main|Sola fide}}
The belief that believers are [[justification (theology)|justified]], or pardoned for sin, solely on condition of faith in [[Jesus|Christ]] rather than a combination of faith and [[good works]]. For Protestants, good works are a necessary consequence rather than cause of justification.<ref name="SchaffHerzog">{{cite book|first1=Johann Jakob|last1=Herzog|last2=Philip Schaff|first2=Albert|title=The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge|year=1911|page=419|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AmYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906050433/https://books.google.com/books?id=AmYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419|url-status=live}}</ref> However, while justification is by faith alone, there is the position that faith is not ''nuda fides''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Justification by Faith in Catholic-Protestant Dialogue|last=Lane|first=Anthony|publisher=T & T Clark|year=2006|isbn=0567040046|location=London|page=27}}</ref> John Calvin explained that "it is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone: just as it is the heat alone of the sun which warms the earth, and yet in the sun it is not alone."<ref name=":0" /> Lutheran and Reformed Christians differ from Methodists in their understanding of this doctrine.<ref name="Bucher2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.orlutheran.com/html/methodism.html|title=Methodism|last=Bucher|first=Richard P.|year=2014|publisher=Lutheran Church Missouri Synod|location=Lexington|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725061927/http://www.orlutheran.com/html/methodism.html|archive-date=25 July 2014|quote=Also, for Methodists full salvation involves not only justification by faith, but repentance and holy living as well. Whereas in Lutheran theology the central doctrine and focus of all our worship and life is justification by grace through faith, for Methodists the central focus has always been holy living and the striving for perfection. Wesley gave the analogy of a house. He said repentance is the porch. Faith is the door. But holy living is the house itself. Holy living is true religion. “Salvation is like a house. To get into the house you first have to get on the porch (repentance) and then you have to go through the door (faith). But the house itself—one’s relationship with God—is holiness, holy living” (Joyner, paraphrasing Wesley, 3).}}</ref>

====Universal priesthood of believers====
The universal [[Priesthood of all believers|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 which makes ordained priests the necessary mediators between God and the people.<ref name="SchaffHerzog" /> It is distinguished from the concept of the priesthood of all believers, which did not grant individuals the right to interpret the Bible apart from the Christian community at large because universal priesthood opened the door to such a possibility.<ref name="willsky">{{Cite book|title=American Unitarianism and the Protestant Dilemma: The Conundrum of Biblical Authority|last=Willsky-Ciollo|first=Lydia|publisher=Lexington Books |year=2015 |isbn=978-0739188927|location=Lanham, MD|pages=9–10}}</ref> There are scholars who cite that this doctrine tends to subsume all distinctions in the church under a single spiritual entity.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life|last=Chan|first=Simon|publisher=IVP Academic|year=1998|isbn=978-0830815425|location=Downers Grove, IL|page=105}}</ref> Calvin referred to the universal priesthood as an expression of the relation between the believer and his God, including the freedom of a Christian to come to God through Christ without human mediation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Church in the Theology of the Reformers|last=Avis|first=Paul|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|year=2002|isbn=1592441009|location=Eugene, OR|page=95}}</ref> He also maintained that this principle recognizes Christ as [[prophet]], priest, and king and that his priesthood is shared with his people.<ref name=":1" />

===Trinity===
{{See also|Trinity|Nontrinitarianism}}
[[File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.svg|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Trinity]] is the belief that [[God in Christianity|God]] is one God in three persons: [[God the Father|the Father]], [[Jesus|the Son]] ([[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]]), and the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]].]]
Protestants who adhere to the [[Nicene Creed]] believe in three [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|person]]s ([[God the Father]], [[God the Son]], and the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|God the Holy Spirit]]) as one God.

Movements that emerged around the time of the Protestant Reformation, but are not a part of Protestantism (e.g. [[Unitarianism]]), reject the [[Trinity]]. This often serves as a reason for exclusion of the [[Unitarian Universalism]], [[Oneness Pentecostalism]], and other movements from Protestantism by various observers. Unitarianism continues to have a presence mainly in [[Transylvania]], England, and the United States.<ref name="willsky" />

===Five solae===
{{Main|Five solae}}
The Five ''{{lang|la|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.<ref name="WELS2014" /> The Latin word ''{{lang|la|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 Lutheran and Reformed principle of ''{{lang|la|[[sola scriptura]]}}'' (by scripture alone).<ref name="WELS2014"/> 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 [[Age of Enlightenment|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, ''{{lang|la|[[sola fide]]}}'' (by faith alone), states that faith in Christ is sufficient alone for eternal salvation and justification. Though argued from scripture, and hence logically consequent to ''{{lang|la|sola scriptura}}'', this is the guiding principle of the work of Luther and the later reformers. Because ''{{lang|la|sola scriptura}}'' placed the Bible as the only source of teaching, ''{{lang|la|sola fide}}'' epitomizes 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.
* ''{{lang|la|[[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 in Christianity|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.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matt.|16:18}}, {{Bibleverse|1Cor.|3:11||1 Cor. 3:11}}, {{Bibleverse|Eph.|2:20}}, {{Bibleverse|1Pet.|2:5–6||1 Pet. 2:5–6}}, {{Bibleverse|Rev.|21:14}}</ref>
* ''{{lang|la|[[Sola Gratia]]}}'': ''Grace alone''
: Protestants perceived 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.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matt.|7:21}}</ref>
* ''{{lang|la|[[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 in Christianity|atonement]] of [[Jesus]] on [[Christian cross|the cross]] but also the gift of faith in that atonement, created in the heart of the believer by the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]. The reformers believed that human beings—even saints [[canonization|canonized]] by the Catholic Church, the popes, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy—are not worthy of the glory.

===Christ's presence in the Eucharist===
{{Main|Eucharistic theology}}
[[File:Abendmahl-1547-LC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A 1547 [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] depiction of the [[Last Supper]] by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]
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 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 in the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]], the Body and Blood of Christ are present "in, with, and under the form" of bread and wine for all those who eat and drink it,<ref>{{bibleverse|1Cor|10:16|47}}, {{bibleverse|1Cor|11:20, 27|47|11:20, 27}}</ref><ref>Engelder, T.E.W., [https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 ''Popular Symbolics'']. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 95, Part XXIV. "The Lord's Supper", paragraph 131.</ref> a doctrine that the [[Formula of Concord]] calls the [[Sacramental union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |title=The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Article 8, The Holy Supper |publisher=Bookofconcord.com |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-date=21 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121030003/http://bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> God earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament,<ref>{{bibleverse|Lk|22:19–20|50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415004724/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> forgiveness of sins,<ref>{{bibleverse|Mt|26:28|50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528150447/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=28 May 2011}}</ref> and eternal salvation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=St. Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415004724/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref>
* The [[Reformed churches]] emphasize the [[Real presence#Reformed|real ''spiritual'' presence]], or ''sacramental presence'', of Christ, saying that the sacrament is a sanctifying grace through which the elect believer does not actually partake 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. Calvin also emphasizes the real presence of Christ by the Holy Spirit during Eucharist. This is often referred to as ''dynamic presence''.
* Anglicans and Methodists refuse to define the Presence, preferring to leave it a mystery.<ref name="Neal2014">{{cite book|last=Neal|first=Gregory S.|title=Sacramental Theology and the Christian Life|year= 2014|publisher=WestBow Press|isbn=978-1490860077|page=111|quote=For Anglicans and Methodists the reality of the presence of Jesus as received through the sacramental elements is not in question. Real presence is simply accepted as being true, its mysterious nature being affirmed and even lauded in official statements like ''This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion.''}}</ref> The Prayer Books describe the bread and wine as outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace which is the Body and Blood of Christ. However, the words of their liturgies suggest that one can hold to a belief in the Real Presence and Spiritual and Sacramental Present at the same time. For example, "... and you have fed us with the spiritual food in the Sacrament of his body and Blood;" "...the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, and for assuring us in these holy mysteries..." American Book of Common Prayer, 1977, pp.&nbsp;365–366.
* Anabaptists hold a popular simplification of the [[Theology of Huldrych Zwingli|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 as ''memorialism'').<ref name="Balmer2002">{{cite book|last1=Balmer|first1=Randall Herbert|last2=Winner|first2=Lauren F.|title=Protestantism in America|url=https://archive.org/details/protestantismame00balm_593|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|location=[[New York City|New York]]|isbn=978-0231111300|page=[https://archive.org/details/protestantismame00balm_593/page/n42 26]}}</ref>

=== Other beliefs ===
Protestants reject the Catholic doctrine of [[papal supremacy]], and have variant views on the number of [[sacrament]]s, the [[Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist|real presence]] of [[Jesus in Christianity|Christ]] in the [[Eucharist]], and matters of [[ecclesiastical polity]] and [[apostolic succession]].<ref name="Haffner1999">{{cite book |last=Haffner |first=Paul |title=The Sacramental Mystery |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-0852444764 |page=11 |quote=The [[Augsburg Confession]] drawn up by Melanchton, one of Luther's disciples admitted only three sacraments, Baptist, the Lord's Supper and Penance. Melanchton left the way open for the other five sacred signs to be considered as "secondary sacraments". However, Zwingli, Calvin and most of the later Reformed tradition accepted only Baptism and the Lord's Supper as sacraments, but in a highly symbolic sense.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dixon |first=C. Scott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLBa5aO7fgQC |title=Protestants: A History from Wittenberg to Pennsylvania 1517–1740 |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1444328110 |access-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002943/https://books.google.com/books?id=xLBa5aO7fgQC |archive-date=23 May 2020 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Protestantism}}

===Pre-Reformation===
{{See also|Proto-Protestantism|Girolamo Savonarola}}
[[File:lollardmap.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Spread of [[Lollardy]] in [[Medieval England]] and [[Medieval Scotland]]]]
[[File:Muttich, Kamil Vladislav - Mistr Jan Hus na hranici v Kostnici 1415.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The execution of [[Jan Hus]] in 1415]]
[[File:Girolamo-Savonarola----w.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Girolamo Savonarola]]]]
[[File:Portret van Johan Wessel Gansfort, RP-P-1906-1520.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Wessel Gansfort]]]]
Many of the individual ideas that were taken up by various reformers had historical pre-cursors; however, calling them ''proto-reformers'' is controversial, as often their theology also had components that are not associated with later Protestants, or that were asserted by some Protestants but denied by others, or that were only superficially similar.

One of the earliest persons to be praised as a Protestant forerunner is [[Jovinian]], who lived in the fourth century AD. He attacked [[monasticism]], [[Asceticism|ascetism]] and believed that a saved believer can never be overcome by Satan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311–600 – Christian Classics Ethereal Library|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3.iii.vii.xix.html|access-date=2021-12-21|website=www.ccel.org|archive-date=21 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221094001/https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3.iii.vii.xix.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 9th century, the theologian [[Gottschalk of Orbais]] was condemned for heresy by the Catholic Church. Gottschalk believed that the salvation of Jesus was limited and that his redemption was only for the elect.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gottschalk Of Orbais {{!}} Roman Catholic theologian {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gottschalk-of-Orbais|access-date=2021-12-13|website=www.britannica.com|language=en|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121161752/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gottschalk-of-Orbais|url-status=live}}</ref> The theology of Gottschalk anticipated the Protestant reformation.<ref>{{cite web|last=caryslmbrown|date=2017-07-18|title=Reformation parallels: the case of Gottschalk of Orbais|url=https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2017/07/18/reformation-parallels-the-case-of-gottschalk-of-orbais/|access-date=2021-10-27|website=Doing History in Public|language=en|archive-date=28 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028215011/https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2017/07/18/reformation-parallels-the-case-of-gottschalk-of-orbais/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lockridge|first=Kenneth R.|title=Gottschalk "Fulgentius" of Orbais|url=https://www.academia.edu/11213309|access-date=13 December 2021|archive-date=14 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114133600/https://www.academia.edu/11213309|url-status=live}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=August 2023}} [[Ratramnus]] also defended the theology of Gottschalk and denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; his writings also influenced the later Protestant reformation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ratramnus {{!}} Benedictine theologian {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ratramnus|access-date=2021-12-14|website=www.britannica.com|language=en|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121090330/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ratramnus|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Claudius of Turin]] in the 9th century also held Protestant ideas, such as [[Sola fide|faith alone]] and rejection of the supremacy of Peter.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Milner|first=Joseph|title=The History of the Church of Christ Volume 3|quote=A comment on the epistle to the Galatians, is his only work which was committed to the press. In it he every where asserts the equality of all the apostles with St. Peter. And, indeed, he always owns Jesus Christ to be the only proper head of the church. He is severe against the doctrine of human merits, and of the exaltation of traditions to a height of credibility equal to that of the divine word. He maintains that we are to be saved by faith alone; holds the fallibility of the church, exposes the futility of praying for the dead, and the sinfulness of the idolatrous practices then supported by the Roman see. Such are the sentiments found in his commentary on the epistle to the Galatians.}}</ref>

In the late 1130s, [[Arnold of Brescia]], an Italian [[canon regular]] became one of the first theologians to attempt to reform the Catholic Church. After his death, his teachings on [[apostolic poverty]] gained currency 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 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, as [[Waldensian Evangelical Church|a part of the wider Reformed tradition]].

In the 1370s, Oxford theologian and priest [[John Wycliffe]]—later dubbed the "Morning Star of Reformation"—started his activity as an English reformer. He rejected papal authority over secular power (in that any person in mortal sin lost their authority and should be resisted: a priest with possessions, such as a pope, was in such grave sin), may have [[Wycliffe's Bible|translated the Bible]] into [[vernacular]] [[English language|English]], and preached anticlerical and biblically centred reforms. His rejection of a real divine presence in the elements of the Eucharist foreshadowed Huldrych Zwingli's similar ideas in the 16th century. Wycliffe's admirers came to be known as "[[Lollardy|Lollards]]".<ref>{{Cite book |author=MacCulloch, Diarmaid |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1303898228 |title=A history of Christianity : the first three thousand years |oclc=1303898228 |access-date=29 June 2022 |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831153624/http://worldcat.org/title/1303898228 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Beginning in the first decade of the 15th century, [[Jan Hus]]—a Catholic priest, Czech reformist and professor—influenced by John Wycliffe's writings, founded the [[Hussite]] movement. He strongly advocated his reformist [[Bohemia]]n religious denomination. He was [[excommunication|excommunicated]] and [[burned at the stake]] in [[Konstanz|Constance]], [[Bishopric of Constance]], in 1415 by secular authorities for unrepentant and persistent heresy. After his execution, a revolt erupted. Hussites defeated five continuous crusades proclaimed against them by the [[Pope]].

Later theological disputes caused a split within the Hussite movement. [[Utraquism|Utraquists]] maintained that both the bread and the wine should be administered to the people during the Eucharist. Another major faction were the [[Taborites]], who opposed the Utraquists in the [[Battle of Lipany]] during the [[Hussite Wars]]. There were two separate parties among the Hussites: moderate and radical movements. Other smaller regional Hussite branches in [[Bohemia]] included [[Adamites]], [[Orebites]], [[Sirotci|Orphans]], and Praguers.

The Hussite Wars concluded with the victory of [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]], his Catholic allies and moderate Hussites and the defeat of the radical Hussites. Tensions arose as the [[Thirty Years' War]] reached Bohemia in 1620. Both moderate and radical Hussitism was increasingly persecuted by Catholics and Holy Roman Emperor's armies.

In the 14th century, a German mysticist group called the [[Friends of God|Gottesfreunde]] criticized the Catholic church and its corruption. Many of their leaders were executed for attacking the Catholic church and they believed that God's judgement would soon come upon the church. The Gottesfreunde were a democratic lay movement and forerunner of the Reformation and put heavy stress of holiness and piety,<ref>{{cite web|title=Friends of God {{!}} religious group {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Friends-of-God|access-date=2021-12-13|website=www.britannica.com|language=en|archive-date=25 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125125434/https://www.britannica.com/event/Friends-of-God|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":02">{{cite web|title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume VI: The Middle Ages. A.D. 1294–1517 |via=Christian Classics Ethereal Library|url=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc6/hcc6.iii.x.v.html|access-date=2021-11-17|website=ccel.org|archive-date=17 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117065912/https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc6/hcc6.iii.x.v.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some of Hus' followers founded the [[Unitas Fratrum]]—"Unity of the Brethren"—which was renewed under the leadership of [[Zinzendorf|Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf]] in [[Herrnhut]], [[Saxony]], in 1722 after its almost total destruction in the [[Thirty Years' War]] and the [[Counter-Reformation#Politics|Counterreformation ("Catholic Reformation")]]. Today, it is usually referred to in English as the [[Moravian Church]] and in German as the [[Moravian Church|Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine]].

In the 15th century, three German theologians anticipated the reformation: [[Wessel Gansfort]], [[Johann Ruchrat von Wesel|Johann Ruchat von Wesel]], and [[Johannes von Goch]]. They held ideas such as [[predestination]], [[sola scriptura]], and the [[church invisible]], and denied the Catholic view on justification and the authority of the Pope, also questioning [[Christian monasticism|monasticism]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume VI: The Middle Ages. A.D. 1294–1517 |via= Christian Classics Ethereal Library|url=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc6/hcc6.iii.x.iv.html|access-date=2021-11-14|website=ccel.org|archive-date=14 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114121627/https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc6/hcc6.iii.x.iv.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Wessel Gansfort also denied [[transubstantiation]] and anticipated the Lutheran view of justification by faith alone.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2016|title=The forms of communication employed by the Protestant Reformers and especially Luther and Calvin|url=http://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_25_vol_98_2017.pdf|journal=Pharos Journal of Theology|volume=98|quote=John of Wessel was one member in the group who attacked indulgences (Reddy 2004:115). The doctrine of justification by faith alone was the teaching of John of Wessel (Kuiper 1982:151). He rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation where it is believed when the priest pronounces the sacraments then the wine and bread is turned into the real body and blood of Christ|access-date=14 December 2021|archive-date=5 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105230957/http://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_25_vol_98_2017.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Reformation proper===
{{Main|Protestant Reformation}}
[[File:HolyRomanEmpire 1618.png|thumb|upright=1.1|Distribution of Protestantism and [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] in Central Europe on the eve of the [[Thirty Years' War]] in 1618]]
{{multiple image
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|image1=1491 Henry VIII.jpg
|caption1=[[Henry VIII of England]], known for his role in the [[English Reformation|separation]] of the [[Church of England]] from the [[Catholic Church]]
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|caption2=[[John Knox]], who led the [[Reformation in Scotland]], founding [[Presbyterianism]]}}
{{Reformation}}
The [[Protestant Reformation]] began as an attempt to reform the [[Catholic Church]].

On 31 October 1517, known as [[Halloween|All Hallows' Eve]], [[Martin Luther]] allegedly nailed his [[Ninety-five Theses]], also known as the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences, on the door of the [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|All Saints' Church]] in [[Wittenberg]], Germany, detailing doctrinal and practical abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the selling of [[indulgence]]s. The theses debated and criticized many aspects of the Church and the papacy, including the practice of [[Purgatory#Protestantism|purgatory]], [[Particular judgment#Reformation concepts|particular judgment]], and the authority of the pope. Luther would later write works against the Catholic devotion to [[Virgin Mary]], the intercession of and devotion to the saints, mandatory clerical celibacy, monasticism, the authority of the pope, the ecclesiastical law, censure and [[excommunication]], the role of secular rulers in religious matters, the relationship between Christianity and the law, good works, and the sacraments.<ref name=Schofield122>Schofield ''Martin Luther'' p. 122</ref>

The [[Reformation]] was a triumph of literacy and the new [[printing press]] invented by [[Johannes Gutenberg]].<ref name=Cameron>Cameron ''European Reformation''{{page needed|date=March 2015}}</ref>{{efn|In the end, while the Reformation emphasis on Protestants reading the Scriptures was one factor in the development of literacy, the impact of printing itself, the wider availability of printed works at a cheaper price, and the increasing focus on education and learning as key factors in obtaining a lucrative post, were also significant contributory factors.<ref name=Pettegree543>Pettegree ''Reformation World'' p. 543</ref>}} Luther's translation of the Bible into German was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy, and stimulated as well the printing and distribution of religious books and pamphlets. From 1517 onward, religious pamphlets flooded much of Europe.<ref name=Edwards>Edwards ''Printing, Propaganda, and Martin Luther''{{page needed|date=March 2015}}</ref>{{efn|In the first decade of the Reformation, Luther's message became a movement, and the output of religious pamphlets in Germany was at its height.<ref name=PettegreeHall786>Pettegree and Hall "Reformation and the Book ''Historical Journal'' p. 786</ref>}}

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. After the expulsion of its Bishop in 1526, and the unsuccessful attempts of the [[Bern]] reformer [[William Farel]], Calvin was asked to use the organizational skill he had gathered as a student of law to discipline the city of [[Geneva]]. His ''Ordinances of 1541'' involved a collaboration of Church affairs with the city council and consistory to bring morality to all areas of life. After the establishment of the Geneva academy in 1559, Geneva became the unofficial capital of the Protestant movement, providing refuge for Protestant exiles from all over Europe and educating them as Calvinist missionaries. The faith continued to spread after Calvin's death in 1563.

Protestantism also spread from the German lands into France, where the Protestants were nicknamed [[Huguenots]] (a term of somewhat inexplicable origin). Calvin continued to take an interest in the French religious affairs from his base in Geneva. He regularly trained pastors to lead congregations there. Despite heavy persecution, the Reformed tradition made steady progress across large sections of the nation, appealing to people alienated by the obduracy and the complacency of the Catholic establishment. French Protestantism came to acquire a distinctly political character, made all the more obvious by the conversions of nobles during the 1550s. This established the preconditions for a series of conflicts, known as the [[French Wars of Religion]]. The civil wars gained impetus with the sudden death of [[Henry II of France]] in 1559. Atrocity and outrage became the defining characteristics of the time, illustrated at their most intense in the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] of August 1572, when the Catholic party annihilated between 30,000 and 100,000 Huguenots across France. The wars only concluded when [[Henry IV of France]] issued the [[Edict of Nantes]], promising official toleration of the Protestant minority, but under highly restricted conditions. Catholicism remained the official [[state religion]], and the fortunes of French Protestants gradually declined over the next century, culminating in [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV's]] [[Edict of Fontainebleau]] which revoked the Edict of Nantes and made Catholicism the sole legal religion once again. In response to the Edict of Fontainebleau, [[Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg]] declared the [[Edict of Potsdam]], giving free passage to Huguenot refugees. In the late 17th century, many Huguenots fled to England, the Netherlands, Prussia, Switzerland, and the English and Dutch overseas colonies. A significant community in France remained in the [[Cévennes]] region.

Parallel to events in Germany, a movement began in Switzerland under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli. Zwingli was a scholar and preacher, who in 1518 moved to Zurich. Although the two movements agreed on many issues of theology, some unresolved differences kept them separate. A long-standing resentment between the German states and the [[Swiss Confederation]] led to heated debate over how much Zwingli owed his ideas to Lutheranism. The German Prince [[Philip of Hesse]] saw potential in creating an alliance between Zwingli and Luther. A meeting was held in his castle in 1529, now known as the [[Colloquy of Marburg]], which has become infamous for its failure. The two men could not come to any agreement due to their disputation over one key doctrine.

In 1534, [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]] put an end to all papal jurisdiction in [[England]], after the Pope failed to [[annul]] his marriage to [[Catherine of Aragon]] (due to political considerations involving the Holy Roman Emperor);<ref>William P. Haugaard "The History of Anglicanism I" in ''The Study of Anglicanism'' Stephen Sykes and John Booty (eds) (SPCK 1987) pp. 6–7</ref> this opened the door to reformational ideas. Reformers in the Church of England alternated between sympathies for ancient Catholic tradition and more Reformed principles, gradually developing into a tradition considered a middle way (''{{lang|la|via media}}'') between the Catholic and Protestant traditions. The English Reformation followed a particular course. The different character of the [[English Reformation]] came primarily from the fact that it was driven initially by the political necessities of Henry VIII. King Henry decided to remove the Church of England from the authority of Rome. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy recognized Henry as ''the only Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England''. Between 1535 and 1540, under [[Thomas Cromwell]], the policy known as the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] was put into effect. Following a brief Catholic restoration during the reign of Mary I, a loose consensus developed during the reign of [[Elizabeth I]]. The [[Elizabethan Religious Settlement]] largely formed Anglicanism into a distinctive church tradition. The compromise was uneasy and was capable of veering between extreme Calvinism on the one hand and Catholicism on the other. It was relatively successful until the Puritan Revolution or [[English Civil War]] in the 17th century.

The success of the Counterreformation ("Catholic Reformation") on the Continent and the growth of a [[Puritans|Puritan party]] dedicated to further Protestant reform polarized the [[Elizabethan Age]]. The early Puritan movement was a movement for reform in the Church of England whose proponents desired for the Church of England to resemble more closely the Protestant churches of Europe, especially that of Geneva. The later Puritan movement, often referred to as [[dissenters]] and [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformists]], eventually led to the formation of various Reformed denominations.

The [[Scottish Reformation]] of 1560 decisively shaped the [[Church of Scotland]].<ref>Article 1, of the [[Articles Declaratory of the Constitution of the Church of Scotland]] 1921 states 'The Church of Scotland adheres to the Scottish Reformation'.</ref> The Reformation in Scotland culminated ecclesiastically in the establishment of a church along Reformed lines, and politically in the triumph of English influence over that of France. John Knox is regarded as the leader of the Scottish Reformation. The [[Scottish Reformation Parliament]] of 1560 repudiated the pope's authority by the [[Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560]], forbade the celebration of the Mass and approved a Protestant Confession of Faith. It was made possible by a revolution against French hegemony under the regime of the regent [[Mary of Guise]], who had governed Scotland in the name of her absent [[Mary, Queen of Scots|daughter]].

Some of the most important activists of the Protestant Reformation included [[Jacobus Arminius]], [[Theodore Beza]], [[Martin Bucer]], [[Andreas von Carlstadt]], [[Heinrich Bullinger]], [[Balthasar Hubmaier]], [[Thomas Cranmer]], [[William Farel]], [[Thomas Müntzer]], [[Laurentius Petri]], [[Olaus Petri]], [[Philipp Melanchthon]], [[Menno Simons]], [[Louis de Berquin]], [[Primož Trubar]] and [[John Smyth (Baptist minister)|John Smyth]].

In the course of this religious upheaval, the [[German Peasants' War]] of 1524–25 swept through the [[Bavaria]]n, [[Thuringia]]n and [[Swabia]]n 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. It devastated much of [[Early Modern history of Germany|Germany]], killing between 25% and 40% of its population.<ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/195896/history-of-Europe/58335/Demographics#ref=ref310375 History of Europe – Demographics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723052625/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/195896/history-of-Europe/58335/Demographics#ref=ref310375 |date=23 July 2013 }}". Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> The main tenets of the [[Peace of Westphalia]], which ended the Thirty Years' War, were:
* All parties would now recognize the [[Peace of Augsburg]] of 1555, by which each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state, the options being Catholicism, Lutheranism, and now Calvinism. (the principle of ''[[cuius regio, eius religio]]'')
* Christians living in principalities where their denomination was ''not'' the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their faith in public during allotted hours and in private at their will.
* The treaty also effectively ended the papacy's pan-European political power. [[Pope Innocent X]] declared the treaty "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all times" in his bull ''{{lang|la|Zelo Domus Dei}}''. European sovereigns, Catholic and Protestant alike, ignored his verdict.<ref name=ODCCWestphalia>Cross, (ed.) "Westphalia, Peace of" ''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''</ref>

{{multiple image
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 | image1 = The Protestant Reformation.svg
 | caption1 = Peak of the [[Reformation]] and beginning of the Counterreformation ("Catholic Reformation") (1545–1620)

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 | footer = Religious situation in Europe, late 16th and early to mid-17th century}}

===Post-Reformation===
{{See also|Great Awakening|Azusa Street Revival}}
[[File:1839-meth.jpg|thumb|An 1839 [[Methodism|Methodist]] camp meeting during the [[Second Great Awakening]] in the U.S.]]

The Great Awakenings were periods of rapid and dramatic religious revival in Anglo-American religious history.

The [[First Great Awakening]] was an evangelical and revitalization movement that swept through Protestant Europe and [[British America]], especially the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on [[Protestantism in the United States|American Protestantism]]. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of deep personal revelation of their need of salvation by Jesus Christ. Pulling away from ritual, ceremony, sacramentalism and hierarchy, it made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and redemption, and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality.<ref>Thomas S. Kidd, ''The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America'' (2009)</ref>

The [[Second Great Awakening]] began around 1790. It gained momentum by 1800. After 1820, membership rose rapidly among [[Baptist]] and [[Methodism|Methodist]] congregations, whose preachers led the movement. It was past its peak by the late 1840s. It has been described as a reaction against skepticism, [[deism]], and [[rationalism]], although why those forces became pressing enough at the time to spark revivals is not fully understood.<ref>[[Nancy Cott]], "Young Women in the Great Awakening in New England", Feminist Studies 3, no. 1/2 (Autumn 1975): 15.</ref> It enrolled millions of new members in existing [[evangelical]] denominations and led to the formation of new denominations.

The [[Third Great Awakening]] refers to a hypothetical historical period that was marked by religious activism in [[American history]] and spans the late 1850s to the early 20th century.<ref>William G. McLoughlin, ''Revivals Awakenings and Reform'' (1980)</ref> It affected [[pietistic]] Protestant denominations and had a strong element of social activism.<ref>[[Mark A. Noll]], ''A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada'' (1992) pp. 286–310</ref> It gathered strength from the [[postmillennial]] belief that the [[Second Coming]] of Christ would occur after mankind had reformed the entire earth. It was affiliated with the [[Social Gospel]] Movement, which applied Christianity to social issues and gained its force from the Awakening, as did the worldwide missionary movement. New groupings emerged, such as the [[Holiness movement|Holiness]], [[Church of the Nazarene|Nazarene]], and [[Christian Science]] movements.<ref name=Fogel>Robert William Fogel, ''The Fourth Great Awakening and the Future of Egalitarianism'' (2000)</ref>

The [[Fourth Great Awakening]] was a Christian religious awakening that some scholars—most notably, [[Robert Fogel]]—say took place in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, while others look at the era following [[World War II]]. The terminology is controversial. Thus, the idea of a Fourth Great Awakening itself has not been generally accepted.<ref>Robert William Fogel (2000), ''The Fourth Great Awakening & the Future of Egalitarianism''; see the review by Randall Balmer, ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'' 2002 33(2): 322–325</ref>

In 1814, [[Réveil|Le Réveil]] swept through Calvinist regions in Switzerland and France.

In 1904, a [[1904–1905 Welsh revival|Protestant revival in Wales]] had a tremendous impact on the local population. A part of British modernization, it drew many people to churches, especially Methodist and Baptist ones.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gibbard |first1=Noel |title=Fire on the Altar: A History and Evaluation of the 1904–05 Welsh Revival |date=2005 |publisher=[[Bryntirion Press]] |location=Bridgend |isbn=978-1850492115}}</ref>

A noteworthy development in 20th-century Protestant Christianity was the rise of the modern [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal movement]]. Sprung from Methodist and [[John Wesley|Wesleyan]] roots, it arose out of meetings at an urban mission on [[Azusa Street]] in Los Angeles. From there it spread around the world, carried by those who experienced what they believed to be miraculous moves of God there. These Pentecost-like manifestations have steadily been in evidence throughout history, such as seen in the two Great Awakenings. Pentecostalism, which in turn birthed the [[Charismatic movement]] within already established denominations, continues to be an important force in [[Western Christianity]].

In the United States and elsewhere in the world, there has been a marked rise in the [[Evangelicalism|evangelical wing]] of Protestant denominations, especially those that are more exclusively evangelical, and a corresponding decline in the [[Mainline Protestant|mainstream liberal churches]]. In the post–[[World War I]] era, [[Liberal Christianity]] was on the rise, and a considerable number of seminaries held and taught from a liberal perspective as well. In the post–[[World War II]] era, the trend began to swing back towards the conservative camp in America's seminaries and church structures.

In Europe, there has been a general move away from religious observance and belief in Christian teachings and a move towards [[secularism]]. The [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] is largely responsible for the spread of secularism. Some scholars debate the link between Protestantism and the rise of secularism, and take as argument the wide-ranging freedom in Protestant-majority countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2012/03/has-lutheranism-caused-secularism/|title=Has Lutheranism caused secularism?|last=Cranach|date=22 March 2012|access-date=28 June 2015|archive-date=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630182929/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2012/03/has-lutheranism-caused-secularism/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the sole example of France demonstrates that even in Catholic-majority countries, the overwhelming impact of the Enlightenment has brought even stronger secularism and freedom of thought five centuries later. It is more reliable to consider that the Reformation influenced the critical thinkers of the subsequent centuries, providing intellectual, religious, and philosophical ground on which future philosophers could extend their criticism of the church, of its theological, philosophical, social assumptions of the time. One should be reminded though that initial philosophers of the Enlightenment were defending a Christian conception of the world, but it was developed together with a fierce and decisive criticism of the Church, its politics, its ethics, its worldview, its scientific and cultural assumptions, leading to the devaluation of all forms of institutionalized Christianity, which extended over the centuries.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.cairn.info/pouvoir-et-religion-en-europe--9782200272135-page-209.htm |title=Chapitre 6 – Les Lumières, ou la sécularisation de l'État |publisher=Cairn.info |date=2016 |isbn=978-2200272135 |accessdate=2022-09-22 |archive-date=12 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512113444/https://www.cairn.info/pouvoir-et-religion-en-europe--9782200272135-page-209.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Radical Reformation==
{{Main|Radical Reformation}}
[[File:Täuferdisputation 1525.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Dissatisfaction with the outcome of a disputation in 1525 prompted [[Swiss Brethren]] to part ways with [[Huldrych Zwingli]].]]
Unlike mainstream [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]], [[Calvinist]] and 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, though in parts of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, a majority would sympathize with the Radical Reformation despite the intense persecution it faced from both Catholics and Magisterial Protestants.<ref name=horsch>{{cite book|last=Horsch|first=John|author-link=John Horsch|title=Mennonites in Europe|date=1995|publisher=Herald Press|isbn=978-0836113952|page=299}}</ref>

The early [[Anabaptists]] believed that their reformation must purify not only theology but also the actual lives of Christians, especially their political and social relationships.<ref name="ReferenceA">Gonzalez, ''A History of Christian Thought'', 88.</ref> Therefore, the church should not be supported by the state, neither by tithes and taxes, nor by the use of the sword; [[Christianity]] was a matter of individual conviction, which could not be forced on anyone, but rather required a personal decision for it.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Protestant ecclesial leaders such as [[Balthasar Hubmaier|Hubmaier]] and [[Melchior Hoffman|Hofmann]] preached the invalidity of infant baptism, advocating baptism as following conversion ([[Believers baptism|"believer's baptism"]]) instead. This was not a doctrine new to the reformers, but was taught by earlier groups, such as the [[Catharism|Albigenses]] in 1147. Though most of the Radical Reformers were Anabaptist, some did not identify themselves with the mainstream Anabaptist tradition. [[Thomas Müntzer]] was involved in the [[German Peasants' War]]. [[Andreas Karlstadt]] disagreed theologically with Huldrych Zwingli and Martin Luther, teaching nonviolence and refusing to baptize infants while not rebaptizing adult believers.<ref name=GAMEO-Karlstadt>{{cite web|last=Hein|first=Gerhard|title=Karlstadt, Andreas Rudolff-Bodenstein von (1486–1541)|url=http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Karlstadt,_Andreas_Rudolff-Bodenstein_von_(1486-1541)|website=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online|access-date=19 April 2014|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424213846/https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Karlstadt,_Andreas_Rudolff-Bodenstein_von_(1486-1541)|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kaspar Schwenkfeld]] and [[Sebastian Franck]] were influenced by [[German mysticism]] and [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualism]].

In the view of many associated with the Radical Reformation, the [[Magisterial Reformation]] had not gone far enough. Radical Reformer, [[Andreas Karlstadt|Andreas von Bodenstein Karlstadt]], for example, referred to the Lutheran theologians at [[Wittenberg]] as the "new papists".<ref>[http://www.reformationhappens.com/movements/magisterial/ The Magisterial Reformation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704053158/http://www.reformationhappens.com/movements/magisterial/ |date=4 July 2007 }}</ref> 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.

Anabaptism in shape of its various diversification such as the [[Amish]], [[Mennonites]] and [[Hutterites]] came out of the Radical Reformation. Later in history, [[Schwarzenau Brethren]], and the [[Apostolic Christian Church]] would emerge in Anabaptist circles.

==Denominations==
{{See also|List of Christian denominations#Protestant|List of the largest Protestant churches}}

Protestants refer to specific groupings of congregations or churches that share in common foundational doctrines and the name of their groups as [[List of Christian Denominations#Protestant|denominations]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkhVtAEwZckC&pg=PA135|title=Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1996–1997|date=1996|publisher=Diane Publishing|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0788129056|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002953/https://books.google.com/books?id=QkhVtAEwZckC&pg=PA135|url-status=live}}</ref> The term denomination (national body) is to be distinguished from branch (denominational family; tradition), communion (international body) and congregation (church). An example (this is no universal way to classify Protestant churches, as these may sometimes vary broadly in their structures) to show the difference:

:Branch/denominational family/tradition: [[Methodism]]
::Communion/international body: [[World Methodist Council]]
:::Denomination/national body: [[United Methodist Church]]
::::Congregation/church: [[First United Methodist Church (Paintsville, Kentucky)]]

Protestants reject the [[Catholic Church]]'s doctrine that it is the [[one true church]], with some teaching belief in the ''invisible church'', which consists of all who profess faith in Jesus Christ.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antiochian.org/node/17076|title=An Orthodox Response to the Recent Roman Catholic Declaration on the Nature of the Church|publisher=Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese|website=www.antiochian.org|access-date=28 July 2014|archive-date=2 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802015235/http://antiochian.org/node/17076|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Lutheranism|Lutheran Church]] traditionally sees itself as the "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during the Reformation, the [[Holy See|Church of Rome]] fell away.<ref name="Remensnyder1893">{{cite book |author1=Junius Benjamin Remensnyder |title=The Lutheran Manual |date=1893 |publisher=Boschen & Wefer Company |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA12 |language=English |access-date=27 April 2021 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427020003/https://books.google.com/books?id=rWA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA12 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Frey1918">{{cite book |last=Frey |first=H. |title=Is One Church as Good as Another? |publisher=[[The Lutheran Witness]] |year=1918 |volume=37 |pages=82–83 |language=English |quote=There can only be one ''true'' visible Church. ...Only that one is the true visible Church which teaches and confesses the entire doctrine of the Word of God in all its purity, and in whose midst the Sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's institution. Of all Churches, this can only be said of our Lutheran Church.}}</ref> 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, [[Nondenominational Christianity|non-denominational]] groups and organizations are also considered Protestant.

Various [[Christian ecumenism|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.

Several countries have [[state religion|established]] their [[national church]]es, 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),<ref name=DenmarkConstitution>{{cite web|url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/da00000_.html|title=ICL > Denmark > Constitution|website=www.servat.unibe.ch|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-date=10 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710092702/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/da00000_.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[the Faroe Islands]] ([[Church of the Faroe Islands|its church]] being independent since 2007),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folkakirkjan.fo/default.aspx?pageid=6235&sectionid=207|title=Føroyska kirkjan|website=Fólkakirkjan|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308090058/http://www.folkakirkjan.fo/default.aspx?pageid=6235&sectionid=207|archive-date=8 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Iceland<ref name=IcelandConstitution>[http://www.government.is/constitution/ Constitution of the Republic of Iceland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040211190819/http://www.government.is/constitution/ |date=11 February 2004 }}: Article 62, [http://www.government.is/ Government of Iceland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040211190819/http://www.government.is/constitution/ |date=11 February 2004 }}  .</ref> and Norway<ref name="abcnyheter">[http://www.abcnyheter.no/nyheter/080410/losere-band-men-fortsatt-statskirke Løsere bånd, men fortsatt statskirke] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108043939/http://www.abcnyheter.no/nyheter/080410/losere-band-men-fortsatt-statskirke|date=8 January 2014}}, ABC Nyheter<!-- https://www.webcitation.org/6DEb3MkkC?url=http://www.abcnyheter.no/nyheter/080410/losere-band-men-fortsatt-statskirke --></ref><ref>[http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.8076910 Staten skal ikke lenger ansette biskoper] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418121937/http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.8076910 |date=18 April 2012 }}, NRK</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fritanke.no/index.php?page=vis_nyhet&NyhetID=8840|title=Ingen avskaffelse: Slik blir den nye statskirkeordningen|first=Human-Etisk|last=Forbund|date=15 May 2012|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120093721/https://fritanke.no/index.php?page=vis_nyhet&NyhetID=8840|url-status=live}}</ref> have established [[Lutheranism|Evangelical Lutheran]] churches. [[Tuvalu]] has [[Church of Tuvalu|the only established church in Reformed tradition]] in the world, while [[Tonga]]—[[Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga|in the Methodist tradition]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reformiert-online.net/adressen/detail.php?id=13338&lg=eng|title=Address data base of Reformed churches and institutions|first=Christoph|last=Fasse|website=www.reformiert-online.net|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-date=8 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708165003/http://www.reformiert-online.net/adressen/detail.php?id=13338&lg=eng|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Church of England]] is the officially established religious institution in England,<ref name=Eberle>{{cite book|title=Church and State in Western Society|first=Edward J.|last=Eberle|publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.]]|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4094-0792-8|page=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oYkzkVc_sG0C&pg=PA2|quote=The Church of England later became the official state church, with the monarch supervising church functions.|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002945/https://books.google.com/books?id=oYkzkVc_sG0C&pg=PA2|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Fox>{{cite book|title=A World Survey of Religion and the State|first=Jonathan|last=Fox|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-521-88131-9|page=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rE0NcgxNaKEC&pg=PA120|quote=The Church of England (Anglican) and the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) are the official religions of the UK.|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002951/https://books.google.com/books?id=rE0NcgxNaKEC&pg=PA120|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Ferrante>{{cite book|title=Sociology: A Global Perspective|first=Joan|last=Ferrante|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8400-3204-1|page=408|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwnIIXI6y38C&pg=PA408|quote=the Church of England [Anglican], which remains the official state church|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002953/https://books.google.com/books?id=AwnIIXI6y38C&pg=PA408|url-status=live}}</ref> and also the [[Mother Church]] of the worldwide [[Anglican Communion]].

In 1869, Finland was the first Nordic country to [[disestablishment|disestablish]] [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland|its Evangelical Lutheran church]] by introducing the Church Act.{{efn|Finland's State Church was the [[Church of Sweden]] until 1809. As an autonomous Grand Duchy under Russia 1809–1917, Finland retained the Lutheran State Church system, and a state church separate from Sweden, later named the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]], was established. It was detached from the state as a separate judicial entity when the new church law came to force in 1869. After Finland had gained independence in 1917, religious freedom was declared in the constitution of 1919 and a separate law on religious freedom in 1922. Through this arrangement, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland lost its position as a state church but gained a constitutional status as a national church alongside the [[Finnish Orthodox Church]], whose position, however, is not codified in the constitution.}} Although the church still maintains a special relationship with the state, it is not described as a [[state religion]] in the [[Constitution of Finland|Finnish Constitution]] or other laws passed by the [[Finnish Parliament]].<ref name=FinlandConstitution>{{cite web|url=http://servat.unibe.ch/icl/fi00000_.html|title=ICL > Finland > Constitution|website=servat.unibe.ch|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-date=23 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123122238/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/fi00000_.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2000, Sweden was the second Nordic country to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iclrs.org/content/blurb/files/Sweden.1.pdf|title=Maarit Jänterä-Jareborg: Religion and the Secular State in Sweden|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=10 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110072754/http://www.iclrs.org/content/blurb/files/Sweden.1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===United and uniting churches===
{{Main|United and uniting churches}}
{{See also|Continuing churches}}
[[File:Union luthercalvin.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Glass window in the town church of [[Wiesloch]] featuring [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Calvin]] commemorating the 1821 union of [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] and [[Calvinism|Reformed]] churches in the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]]]]
United and uniting churches are churches formed from the merger or other form of union of two or more different Protestant denominations.

Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state, usually in order to have a stricter control over the religious sphere of its people, but also for other organizational reasons. As modern [[Christian ecumenism]] progresses, unions between various Protestant traditions are becoming more and more common, resulting in a growing number of united and uniting churches. Some of the recent major examples are the [[Church of North India]] (1970), [[United Protestant Church of France]] (2013), and the [[Protestant Church in the Netherlands]] (2004). As mainline Protestantism shrinks in [[Europe]] and [[North America]] due to the rise of [[secularism]] or in areas where Christianity is a minority religion as with the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Reformed church|Reformed]], [[Anglican]], and [[Lutheran]] denominations merge, often creating large nationwide denominations. The phenomenon is much less common among [[evangelical]], [[Nondenominational Christianity|nondenominational]] and [[charismatic]] churches as new ones arise and plenty of them remain independent of each other.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

What is perhaps the oldest official united church is found in [[Germany]], where the [[Protestant Church in Germany]] is a federation of [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]], United ([[Prussian Union of churches|Prussian Union]]), and [[Reformed churches]], a union dating back to 1817. The first of the series of unions was at a synod in [[Idstein]] to form the [[Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau]] in August 1817, commemorated in naming the church of Idstein [[Unionskirche, Idstein|Unionskirche]] one hundred years later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nassau-info.de/geschichte-jb-kirche.htm |title=Staatlicher Dirigismus und neue Gläubigkeit (Die Kirche im Herzogtum Nassau) |publisher=Nassau-info.de |language=de |access-date=27 May 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234050/http://www.nassau-info.de/geschichte-jb-kirche.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Around the world, each united or uniting church comprises a different mix of predecessor Protestant denominations. Trends are visible, however, as most united and uniting churches have one or more predecessors with heritage in the [[Calvinism|Reformed tradition]] and many are members of the [[World Alliance of Reformed Churches]].

==Major branches==
Protestants can be differentiated according to how they have been influenced by important movements since the Reformation, today regarded as branches. Some of these movements have a common lineage, sometimes directly spawning individual denominations. Due to the earlier stated multitude of [[List of Christian denominations|denominations]], this section discusses only the largest denominational families, or branches, widely considered to be a part of Protestantism. These are, in alphabetical order: [[Adventism|Adventist]], [[Anglican]], [[Baptist]], [[Calvinism|Calvinist (Reformed)]], [[Hussite]], [[Lutheran]], [[Methodist]], [[Pentecostal]], [[Plymouth Brethren]] and [[Quaker]]. A small but historically significant [[Anabaptist]] branch is also discussed.

The chart below shows the mutual relations and historical origins of the main Protestant denominational families, or their parts. Due to factors such as [[Counter-Reformation#Politics|Counterreformation ("Catholic Reformation")]] and the legal principle of ''[[Cuius regio, eius religio]]'', many people lived as [[Nicodemite]]s, where their professed religious affiliations were more or less at odds with the movement they sympathized with. As a result, the boundaries between the denominations do not separate as cleanly as this chart indicates. When a population was suppressed or persecuted into feigning an adherence to the dominant faith, over the generations they continued to influence the church they outwardly adhered to.

Because Calvinism was not specifically recognized in the Holy Roman Empire until the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, many Calvinists lived as [[Crypto-Calvinists]]. Due to Counterreformation ("Catholic Reformation") related suppressions in Catholic lands during the 16th through 19th centuries, many Protestants lived as [[crypto-protestantism|Crypto-Protestants]]. Meanwhile, in Protestant areas, Catholics sometimes lived as [[crypto-papist]]s, although in continental Europe emigration was more feasible so this was less common.
[[File:Protestant branches.svg|thumb|upright=2.95|center|Historical chart of the main branches of Protestantism]]

===Adventism===
{{Main|Adventism}}
Adventism began in the 19th century in the context of the [[Second Great Awakening]] revival in the [[United States]]. The name refers to belief in the imminent [[Second Coming of Christ|Second Coming (or "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ]]. [[William Miller (preacher)|William Miller]] started the Adventist movement in the 1830s. His followers became known as [[Millerism|Millerites]].<ref name="Bergman">{{cite book |surname=Bergman |given=Jerry |year=1995 |chapter=The Adventist and Jehovah's Witness Branch of Protestantism |editor-surname=Miller |editor-given=Timothy |editor-link=Timothy Miller |title=America's Alternative Religions |publisher=SUNY Press |place=Albany, NY |pages=33–46 |isbn=978-0-7914-2397-4 |chapter-url={{Google books|id=og_u0Re1uwUC|plainurl=y|page=33|keywords=|text=}} |url={{Google books|id=og_u0Re1uwUC|plainurl=y}} |url-status=live |archive-date=2020-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724210513/https://books.google.com/books?id=og_u0Re1uwUC}}</ref>

Although the Adventist churches hold much in common, their [[Christian theology|theologies]] differ on whether the [[Intermediate state (Christianity)|intermediate state]] is [[Soul sleep|unconscious sleep]] or consciousness, whether the ultimate punishment of the wicked is [[annihilationism|annihilation]] or eternal torment, the nature of immortality, whether or not the wicked are resurrected after the millennium, and whether the sanctuary of Daniel 8<ref>{{bibleverse ||Daniel|8|NKJV}}</ref> refers to the one in [[heavenly sanctuary|heaven]] or one on earth.<ref name="Handbook">{{Citation | section = Adventist and Sabbatarian (Hebraic) Churches | pages = 256–276 | first1 = Frank S | last1 = Mead | first2 = Samuel S | last2 = Hill | first3 = Craig D | last3 = Atwood | title = Handbook of Denominations in the United States | edition = 12th | place = Nashville | publisher = Abingdon Press}}</ref> The movement has encouraged the examination of the whole [[Bible]], leading Seventh-day Adventists and some smaller Adventist groups to observe the [[Sabbath in Seventh-day Adventism|Sabbath]]. The [[General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists]] has compiled that church's core beliefs in [[the 28 Fundamental Beliefs]] (1980 and 2005), which use Biblical references as justification.

In 2010, Adventism claimed some 22&nbsp;million believers scattered in various independent churches.<ref name="pewforum1"/> The largest church within the movement—the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]]—has more than 18&nbsp;million members.
<gallery>
File:James and Ellen White.jpg|[[James Springer White]] and his wife, [[Ellen G. White]] founded the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]].
File:Mozambique baptism1.JPG|An [[Adventism|Adventist]] pastor baptizes a young man in [[Mozambique]].
File:Loma Linda University Church 01.jpg|[[Loma Linda University]], a Seventh-day Adventist Church in [[Loma Linda, California|Loma Linda, California, United States]]
</gallery>

===Anabaptism===
{{Main|Anabaptism}}
Anabaptism traces its origins to the [[Radical Reformation]]. Anabaptists believe in delaying [[baptism]] until the candidate confesses his or her faith. Although some consider this movement to be an offshoot of Protestantism, others see it as a distinct one.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.cbc4me.org/articles/Baptist/04-McGrath.pdf | title = CBC 4 me | contribution = Neither Catholic nor Protestant | first = William | last = McGrath | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161227060547/http://www.cbc4me.org/articles/Baptist/04-McGrath.pdf | archive-date = 27 December 2016 | df = dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | chapter-url = http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/15.html | title = The Anabaptists and the Reformation | chapter = 15 The Radicals of the Reformation | first = William | last = Gilbert | access-date = 4 June 2015 | archive-date = 6 January 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190106004243/http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/15.html | url-status = live }}</ref> The [[Amish]], [[Hutterites]], and [[Mennonites]] are direct descendants of the movement. [[Schwarzenau Brethren]], [[Bruderhof]], and the [[Apostolic Christian Church]] are considered later developments among the Anabaptists.

The name ''Anabaptist'', meaning "one who baptizes again", was given to them by their persecutors in reference to the practice of re-baptizing converts who already had been baptized as infants.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Anabaptist | title = Online Etymological Dictionary | orig-year = 2001 | year = 2010 | first = Douglas | last = Harper | contribution = Anabaptist | access-date = 25 April 2011 | archive-date = 6 August 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110806065325/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Anabaptist | url-status = live }}</ref> Anabaptists required that baptismal candidates be able to make their own confessions of faith and so rejected [[infant baptism|baptism of infants]]. The early members of this movement did not accept the name ''Anabaptist'', claiming that since infant baptism was unscriptural and null and void, the baptizing of believers was not a re-baptism but in fact their first real baptism. As a result of their views on the nature of baptism and other issues, Anabaptists were heavily persecuted during the 16th century and into the 17th by both [[Magisterial Reformation|Magisterial Protestants]] and Catholics. While most Anabaptists adhered to a [[Sermon on the Mount#Analysis and interpretation|literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount]], which precluded taking oaths, participating in military actions, and participating in civil government, some who practiced re-baptism felt otherwise.<ref group = "lower-alpha">For example, the [[Münster Rebellion|followers of Thomas Müntzer]] and [[Balthasar Hubmaier]].</ref> They were thus technically Anabaptists, even though conservative [[Amish]], [[Mennonites]], and [[Hutterites]] and some historians tend to consider them as outside of true Anabaptism. Anabaptist reformers of the Radical Reformation are divided into Radical and the so-called Second Front. Some important Radical Reformation theologians were [[John of Leiden]], [[Thomas Müntzer]], [[Kaspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig|Kaspar Schwenkfeld]], [[Sebastian Franck]], [[Menno Simons]]. Second Front Reformers included [[Hans Denck]], [[Conrad Grebel]], [[Balthasar Hubmaier]] and [[Felix Manz]]. Many Anabaptists today still use the ''[[Ausbund]]'', which is the oldest hymnal still in continuous use.
<gallery>
File:Dirk.willems.rescue.ncs.jpg|[[Dirk Willems]] saves his pursuer. This act of mercy led to his recapture, after which he was burned at the stake.
File:Lancaster County Amish 03.jpg|An [[Amish]] family in a horse-drawn square buggy in [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States]]
File:Alexanderwohl-church.jpg|[[Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church]] in rural [[Goessel, Kansas|Goessel, Kansas, United States]]
</gallery>

===Anglicanism===
{{Main|Anglicanism}}
[[Anglicanism]] consists of the [[Church of England]] and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures.<ref name="cofe">{{cite web|url=http://www.cofe.anglican.org/faith/anglican/|title=What it means to be an Anglican|publisher=Church of England|access-date=16 March 2009|archive-date=30 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830191043/http://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/being-an-anglican.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> The word ''Anglican'' originates in ''{{lang|la|ecclesia anglicana}}'', a [[medieval Latin]] phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the ''English Church''. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority, since each national or regional church has full [[autonomy]]. As the name suggests, the communion is an association of churches in [[full communion]] with the [[archbishop of Canterbury]]. The great majority of Anglicans are members of churches which are part of the international [[Anglican Communion]],<ref name="acomm">{{cite web| url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/ | title=The Anglican Communion official website – homepage | access-date=16 March 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090319004737/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/| archive-date= 19 March 2009 | url-status=live}}</ref> which has 85&nbsp;million adherents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/tour/index.cfm|title=Member Churches|first=Anglican Communion|last=Office|website=www.anglicancommunion.org|access-date=4 June 2015|archive-date=7 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307165129/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/tour/index.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Church of England]] declared its independence from the Catholic Church at the time of the [[Elizabethan Religious Settlement]].<ref name="CTS">{{Cite book|last=Green |first=Jonathon |author-link=Jonathon Green |title=Chasing the Sun: Dictionary Makers and the Dictionaries They Made|year=1996 |edition=1st US |publisher=[[Henry Holt (publisher)|Henry Holt]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8050-3466-0 |pages=58–59 |chapter=Chapter 2: The Middle Ages}}</ref> Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of contemporary Reformed tradition. These reforms were understood by one of those most responsible for them, the then archbishop of Canterbury, [[Thomas Cranmer]], as navigating a middle way between two of the emerging Protestant traditions, namely Lutheranism and Calvinism.<ref>[[Diarmaid MacCulloch]], ''Thomas Cranmer: A Life'', Yale University Press, p. 617 (1996).</ref> By the end of the century, the retention in Anglicanism of many traditional liturgical forms and of the episcopate was already seen as unacceptable by those promoting the most developed Protestant principles.

Unique to Anglicanism is the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'', the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries. While it has since undergone many revisions and Anglican churches in different countries have developed other service books, the Book of Common Prayer is still acknowledged as one of the ties that bind the Anglican Communion together.
<gallery>
File:Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke.jpg|[[Thomas Cranmer]], one of the most influential figures in shaping Anglican theology and self-identity
File:Book of Common Prayer 1760.jpg|The various editions of the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'' contain the words of structured services of worship in the Anglican Church.
File:Westminster abbey west.jpg|[[Coronation of the British monarch|British coronations]] are held in [[Westminster Abbey]], a [[royal peculiar]] under the direct jurisdiction of the [[Monarch of the United Kingdom|monarch]].
</gallery>

===Baptists===
{{Main|Baptists}}
[[Baptists]] subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers ([[believer's baptism]], as opposed to [[infant baptism]]), and that it must be done by complete [[Immersion baptism|immersion]] (as opposed to [[affusion]] or [[Aspersion|sprinkling]]). Other [[Dogma|tenets]] of Baptist churches include [[soul competency]] (liberty), [[salvation]] through [[Sola fide|faith alone]], [[Sola scriptura|Scripture alone]] as the rule of faith and practice, and the autonomy of the local [[Congregationalist polity|congregation]]. Baptists recognize two ministerial offices, [[pastor]]s and [[deacon]]s. Baptist churches are widely considered to be Protestant churches, though some Baptists disavow this identity.<ref name="Baptist Origins">Buescher, John. "[http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/22329 Baptist Origins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920071007/http://www.teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/22329 |date=20 September 2015 }}." [http://www.teachinghistory.org/ Teaching History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926205612/https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24484 |date=26 September 2018 }}. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref>

Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship.<ref name="Shurden turning">{{cite web |last=Shurden |first=Walter |title=Turning Points in Baptist History |publisher=The Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer University |location=Macon, GA |year=2001 |access-date=16 January 2010 |url=http://www.centerforbaptiststudies.org/pamphlets/style/turningpoints.htm |archive-date=10 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710040901/http://www.centerforbaptiststudies.org/pamphlets/style/turningpoints.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Historians trace the earliest church labeled ''Baptist'' back to 1609 in [[Amsterdam]], with [[English Dissenters|English Separatist]] [[John Smyth (Baptist minister)|John Smyth]] as its pastor.<ref name="Gourley">Gourley, Bruce. "A Very Brief Introduction to Baptist History, Then and Now." ''The Baptist Observer.''</ref> In accordance with his reading of the [[New Testament]], he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults.<ref name="ODCC self" /> Baptist practice spread to England, where the General Baptists considered Christ's atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to [[Election (Christianity)|the elect]]. In 1638, [[Roger Williams (theologian)|Roger Williams]] established the [[first Baptist church in America|first Baptist congregation in the North American colonies]]. In the mid-18th century, the [[First Great Awakening]] increased Baptist growth in both New England and the South.<ref name="EBOself">{{cite web |url-status=live |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/52364/Baptist |title=Baptist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426193803/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/52364/Baptist |archive-date=26 April 2015 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |first=Winthrop S. |last=Hudson}}</ref> The [[Second Great Awakening]] in the South in the early 19th century increased church membership, as did the preachers' lessening of support for [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolition]] and [[manumission]] of [[slavery]], which had been part of the 18th-century teachings. Baptist missionaries have spread their church to every continent.<ref name="ODCC self" />

The [[Baptist World Alliance]] reports more than 41&nbsp;million members in more than 150,000 congregations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bwanet.org/bwa.php?site=Resources&id=19 |title=Member Body Statistics |date=30 May 2008|publisher=Baptist World Alliance |access-date= 6 May 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100401120508/http://www.bwanet.org/bwa.php?site=Resources&id=19| archive-date= 1 April 2010 | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2002, there were over 100&nbsp;million Baptists and Baptistic group members worldwide and over 33&nbsp;million in North America.<ref name="ODCC self">{{citation|contribution=Baptists|editor-last=Cross|editor-first=FL|title=The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church|place=New York|publisher= Oxford University Press|year=2005}}</ref> The largest Baptist association is the [[Southern Baptist Convention]], with the membership of associated churches totaling more than 14&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpnews.net/52962/acp--giving-increases-baptisms-attendance-continue-decline|title=SBC: Giving increases while baptisms continue decline|date=23 May 2019 |publisher=Baptist Press|access-date=24 September 2019|archive-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525014132/http://www.bpnews.net/52962/acp--giving-increases-baptisms-attendance-continue-decline|url-status=live |first=Carol |last=Pipes}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Roger Williams statue by Franklin Simmons.jpg|[[Roger Williams]] was an early proponent of [[religious freedom]] and the [[separation of church and state]].
File:Baptism by immersion.jpg|Baptists subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed [[believer's baptism|only for professing believers]].
File:First Baptist Church in America from Angell St 2.jpg|The [[First Baptist Church in America]]. Baptists are roughly one-third of [[Protestantism in the United States|U.S. Protestants]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations/|title=Appendix B: Classification of Protestant Denominations|date=12 May 2015 |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=28 December 2015|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205153232/https://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations/|url-status=live}}</ref>
</gallery>

===Calvinism===
{{Main|Reformed Christianity}}
[[Calvinism]], also called the Reformed tradition, was advanced by several theologians such as [[Martin Bucer]], [[Heinrich Bullinger]], [[Peter Martyr Vermigli]], and Huldrych Zwingli, but this branch of Christianity bears the name of the French reformer John Calvin because of his prominent influence on it and because of his role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates throughout the 16th century.

This term also currently refers to the doctrines and practices of the [[Reformed churches]] of which Calvin was an early leader. Less commonly, it can refer to the individual teaching of Calvin himself. The particulars of Calvinist theology may be stated in a number of ways. Perhaps the best known summary is contained in the [[five points of Calvinism]], though these points identify the Calvinist view on [[Christian soteriology|soteriology]] rather than summarizing the system as a whole. Broadly speaking, Calvinism stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things—in salvation but also in all of life. This concept is seen clearly in the doctrines of [[predestination (Calvinism)|predestination]] and [[total depravity]].

The biggest Reformed association is the [[World Communion of Reformed Churches]] with more than 80&nbsp;million members in 211 member denominations around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wcrc.ch/theology/ |title=Theology and Communion |website=World Communion of Reformed Churches |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-date=20 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220021929/http://wcrc.ch/theology/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wcrc.ch/wcrc-member-churches/ |title=Member Churches |website=World Communion of Reformed Churches |access-date=5 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412134752/http://wcrc.ch/wcrc-member-churches/ |archive-date=12 April 2014}}</ref> There are more conservative Reformed federations like the [[World Reformed Fellowship]] and the [[International Conference of Reformed Churches]], as well as [[List of Reformed denominations|independent churches]].

<gallery>
File:John Calvin - Young.jpg|[[John Calvin]]'s theological thought influenced a variety of [[Congregational church|Congregational]], [[Continental Reformed church|Continental Reformed]], [[United and uniting churches|United]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]], and other Reformed churches.
File:Lorimer, Ordination.jpg|''The Ordination of Elders in a Scottish Kirk'' by [[John Henry Lorimer]], 1891
File:First Congregational Church, Cheshire CT.jpg|A Congregational church in [[Cheshire, Connecticut|Cheshire, Connecticut, United States]]
</gallery>

===Hussites===
[[Hussitism]] follows the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus, who became the best-known representative of the [[Bohemian Reformation]] and one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation. An early hymnal was the hand-written ''[[Jistebnice hymn book]]''. This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened [[Czech people|Czech]] national awareness. Among present-day Christians, Hussite traditions are represented in the [[Moravian Church]], [[Unity of the Brethren (Texas)|Unity of the Brethren]] and the [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church]].<ref name="Nĕmec">Nĕmec, Ludvík "The Czechoslovak heresy and schism: the emergence of a national Czechoslovak church", American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1975, {{ISBN|0-87169-651-7}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Friedensthal Moravian.jpg|Friedensthal Moravian Church [[Christiansted, United States Virgin Islands|Christiansted, St Croix, USVI]], founded in 1755
File:Lovefeast at Bethania Moravian Church.jpg|A Moravian diener serves bread to fellow members of her congregation during the celebration of a [[lovefest]] (2015).
</gallery>

===Lutheranism===
{{Main|Lutheranism}}
[[Lutheranism]] identifies with the [[theology of Martin Luther]], a [[Germans|German]] monk and priest, [[Ecclesiology|ecclesiastical]] reformer, and theologian.

Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by [[Sola gratia|grace alone]] through [[Sola fide|faith alone]] on the basis of [[Sola scriptura|Scripture alone]]", the doctrine that scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith, rejecting the assertion made by Catholic leaders at the [[Council of Trent]] that authority comes from both Scriptures and [[Sacred tradition|Tradition]].<ref>''Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent'', Fourth Session, Decree on Sacred Scripture (Denzinger 783 [1501]; Schaff 2:79–81). For a history of the discussion of various interpretations of the Tridentine decree, see Selby, Matthew L., ''The Relationship Between Scripture and Tradition according to the Council of Trent'', unpublished Master's thesis, University of St Thomas, July 2013.</ref> In addition, Lutherans accept the teachings of the first four [[ecumenical councils]] of the undivided Christian Church.<ref name="Olson1999">{{cite book|last=Olson|first=Roger E.|title=The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition & Reform|date=1999|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0830815050|page=[https://archive.org/details/storyofchristian00olso/page/158 158]|quote=The magisterial Protestant denominations such as major Lutheran, Reformed and Anglican (Church of England, Episcopalian) denominations recognize only the first four as having any special authority, and even they are considered subordinate to Scripture.|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofchristian00olso/page/158}}</ref><ref name="Kelly2009">{{cite book|last=Kelly|first=Joseph Francis|title=The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: A History|year=2009|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0814653760|page=64|quote=The Church of England and most Lutheran churches accept the first four councils as ecumenical; Orthodox churches accept the first seven.}}</ref>

Unlike the Reformed tradition, Lutherans retain many of the [[Christian liturgy|liturgical]] practices and [[Sacraments#Lutheran teaching|sacramental]] teachings of the pre-Reformation Church with an emphasis on the [[Sacramental union|Eucharist]], or Lord's Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in [[Scholastic Lutheran Christology|Christology]], the purpose of [[Law and Gospel#Lutheran and Reformed differences|God's Law]], divine [[Irresistible grace#Lutheran|grace]], the concept of [[Perseverance of the saints#Lutheran view|perseverance of the saints]], and [[Predestination#Lutheranism|predestination]].

Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism. With approximately 80&nbsp;million adherents,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lutheran.org.nz/about-us/|title=About Us|website=Lutheran Church of New Zealand|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=1 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401192904/http://www.lutheran.org.nz/about-us/|url-status=live}}</ref> it constitutes the third most common Protestant confession after historically [[Pentecostal]] denominations and [[Anglicanism]].<ref name="pewforum1"/> The [[Lutheran World Federation]], the largest global communion of Lutheran churches represents over 72&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lutheranworld.org/content/member-churches|title=Member Churches – The Lutheran World Federation|date=19 May 2013|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=29 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129164641/http://www.lutheranworld.org/content/member-churches|url-status=live}}</ref> Both of these figures miscount Lutherans worldwide as many members of more generically Protestant LWF member church bodies do not self-identify as Lutheran or attend congregations that self-identify as Lutheran.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/member-statistics-2011.html |access-date=22 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715071837/http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/member-statistics-2011.html |archive-date=15 July 2012 |title=Survey Shows 70.5 Million Members in LWF-Affiliated Churches |website=The Lutheran World Federation}}</ref> Additionally, there are other international organizations such as the [[Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum]], [[International Lutheran Council]] and the [[Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference]], as well as [[List of Lutheran denominations|Lutheran denominations]] that are not necessarily a member of an international organization.
<gallery>
File:LutherRose.jpg|[[Luther rose|Luther's rose seal]], a symbol of [[Lutheranism]]
File:EinFesteBurg.jpg|Luther composed hymns still used today, including "[[A Mighty Fortress Is Our God]]".
File:Lucas Cranach (I) - The Law and the Gospel.jpg|[[Moses]] and [[Elijah]] direct the sinner looking for salvation to the [[Christian Cross|Cross]] in this painting illustrating Luther's [[Theology of the Cross]], as opposed to a Theology of Glory.
File:Revelation Turku Finland Travel Photography (257758059).jpeg|Altar of the [[Turku Cathedral]], the [[Mother church|matrice]] of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]]
</gallery>

===Methodism===
{{Main|Methodism}}
[[Methodism]] identifies principally with [[Wesleyan theology|the theology]] of [[John Wesley]]—an [[Anglican]] priest and evangelist. This evangelical movement originated as a [[Christian revival|revival]] within the 18th-century [[Church of England]] and became a separate Church following Wesley's death. Because of vigorous missionary activity, the movement spread throughout the [[British Empire]], the United States, and beyond, today claiming approximately 80&nbsp;million adherents worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|title=Member Churches|url=http://worldmethodistcouncil.org/about/member-churches/|publisher=World Methodist Council|access-date=17 June 2013|archive-date=3 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303123750/http://worldmethodistcouncil.org/about/member-churches/|url-status=live}}</ref> Originally it appealed especially to laborers and slaves.

[[Soteriology|Soteriologically]], most Methodists are [[Arminian]], emphasizing that Christ accomplished salvation for every human being, and that humans must exercise an act of the will to receive it (as opposed to the traditional Calvinist doctrine of [[monergism]]). Methodism is traditionally [[low church]] in liturgy, although this varies greatly between individual congregations; the Wesleys themselves greatly valued the Anglican liturgy and tradition. Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition; John Wesley's brother, [[Charles Wesley|Charles]], was instrumental in writing much of the [[hymnody]] of the Methodist Church,<ref name="Methodist Hymnbody">{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qScPAAAAIAAJ|title = A Collection of Hymns, for the use of the people called Methodists|publisher = T. Blanshard|year = 1820|access-date = 27 June 2015|archive-date = 23 May 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003032/https://books.google.com/books?id=qScPAAAAIAAJ|url-status = live}}</ref> and many other eminent hymn writers come from the Methodist tradition.
<gallery>
File:The history of Methodism (1902) (14742412186).jpg|[[John Wesley]], founder of Methodism, [[Open-air preaching|preaching in the open air]]
File:Methodistcommunion3.jpg|A [[United Methodist Church|United Methodist]] elder celebrating the [[Eucharist]]
File:Methodist Central Hall.JPG|[[Methodist Central Hall, Westminster|Methodist Central Hall]] in [[Westminster]], London
File:Free Methodist Hymnal, ca 1908.jpg|A [[hymnal]] of the [[Free Methodist Church]], a Methodist denomination aligned with the [[holiness movement]]
File:Armee-du-salut.jpg|A night shelter of [[The Salvation Army]] in [[Geneva]], Switzerland
</gallery>
The Holiness movement refers to a set of practices surrounding the doctrine of Christian perfection that emerged within 19th-century Methodism, along with a number of evangelical denominations and [[parachurch organization]]s (such as [[camp meeting]]s).<ref name="Winn"/> There are an estimated 12&nbsp;million adherents in denominations aligned with the Wesleyan-holiness movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/holiness-churches|title=Holiness churches|website=oikoumene.org|access-date=31 May 2015|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225232719/https://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/holiness-churches/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Free Methodist Church]], the [[Salvation Army]] and the [[Wesleyan Church|Wesleyan Methodist Church]] are notable examples, while other adherents of the Holiness Movement remained within mainline Methodism, e.g. the [[United Methodist Church]].<ref name="Winn">{{cite book |last1=Winn |first1=Christian T. Collins |title=From the Margins: A Celebration of the Theological Work of Donald W. Dayton |date=2007 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1630878320 |page=115 |language=en|quote=In addition to these separate denominational groupings, one needs to give attention to the large pockets of the Holiness movement that have remained within the United Methodist Church. The most influential of these would be the circles dominated by Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (both in Wilmore, KY), but one could speak of other colleges, innumerable local campmeetings, the vestiges of various local Holiness associations, independent Holiness oriented missionary societies and the like that have had great impact within United Methodism. A similar pattern would exist in England with the role of Cliff College within Methodism in that context.}}</ref>

===Pentecostalism===
{{Main|Pentecostalism}}
[[Pentecostalism]] is a movement that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of [[God in Christianity|God]] through the [[baptism with the Holy Spirit]]. The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived from [[Pentecost]], the [[Greek language|Greek]] name for the Jewish [[Feast of Weeks]]. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the [[Holy Spirit (Christianity)|Holy Spirit]] upon the followers of [[Jesus Christ]], as described in the [[Second Chapter of Acts|second chapter]] of the [[Book of Acts]].

This branch of Protestantism is distinguished by belief in the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an experience separate from [[Conversion to Christianity|conversion]] that enables a Christian to live a life empowered by and filled with the Holy Spirit. This empowerment includes the use of [[spiritual gift]]s such as [[speaking in tongues]] and [[divine healing]]—two other defining characteristics of Pentecostalism. Because of their commitment to biblical authority, spiritual gifts, and the miraculous, Pentecostals tend to see their movement as reflecting the same kind of spiritual power and teachings that were found in the [[Apostolic Age]] of the [[early church]]. For this reason, some Pentecostals also use the term ''Apostolic'' or ''[[Full Gospel]]'' to describe their movement.

Pentecostalism eventually spawned hundreds of new denominations, including large groups such as the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ, both in the United States and elsewhere. There are over 279&nbsp;million Pentecostals worldwide, and the movement is growing in many parts of the world, especially the [[global South]]. Since the 1960s, Pentecostalism has increasingly gained acceptance from other Christian traditions, and Pentecostal beliefs concerning Spirit baptism and spiritual gifts have been embraced by non-Pentecostal Christians in Protestant and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] churches through the [[Charismatic Movement]]. Together, [[Charismatic Christianity|Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity]] numbers over 500&nbsp;million adherents.<ref name=PewGlobalChristianity67>{{Citation | publisher=[[Pew Forum]] on Religion and Public Life | date=19 December 2011 | url=http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Christian/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf | title=Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population | page=67 | access-date=25 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723134849/http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Christian/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf | archive-date=23 July 2013 | url-status=dead}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Charlesparham.png|[[Charles Fox Parham]], who associated [[Speaking in tongues|glossolalia]] with the baptism in the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]
File:RH Worship Team.jpg|A contemporary Christian worship at Rock Harbor Church in [[Costa Mesa, California|Costa Mesa, California, United States]]
File:Ravensburg Freie Christengemeinde Saal.jpg|A [[Pentacostalism|Pentecostal]] church in [[Ravensburg]], Germany
</gallery>

===Plymouth Brethren===
The [[Plymouth Brethren]] are a [[conservative]], low church, evangelical denomination, whose history can be traced to [[Dublin]], Ireland, in the late 1820s, originating from [[Anglicanism]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Shawn |last=Abigail |date=June 2006 |title=What is the history of the 'Brethren'? |url=http://brethrenonline.org/faqs/Brethren.htm#3 |website="Plymouth Brethren" FAQ |access-date=12 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160518150855/http://brethrenonline.org/faqs/Brethren.htm#3 |archive-date=18 May 2016}}</ref><ref name=mackay1981>{{Cite book |first=Harold |last=Mackay |title=Assembly Distinctives |publisher=Everyday Publications |location=Scarborough, Toronto |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-88873-049-7 |oclc=15948378 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/assemblydistinct0000mack}}{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}</ref> Among other beliefs, the group emphasizes ''{{lang|la|sola scriptura}}''. Brethren generally see themselves not as a denomination, but as a network, or even as a collection of overlapping networks, of like-minded independent churches. Although the group refused for many years to take any denominational name to itself—a stance that some of them still maintain—the title ''The Brethren'', is one that many of their number are comfortable with in that the Bible designates all believers as ''brethren''.

===Quakerism===
[[Quakers]], or Friends, are members of a family of religious movements collectively known as the Religious Society of Friends. The central unifying doctrine of these movements is the [[priesthood of all believers]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Quaker Faith & Practice|url=http://qfp.quakerweb.org.uk/qfp11-01.html|publisher=Britain Yearly Meeting|access-date=5 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719234710/http://qfp.quakerweb.org.uk/qfp11-01.html|archive-date=19 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Baltimore Yearly Meeting Faith & Practice 2011 draft|url=http://www.bym-rsf.org/publications/fandp/11worship.html#vocal|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413213340/http://www.bym-rsf.org/publications/fandp/11worship.html#vocal|archive-date=13 April 2012}}</ref> Many Friends view themselves as members of a Christian denomination. They include those with [[evangelicalism|evangelical]], [[Holiness movement|holiness]], [[Mainline Protestant|liberal]], and traditional [[Conservative Friends|conservative Quaker]] understandings of [[Christianity]]. Unlike many other groups that emerged within Christianity, the Religious Society of Friends has actively tried to avoid [[creed]]s and hierarchical structures.<ref>[http://www.quaker.org/quest/ministers-1.htm The Trouble With "Ministers"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019042905/http://www.quaker.org/quest/ministers-1.htm |date=19 October 2013}} by Chuck Fager gives an overview of the hierarchy Friends had until it began to be abolished in the mid-eighteenth century. Retrieved 25 April 2014.</ref>
<gallery>
File:Fox by Lely 2.jpg|[[George Fox]] was an [[English dissenter]] and a founder of the [[Religious Society of Friends]], commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.
File:Quaker star-T.svg|Star symbol used by many [[pacifism|peace]] and humanitarian service organisations of the Quakers
</gallery>

===Other Protestants===
{{Main|List of Christian denominations#Protestant}}
There are many other Protestant denominations that do not fit neatly into the mentioned branches, and are far smaller in membership. Some groups of individuals who hold basic Protestant tenets identify themselves simply as "Christians" or "[[born-again]] Christians". They typically distance themselves from the [[confessionalism (religion)|confessionalism]] or creedalism of other Christian communities<ref>Confessionalism is a term employed by historians to refer to "the creation of fixed identities and systems of beliefs for separate churches which had previously been more fluid in their self-understanding, and which had not begun by seeking separate identities for themselves—they had wanted to be truly Catholic and reformed." (MacCulloch, ''The Reformation: A History'', p. xxiv.)</ref> by calling themselves "[[Non-denominational Christianity|non-denominational]]" or "[[evangelical]]". Often founded by individual pastors, they have little affiliation with historic denominations.<ref name="Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life / U.S. Religious Landscape Survey">{{cite web|url = http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-appendix3.pdf|title = Classification of Protestant Denominations|publisher = Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life / U.S. Religious Landscape Survey|access-date = 27 September 2009|archive-date = 26 February 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150226092522/http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-appendix3.pdf|url-status = live}}</ref>

Although [[Unitarianism]] developed from the Protestant Reformation,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/unitarianism/ataglance/glance.shtml|publisher=BBC – Religions|title=Unitarianism: Unitarianism at a glance|access-date=1 August 2017|archive-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809050504/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/unitarianism/ataglance/glance.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> it is excluded from Protestantism due to its [[Nontrinitarian]] theological nature.<ref name="willsky" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanunitarian.org/AUCChristian.htm|title=Unitarian Christianity|website=www.americanunitarian.org|access-date=1 August 2017|archive-date=5 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805035309/http://americanunitarian.org/AUCChristian.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Unitarianism has been popular in the [[Transylvania|region of Transylvania]] within today's [[Romania]], England, and the United States.<ref name="willsky" /> It originated almost simultaneously in Transylvania and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]].

[[Spiritual Christianity]] is the group of Russian movements ([[Doukhobors]] and others), so-called folk Protestants. Their origins are varied: some were influenced by western Protestants, others from disgust of the behavior of official [[Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] priests.<ref>{{cite journal |given=Nikolai |surname=Berdyaev |authorlink=Nikolai Berdyaev |translator=S. Janos |title=Spiritual Christianity and Sectarianism in Russia |journal=Russkaya Mysl ("Russian Thought") |date=1999 |orig-year=1916 |url=http://www.berdyaev.com/berdiaev/berd_lib/1916_252a.html |via=Berdyaev.com |access-date=19 July 2023 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719084458/https://www.berdyaev.com/berdiaev/berd_lib/1916_252a.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |year=2006 |given=Koozma J. |surname=Tarasoff |title=Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers' Strategies for Living |chapter-url=http://www.spirit-wrestlers.com/excerpts/2006_Doukhobors_Overview.html |chapter=Overview |place=Ottawa |publisher=Legas |isbn=1-896031-12-9 |access-date=19 July 2023 |archive-date=23 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223110138/http://www.spirit-wrestlers.com/excerpts/2006_Doukhobors_Overview.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Messianic Judaism]] is a movement of the Jews and non-Jews, which arose in the 1960s within Evangelical Protestantism and absorbed elements of the [[Jewish Christian|messianic]] traditions in Judaism.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Melton |editor-given=J. Gordon |editor-link=J. Gordon Melton |year=2005 |entry=Messianic Judaism |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions |page=373 |entry-url={{Google books|id=bW3sXBjnokkC|plainurl=y|page=373|keywords=|text=}} |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bW3sXBjnokkC |isbn=0-8160-5456-8 |quote="Messianic Judaism is a Protestant movement that emerged in the last half of the 20th century among believers who were ethnically Jewish but had adopted an Evangelical Christian faith.…By the 1960s, a new effort to create a culturally Jewish Protestant Christianity emerged among individuals who began to call themselves Messianic Jews." |access-date=19 July 2023 |archive-date=30 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240630153122/https://books.google.com/books?id=bW3sXBjnokkC |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Interdenominational movements==
[[File:Messiah Cathedral in Night.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|An [[Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church]] [[megachurch]]]]
There are also Christian movements which cross denominational lines and even branches, and cannot be classified on the same level previously mentioned forms. [[Evangelicalism]] is a prominent example. Some of those movements are active exclusively within Protestantism, some are Christian-wide. Transdenominational movements are sometimes capable of affecting parts of the Catholic Church, such as does it the [[Charismatic Movement]], which aims to incorporate beliefs and practices similar to [[Pentecostals]] into the various branches of Christianity. [[Neo-charismatic churches]] are sometimes regarded as a subgroup of the Charismatic Movement. Both are put under a common label of [[Charismatic Christianity]] (so-called ''Renewalists''), along with Pentecostals. [[Nondenominational Christianity|Nondenominational churches]] and various [[house church]]es often adopt, or are akin to one of these movements.

[[Megachurch]]es are usually influenced by interdenominational movements. Globally, these large congregations are a significant development in Protestant Christianity. In the United States, the phenomenon has more than quadrupled in the past two decades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=tflynn_26_5|title=Redirect|website=www.secularhumanism.org|access-date=10 February 2016|archive-date=19 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619065320/http://secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=tflynn_26_5|url-status=live}}</ref> It has since spread worldwide.

The chart below shows the mutual relations and historical origins of the main interdenominational movements and other developments within Protestantism.

[[File:Interdenominational movements & other Protestant developments.svg|thumb|upright=2.95|center|Links between interdenominational movements and other developments within Protestantism]]

===Evangelicalism===
{{Main|Evangelicalism}}
Evangelicalism, or evangelical Protestantism,{{efn|Primarily in the United States, where Protestants are usually placed in one of two categories—[[Mainline Protestant|Mainline]] or Evangelical.}} is a worldwide, transdenominational movement which maintains that the essence of [[the gospel]] consists in the doctrine of salvation by [[Grace in Christianity|grace]] through [[Faith in Christianity|faith]] in [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]]'s [[atonement in Christianity|atonement]].<ref name=Oxf>{{cite book|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary | year=1978| publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | url=http://www.operationworld.org/glossary | title=Operation World | access-date=4 June 2015 | archive-date=18 January 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118153156/http://operationworld.org/glossary | url-status=live }}</ref>

Evangelicals are [[Christians]] who believe in the centrality of the conversion or [[Born again (Christianity)|"born again" experience]] in receiving salvation, believe in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity and have a strong commitment to evangelism or sharing the Christian message.

It gained great momentum in the 18th and 19th centuries with the emergence of [[Methodism]] and the [[Great Awakenings]] in Britain and North America. The origins of Evangelicalism are usually traced back to the English [[Methodist]] movement, [[Nicolaus Zinzendorf]], the [[Moravian Church]], [[Lutheran]] [[pietism]], [[Presbyterianism]] and [[Puritanism]].<ref name="pewforum1"/> Among leaders and major figures of the Evangelical Protestant movement were [[John Wesley]], [[George Whitefield]], [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]], [[Billy Graham]], [[Harold John Ockenga]], [[John Stott]] and [[Martyn Lloyd-Jones]].

There are an estimated 285,480,000 Evangelicals, corresponding to 13% of the [[Christianity by country|Christian population]] and 4% of the [[World population|total world population]]. The Americas, Africa and Asia are home to the majority of Evangelicals. The United States has the largest concentration of Evangelicals.<ref name="How Many Evangelicals Are There">{{Citation | title=How Many Evangelicals Are There? | url=http://www.wheaton.edu/ISAE/Defining-Evangelicalism/How-Many-Are-There/ | publisher=Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals | place=Wheaton College | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130062242/http://www.wheaton.edu/ISAE/Defining-Evangelicalism/How-Many-Are-There | archive-date=30 January 2016 | df=dmy-all}}</ref> Evangelicalism is gaining popularity both in and outside the English-speaking world, especially in Latin America and the [[developing world]].
<gallery>
File:Wilberforce john rising.jpg|[[William Wilberforce]], a British evangelical abolitionist
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 194-0798-29, Düsseldorf, Veranstaltung mit Billy Graham.jpg|[[Billy Graham]], a prominent evangelical revivalist, preaching in [[Duisburg|Duisburg, Germany]], in 1954
File:Église Nouvelle Vie culte.jpg|Worship service at [[Église Nouvelle vie]], an evangelical [[Pentacostalism|Pentecostal]] church in [[Longueuil]], Canada
File:Hämeenlinnan Vapaaseurakunta.jpg|An Evangelical Protestant church in [[Hämeenlinna]], Finland
</gallery>

===Charismatic movement===
{{Main|Charismatic movement}}
[[File:Hillsong Church Konstanz 2018.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Hillsong Church, an evangelical charismatic church, in [[Konstanz]], Germany]]
The Charismatic movement is the international trend of historically mainstream congregations adopting beliefs and practices similar to [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]]. Fundamental to the movement is the use of [[spiritual gift]]s. Among Protestants, the movement began around 1960.

In the United States, Episcopalian [[Dennis Bennett (priest)|Dennis Bennett]] is sometimes cited as one of the charismatic movement's seminal influence.<ref>{{Citation | first = Randall | last = Balmer | title = Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and Expanded Edition | edition = 2nd | place = Waco | publisher = Baylor | year = 2004 | contribution = Charismatic Movement}}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom]], [[Colin Urquhart]], [[Michael Harper (priest)|Michael Harper]], [[David Watson (evangelist)|David Watson]] and others were in the vanguard of similar developments. The [[Massey University|Massey]] conference in New Zealand, 1964 was attended by several Anglicans, including the Rev. Ray Muller, who went on to invite Bennett to New Zealand in 1966, and played a leading role in developing and promoting the ''Life in the Spirit'' seminars. Other Charismatic movement leaders in New Zealand include [[Bill Subritzky]].

Larry Christenson, a Lutheran theologian based in [[San Pedro, California]], did much in the 1960s and 1970s to interpret the charismatic movement for Lutherans. A very large annual conference regarding that matter was held in [[Minneapolis]]. Charismatic Lutheran congregations in Minnesota became especially large and influential; especially "Hosanna!" in Lakeville, and North Heights in St. Paul. The next generation of Lutheran charismatics cluster around the Alliance of Renewal Churches. There is considerable charismatic activity among young Lutheran leaders in California centered around an annual gathering at Robinwood Church in Huntington Beach. [[Richard A. Jensen]]'s ''Touched by the Spirit'' published in 1974, played a major role of the Lutheran understanding to the charismatic movement.

In Congregational and Presbyterian churches which profess a traditionally [[Calvinist]] or [[Reformed theology]] there are differing views regarding present-day [[continuationism|continuation]] or [[cessationism|cessation]] of the gifts (''{{lang|la|charismata}}'') of the Spirit.<ref name="phen">{{Cite book | last1 = Masters | first1 = Peter | last2 = Whitcomb | first2 = John | title = Charismatic Phenomenon| publisher = Wakeman | location = London | page = [https://archive.org/details/charismaticpheno0000mast/page/113 113] | date = 1988 | isbn = 978-1870855013 | url = https://archive.org/details/charismaticpheno0000mast/page/113}}</ref><ref name="epidemic">{{Cite book | last1 = Masters | first1 = Peter | last2 = Wright | first2= Professor Verna| title = Healing Epidemic | publisher = Wakeman Trust | location = London| page = 227 | date = 1988 | isbn = 978-1870855006}}</ref> Generally, however, Reformed charismatics distance themselves from renewal movements with tendencies which could be perceived as overemotional, such as [[Word of Faith]], [[Toronto Blessing]], [[Brownsville Revival]] and [[Lakeland Revival]]. Prominent Reformed charismatic denominations are the [[Sovereign Grace Churches]] and the [[Every Nation]] Churches in the US, in Great Britain there is the [[Newfrontiers]] churches and movement, which leading figure is [[Terry Virgo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tateville.com/churches.html |title=Reformed and Presbyterian Denominations: A Primer |date=15 February 2014 |website=Tateville |access-date=5 January 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111183209/http://www.tateville.com/churches.html |archive-date=11 November 2014}}</ref>

A minority of [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]] today are charismatic. They are strongly associated with those holding more [[Progressive Adventism|"progressive" Adventist beliefs]]. In the early decades of the church charismatic or ecstatic phenomena were commonplace.<ref>{{cite web| last = Patrick| first = Arthur| author-link = Arthur Patrick| title = Early Adventist worship, Ellen White and the Holy Spirit: Preliminary Historical Perspectives| website = Spiritual Discernment Conference| publisher = SDAnet AtIssue| date = 25 October 1999 | url = http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/discern/holyspirit.htm| access-date = 15 February 2008| archive-date = 7 October 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181007140636/http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/discern/holyspirit.htm| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last = Patrick| first = Arthur| author-link = Arthur Patrick| title = Later Adventist Worship, Ellen White and the Holy Spirit: Further Historical Perspectives| website = Spiritual Discernment Conference| publisher = SDAnet AtIssue| date = 27 August 1999 | url = http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/discern/flesh.htm| access-date = 15 February 2008| archive-date = 11 October 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181011052704/http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/discern/flesh.htm| url-status = live}}</ref>

===Neo-charismatic churches===
{{Main|Neo-charismatic churches}}
Neo-charismatic churches are a category of churches in the Christian [[Renewal (religion)|Renewal]] movement. Neo-charismatics include the [[Third Wave of the Holy Spirit|Third Wave]], but are broader. Now more numerous than Pentecostals (first wave) and charismatics (second wave) combined, owing to the remarkable growth of [[postdenominational churches|postdenominational]] and independent charismatic groups.<ref name = NIDPCM>{{Citation | editor1-first = Stanley M | editor1-last = Burgess | editor2-first = Eduard M | editor2-last = van der Maas | title = The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements | place = Grand Rapids | publisher = Zondervan | year = 2002 | contribution = Neocharismatics| title-link = The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements}}</ref>

Neo-charismatics believe in and stress the post-Biblical availability of [[gifts of the Holy Spirit]], including [[glossolalia]], healing, and prophecy. They practice laying on of hands and seek the "infilling" of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]. However, a specific experience of [[baptism with the Holy Spirit]] may not be requisite for experiencing such gifts. No single form, governmental structure, or style of church service characterizes all neo-charismatic services and churches.

Some nineteen thousand denominations, with approximately 295&nbsp;million individual adherents, are identified as neo-charismatic.<ref>{{Citation | editor1-first = Stanley M | editor1-last = Burgess | editor2-first = Eduard M | editor2-last = van der Maas | title = The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements | place = Grand Rapids | publisher = Zondervan | year = 2002 | pages = 286–287}}</ref>

==Protestant offshoots==
===Arminianism===
{{Main|Arminianism|Remonstrants}}
{{See also|History of the Calvinist–Arminian debate}}
[[File:James Arminius 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Jacobus Arminius]], a [[Dutch Reformed Church]] theologian, whose views influenced parts of Protestantism. A small [[Remonstrants]] community remains in the [[Netherlands]].]]
[[Arminianism]] is based on [[Christian theology|theological]] ideas of the [[Dutch Reformed]] theologian [[Jacobus Arminius]] (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as [[Remonstrants]]. His teachings held to the [[five solae]] of the Reformation, but they were distinct from particular teachings of [[Martin Luther]], [[Huldrych Zwingli]], [[John Calvin]], and other [[Protestant Reformers]]. Jacobus Arminius was a student of [[Theodore Beza]] at the Theological University of Geneva. Arminianism is known to some as a [[soteriological]] diversification of [[Calvinism]].<ref>"Chambers Biographical Dictionary", ed. Magnus Magnusson (Chambers: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 62.</ref> However, to others, Arminianism is a reclamation of early Church theological consensus.<ref>Kenneth D. Keathley, "The Work of God: Salvation", in ''A Theology for the Church'', ed. Daniel L. Akin (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2007), 703.</ref> Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement signed by 45 ministers and submitted to the [[States General of the Netherlands]]. Many Christian denominations have been influenced by Arminian views on the will of man being freed by grace prior to regeneration, notably the [[Baptists]] in the 16th century,<ref>Robert G. Torbet, ''A History of the Baptists'', third edition</ref> the [[Methodists]] in the 18th century and the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] in the 19th century.

The original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius himself are commonly defined as Arminianism, but more broadly, the term may embrace the teachings of [[Hugo Grotius]], [[John Wesley]], and others as well. [[Arminianism#Classical Arminianism|Classical Arminianism]] and [[Wesleyan-Arminianism|Wesleyan Arminianism]] are the two main schools of thought. Wesleyan Arminianism is often identical with Methodism. The two systems of Calvinism and Arminianism share both history and many doctrines, and the [[History of Christianity|history of Christian theology]]. However, because of their differences over the doctrines of divine [[predestination]] and election, many people view these schools of thought as opposed to each other. In short, the difference can be seen ultimately by whether God allows His desire to save all to be resisted by an individual's will (in the Arminian doctrine) or if God's grace is irresistible and limited to only some (in Calvinism). Some Calvinists assert that the Arminian perspective presents a synergistic system of Salvation and therefore is not only by grace, while Arminians firmly reject this conclusion. Many consider the theological differences to be crucial differences in doctrine, while others find them to be relatively minor.<ref>Gonzalez, Justo L. ''The Story of Christianity, Vol. Two: The Reformation to the Present Day'' (New York: Harpercollins Publishers, 1985; reprint – Peabody: Prince Press, 2008) 180</ref>

===Pietism===
{{Main|Pietism|Haugean movement}}
[[Pietism]] was an influential movement within [[Lutheranism]] that combined the 17th-century Lutheran principles with the [[Calvinism|Reformed]] emphasis on individual piety and living a vigorous [[Christianity|Christian]] life.<ref>In places, such as parts of England and America, where Pietism was frequently juxtaposed with Catholicism, Catholics also became naturally influenced by Pietism, helping to foster a stronger tradition of congregational hymn-singing, including among Pietists who converted to Catholicism and brought their pietistic inclination with them, such as [[Frederick William Faber]].</ref>

It began in the late 17th century, reached its zenith in the mid-18th century, and declined through the 19th century, and had almost vanished in America by the end of the 20th century. While declining as an identifiable Lutheran group, some of its theological tenets influenced Protestantism generally, inspiring the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] priest [[John Wesley]] to begin the [[Methodism|Methodist]] movement and [[Alexander Mack]] to begin the [[Schwarzenau Brethren|Brethren]] movement under an influence of [[Anabaptists]].<ref>Meier, Marcus (2008). The Origin of the Schwarzenau Brethren. Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia. p. 144.</ref>

Though Pietism shares an emphasis on personal behavior with the [[Puritan]] movement, and the two are often confused, there are important differences, particularly in the concept of the role of religion in government.<ref>Calvinist Puritans believed that government was ordained by God to enforce Christian behavior upon the world; pietists see the government as a part of the world, and believers were called to voluntarily live faithful lives independent of government.</ref>

<gallery>
File:Philipp Jakob Spener.jpg|[[Philipp Jakob Spener]], a German pioneer and founder of [[Pietism]]
File:Pietism.JPG|Pietism has had a strong cultural influence in [[Scandinavia]].
File:Der breite und der schmale Weg 2008.jpg|''The Broad and the Narrow Way'', an 1866 German Pietist painting
</gallery>

===Puritanism, English dissenters and nonconformists===
{{Main|Puritans|English Dissenters|Independent (religion)|Nonconformist (Protestantism){{!}}Nonconformism|English Presbyterianism|Ecclesiastical separatism|17th-century denominations in England}}
The [[Puritans]] were a group of English Protestants in the [[Christianity in the 16th century|16th]] and [[Christianity in the 17th century|17th centuries]], which sought to purify the [[Church of England]] of what they considered to be Catholic practices, maintaining that the church was only partially reformed. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some of the returning [[Marian exiles|clergy exiled under Mary I]] shortly after the accession of [[Elizabeth I of England]] in 1558, as an activist movement within the [[Church of England]].

Puritans were blocked from changing the established church from within, and were severely restricted in England by laws controlling the practice of religion. Their beliefs, however, were transported by the emigration of congregations to the Netherlands (and later to New England), and by evangelical clergy to Ireland (and later into Wales), and were spread into lay society and parts of the educational system, particularly certain colleges of the [[University of Cambridge]]. The first Protestant sermon delivered in England was in Cambridge, with the pulpit that this sermon was delivered from surviving to today.<ref>{{cite web|title=Latimer's Pulpit|url=https://www.50treasures.divinity.cam.ac.uk/treasure/latimers-pulpit/|access-date=2020-12-30|website=Faculty of Divinity 50 Treasures|archive-date=5 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205203447/https://www.50treasures.divinity.cam.ac.uk/treasure/latimers-pulpit/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2020-06-25|title=Despite Cambridge's Protestant history, Catholic students are at home here|url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/despite-cambridges-protestant-history-catholic-students-are-at-home-here/|access-date=2020-09-21|website=Catholic Herald|language=en-GB|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927001656/https://catholicherald.co.uk/despite-cambridges-protestant-history-catholic-students-are-at-home-here/|url-status=live}}</ref> They took on distinctive beliefs about clerical dress and in opposition to the [[Episcopal polity|episcopal]] system, particularly after the 1619 conclusions of the [[Synod of Dort]] they were resisted by the English bishops. They largely adopted [[Puritan Sabbatarianism|Sabbatarianism]] in the 17th century, and were influenced by [[millennialism]].

They formed, and identified with various religious groups advocating greater purity of [[worship]] and [[doctrine]], as well as personal and group [[pietism|piety]]. Puritans adopted a [[Reformed theology]], but they also took note of radical criticisms of Zwingli in Zurich and Calvin in Geneva. In church polity, some advocated for separation from all other Christians, in favor of autonomous [[gathered church]]es. These separatist and [[independent (religion)|independent]] strands of Puritanism became prominent in the 1640s. Although the [[English Civil War]] (which expanded into the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]]) began over a contest for political power between the [[King of England]] and the [[House of Commons]], it divided the country along religious lines as [[Episcopalianism|episcopalians]] within the Church of England sided with the Crown and Presbyterians and Independents supported ''Parliament'' (after the defeat of the Royalists, the [[House of Lords]] as well as the Monarch were removed from the political structure of the state to create the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]]). The supporters of a [[Presbyterian polity]] in the [[Westminster Assembly]] were unable to forge a new English national church, and the Parliamentary [[New Model Army]], which was made up primarily of Independents, under [[Oliver Cromwell]] first purged Parliament, then abolished it and established [[The Protectorate]].

[[English overseas possessions in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms|England's trans-Atlantic colonies in the war]] followed varying paths depending on their internal demographics. In the older colonies, which included [[Virginia]] (1607) and its offshoot [[Bermuda]] (1612), as well as [[Barbados]] and [[Antigua]] in the West Indies (collectively the targets in 1650 of [[An Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda and Antego]]), Episcopalians remained the dominant church faction and the colonies remained Royalist 'til conquered or compelled to accept the new political order. In Bermuda, with control of the local [[Government of Bermuda|government]] and the ''army'' (nine infantry companies of Militia plus [[coastal artillery]]), the Royalists forced Parliament-backing religious Independents into exile to settle the [[Bahamas]] as the [[Eleutheran Adventurers]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Langford Oliver |first=Vere |date=1912 |title=Pym Letters. Caribbeana: Being Miscellaneous papers Relating to the History. Genealogy, Topography, and Antiquities of the British West Indies. Volume II. |location=London |publisher=Mitchell Hughes and Clarke, 140 Wardour Street, W |page=14 |quote=The Government is changed. Within twenty days after his arrival, the Governor called an assembly, pretending thereby to reform certain things amiss. All the ministers in the island, Mr. White, Mr. Goldinge, and Mr. Copeland, were Independents, and they had set up a Congregational Church, of which most gentlemen of Council were members or favourers. The burgesses of this [[House of Assembly of Bermuda|assembly]] were picked out of those who were known to be enemies to that way, and they did not suffer a Roundhead (as they term them) to be chosen.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lefroy |first=Major-General Sir John Henry |date=1981 |title=Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands 1515-1685, Volume I |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermuda Historical Society and The Bermuda National Trust (the first edition having been published in 1877, with funds provided by the Government of Bermuda), printed in Canada by The University of Toronto Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eleuthera-map.com/eleuthera-island.htm |title=Eleuthera Island: History Notes |work=eleuthera-map.com |access-date=2021-10-17 |archive-date=1 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101125402/http://www.eleuthera-map.com/eleuthera-island.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Episcopalian was re-established following the [[Stuart Restoration#Church of England settlement|Restoration]]. A century later, non-conforming Protestants, along with the Protestant refugees from continental Europe, were to be among the primary instigators of the [[American War of Independence|war of secession]] that led to the founding of the United States of America.

<gallery>
File:John.Cotton.cropped.jpg|[[John Cotton (minister)|John Cotton]], who sparked the [[Antinomian Controversy]] with his [[free grace theology]]
File:The Landing of the Pilgrims (1877) by Henry A. Bacon.jpg|[[Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrims]] landing at [[Plymouth Rock]] in [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]], in 1620
File:OldShipEntrance.jpg|Built in 1681, the [[Old Ship Church]] in [[Hingham, Massachusetts]], is the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|last = Butterfield|first = Fox|title = The Perfect New England Town|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/14/travel/the-perfect-new-england-village.html?sec=&spon=|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|date = 14 May 1989|access-date = 30 May 2010|archive-date = 18 November 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181118230017/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/14/travel/the-perfect-new-england-village.html?sec=&spon=|url-status = live}}</ref>
</gallery>

===Neo-orthodoxy and paleo-orthodoxy===
{{Main|Neo-orthodoxy|Paleo-orthodoxy}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 194-1283-23A, Wuppertal, Evangelische Gesellschaft, Jahrestagung.jpg|upright=1|thumb|[[Karl Barth]], often regarded as the greatest Protestant theologian of the 20th century<ref name = "McGrath2011">{{cite book| first= Alister E| last= McGrath| title= Christian Theology: An Introduction| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bus5TyjTfxYC&pg=PA76| year= 2011| publisher= John Wiley & Sons| isbn= 978-1-4443-9770-3| page= 76| access-date= 27 June 2015| archive-date= 6 September 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150906041426/https://books.google.com/books?id=bus5TyjTfxYC&pg=PA76| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name = "BrownCollinson2012">{{cite book | first1 = Stuart | last1 = Brown | first2 = Diane | last2 = Collinson | first3 = Robert | last3 = Wilkinson | title = Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hz8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA52 | year = 2012 | publisher = Taylor & Francis | isbn = 978-0-415-06043-1 | page = 52 | access-date = 27 June 2015 | archive-date = 6 September 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150906044607/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hz8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA52 | url-status = live }}</ref>]]
A non-fundamentalist rejection of liberal Christianity along the lines of the [[Christian existentialism]] of [[Søren Kierkegaard]], who attacked the [[Right Hegelians#Hegelian theologians|Hegelian]] state churches of his day for "dead orthodoxy", neo-orthodoxy is associated primarily with [[Karl Barth]], [[Jürgen Moltmann]], and [[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]]. Neo-orthodoxy sought to counter-act the tendency of liberal theology to make theological accommodations to modern scientific perspectives. Sometimes called "crisis theology", in the existentialist sense of the word crisis, also sometimes called ''neo-evangelicalism'', which uses the sense of "evangelical" pertaining to continental European Protestants rather than American evangelicalism. "Evangelical" was the originally preferred label used by Lutherans and Calvinists, but it was replaced by the names some Catholics used to [[Labelling#Labelling in argumentation|label]] a heresy with the name of its founder.

[[Paleo-orthodoxy]] is a movement similar in some respects to neo-evangelicalism but emphasizing the ancient Christian consensus of the undivided church of the first millennium AD, including in particular the early creeds and church councils as a means of properly understanding the scriptures. This movement is cross-denominational. A prominent theologian in this group is [[Thomas Oden]], a Methodist.

===Christian fundamentalism===
{{Main|Christian fundamentalism}}
In reaction to liberal Bible critique, [[fundamentalism]] arose in the 20th century, primarily in the United States, among those denominations most affected by Evangelicalism. Fundamentalist theology tends to stress [[Biblical inerrancy]] and [[Biblical literalism]].{{sfn|Ammerman|1991}}

Toward the end of the 20th century, some have tended to confuse evangelicalism and fundamentalism; however, the labels represent very distinct differences of approach that both groups are diligent to maintain, although because of fundamentalism's dramatically smaller size it often gets classified simply as an ultra-conservative branch of evangelicalism.

===Modernism and liberalism===
{{Main|Liberal Christianity}}
Modernism and liberalism do not constitute rigorous and well-defined schools of theology, but are rather an inclination by some writers and teachers to integrate Christian thought into the spirit of the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. New understandings of history and the natural sciences of the day led directly to new approaches to theology. Its opposition to the fundamentalist teaching resulted in religious debates, such as the [[Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy]] within the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America]] in the 1920s.

==Protestant culture==
{{Main|Protestant culture}}
[[File:Die protestantische Ethik und der 'Geist' des Kapitalismus original cover.jpg|thumb|[[Max Weber]]'s ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'']]
Although the [[Reformation]] was a religious movement, it also had a strong impact on all other aspects of life, including marriage and family, education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy, and the arts.<ref name="Karl Heussi 1956 pp. 317–319"/> Protestant churches reject the idea of a celibate priesthood and thus allow their clergy to marry.<ref name = "Encyclopedia of Protestantism" /> Many of their families contributed to the development of intellectual elites in their countries.<ref>Karl Heussi, ''{{lang|de|Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte}}'', p. 319</ref> Since about 1950, women have entered the ministry in most Protestant churches, and some have assumed leading positions (e.g. [[bishop]]s).

Protestantism has promoted economic growth and entrepreneurship, especially in the period after the [[Scientific Revolution|Scientific]] and the [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cantoni |first=Davide |date=2015 |title=The Economic Effects of the Protestant Reformation: Testing the Weber Hypothesis in the German Lands |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24539263 |journal=Journal of the European Economic Association |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=561–598 |doi=10.1111/jeea.12117 |jstor=24539263 |hdl=10230/11729 |s2cid=7528944 |issn=1542-4766 |hdl-access=free |access-date=5 July 2023 |archive-date=18 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518061700/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24539263 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait|first=Reinhard|last=Bendix|year=1978|isbn=978-0520031944|page=60|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> Scholars have identified a positive correlation between the rise of Protestantism and [[human capital]] formation,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Boppart|first1=Timo|last2=Falkinger|first2=Josef|last3=Grossmann|first3=Volker|date=1 April 2014|title=Protestantism and Education: Reading (the Bible) and Other Skills|journal=Economic Inquiry |volume=52|issue=2|pages=874–895|doi=10.1111/ecin.12058|s2cid=10220106|issn=1465-7295|url=https://www.cesifo-group.de/DocDL/cesifo1_wp3314.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.cesifo-group.de/DocDL/cesifo1_wp3314.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Protestant work ethic|work ethic]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schaltegger|first1=Christoph A.|last2=Torgler|first2=Benno|date=1 May 2010|title=Work ethic, Protestantism, and human capital|journal=Economics Letters|volume=107|issue=2|pages=99–101|doi=10.1016/j.econlet.2009.12.037|url=https://eprints.qut.edu.au/32407/1/COVERSHEET_C32407.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://eprints.qut.edu.au/32407/1/COVERSHEET_C32407.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |issn = 0165-1765 }}</ref> [[economic development]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Spater|first1=Jeremy|last2=Tranvik|first2=Isak|date=1 November 2019|title=The Protestant Ethic Reexamined: Calvinism and Industrialization|journal=Comparative Political Studies|volume=52|issue=13–14|pages=1963–1994|doi=10.1177/0010414019830721|s2cid=204438351|issn=0010-4140}}</ref> the rise of early [[experimental science]],<ref>{{cite book | last = Cohen | first = I. Bernard |title = Puritanism and the rise of modern science: the Merton thesis|publisher = Rutgers University Press | location = New Brunswick, New Jersey | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-0-8135-1530-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Cohen | first = H. | author-link = H. Floris Cohen | title = The scientific revolution: a historiographical inquiry | publisher = University of Chicago Press | pages = [https://archive.org/details/scientificrevolu00cohe/page/320 320–321] | location = Chicago | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-226-11280-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/scientificrevolu00cohe/page/320 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=2iieLX7nrEAC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA320 Google Print, pp.&nbsp;320–321] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406083709/https://books.google.com/books?id=2iieLX7nrEAC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA320 |date=6 April 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Ferngren | first = Gary B. | author-link = Gary B. Ferngren | title = Science and religion: a historical introduction | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | page = 125 | location = Baltimore, Maryland | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-8018-7038-5 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=weOOCfiDhDcC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA125 Google Print, p.125] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718185019/https://books.google.com/books?id=weOOCfiDhDcC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA125 |date=18 July 2023 }}</ref> and the development of the [[Government|state system]].{{sfn|Becker|Pfaff|Rubin|2016}}

As the Reformers wanted all members of the church to be able to read the Bible, education on all levels was strongly encouraged. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the literacy rate in England was about 60 percent, in Scotland 65 percent, and in Sweden 80 percent.<ref>Heinrich August Winkler (2012), ''{{lang|de|Geschichte des Westens. Von den Anfängen in der Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert}}'', Third, Revised Edition, Munich (Germany), p. 233</ref> Colleges and universities were founded. For example, the [[Puritans]] who established [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1628 founded [[Harvard College]] only eight years later. About a dozen other colleges followed in the 18th century, including [[Yale]] (1701). [[Pennsylvania]] also became a center of learning.<ref>Clifton E. Olmstead (1960), ''History of Religion in the United States'', Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, pp. 69–80, 88–89, 114–117, 186–188</ref><ref>M. Schmidt, ''Kongregationalismus'', in ''Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', 3. Auflage, Band III (1959), Tübingen (Germany), col. 1770</ref>

Members of [[mainline Protestant]] denominations have played [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestant|leadership roles in many aspects of American life]], including politics, business, science, the arts, and education. They founded most of the country's leading institutes of higher education.<ref name=mainline2000>McKinney, William. "Mainline Protestantism 2000." ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 558, Americans and Religions in the Twenty-First Century (July 1998), pp. 57–66.</ref>

===Thought and work ethic===
{{See also|Protestant work ethic}}
The Protestant concept of God and man allows believers to use all their God-given faculties, including the power of reason. That means that they are allowed to explore God's creation and, according to Genesis 2:15, make use of it in a responsible and sustainable way. Thus a cultural climate was created that greatly enhanced the development of the [[humanities]] and the [[sciences]].<ref>[[Gerhard Lenski]] (1963), ''The Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion's Impact on Politics, Economics, and Family Life'', Revised Edition, A Doubleday Anchor Book, Garden City, New York, pp. 348–351</ref> Another consequence of the Protestant understanding of man is that the believers, in gratitude for their election and redemption in Christ, are to follow God's commandments. Industry, frugality, calling, discipline, and a strong sense of responsibility are at the heart of their moral code.<ref>Cf. [[Robert Middlekauff]] (2005), ''The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789'', Revised and Expanded Edition, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-516247-9}}, p. 52</ref><ref>Jan Weerda, ''{{lang|de|Soziallehre des Calvinismus}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Evangelisches Soziallexikon}}'', 3. Auflage (1958), Stuttgart (Germany), col. 934</ref> In particular, Calvin rejected luxury. Therefore, craftsmen, industrialists, and other businessmen were able to reinvest the greater part of their profits in the most efficient machinery and the most modern production methods that were based on progress in the sciences and technology. As a result, productivity grew, which led to increased profits and enabled employers to pay higher wages. In this way, the economy, the sciences, and technology reinforced each other. The chance to participate in the economic success of technological inventions was a strong incentive to both inventors and investors.<ref>[[Eduard Heimann]], ''Kapitalismus'', in ''Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', 3. Auflage, Band III (1959), Tübingen (Germany), col. 1136–1141</ref><ref>Hans Fritz Schwenkhagen, ''Technik'', in ''Evangelisches Soziallexikon'', 3. Auflage, col. 1029–1033</ref><ref>Georg Süßmann, ''{{lang|de|Naturwissenschaft und Christentum}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band IV, col. 1377–1382</ref><ref>C. Graf von Klinckowstroem, ''{{lang|de|Technik. Geschichtlich}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band VI, col. 664–667</ref> The [[Protestant work ethic]] was an important force behind the unplanned and uncoordinated [[mass action (sociology)|mass action]] that influenced the development of [[capitalism]] and the [[Industrial Revolution]]. This idea is also known as the "Protestant ethic thesis".<ref name="SEP">{{cite web | url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/ | title=Max Weber | publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University | website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy | date=Fall 2008 | access-date=21 August 2011 | author=Kim, Sung Ho | archive-date=27 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527021109/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

However, eminent historian [[Fernand Braudel]] (d. 1985), a leader of the important [[Annales School]] wrote, "all historians have opposed this tenuous theory [the Protestant Ethic], although they have not managed to be rid of it once and for all. Yet it is clearly false. The northern countries took over the place that earlier had been so long and brilliantly been occupied by the old capitalist centers of the Mediterranean. They invented nothing, either in technology or business management."<ref>Braudel, Fernand. 1977. Afterthoughts on Material Civilization and Capitalism. Baltimore: Johns Hopskins University Press.</ref> Social scientist [[Rodney Stark]] moreover comments that "during their critical period of economic development, these northern centers of capitalism were Catholic, not Protestant—the Reformation still lay well into the future",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/protestant-objections/protestant-modernity.html|title=Protestant Modernity|last=Manager|date=31 January 2017 |access-date=17 September 2017|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120113716/https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/protestant-objections/protestant-modernity.html|url-status=live}}</ref> while British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper (d. 2003) said, "The idea that large-scale industrial capitalism was ideologically impossible before the Reformation is exploded by the simple fact that it existed."<ref>Trevor-Roper. 2001. The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century. Liberty Fund</ref>

In a [[factor analysis]] of the latest wave of [[World Values Survey]] data, [[Arno Tausch]] ([[Corvinus University of Budapest]]) found that Protestantism emerges to be very close to combining religion and the traditions of [[liberalism]]. The Global Value Development Index, calculated by Tausch, relies on the World Values Survey dimensions such as trust in the state of law, no support for shadow economy, postmaterial activism, support for democracy, a non-acceptance of violence, xenophobia and racism, trust in transnational capital and Universities, confidence in the market economy, supporting gender justice, and engaging in environmental activism, etc.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/63349.html|title=Towards new maps of global human values, based on World Values Survey (6) data|first=Arno|last=Tausch|date=31 March 2015|via=ideas.repec.org|journal=Mpra Paper|access-date=27 May 2015|archive-date=14 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214174710/https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/63349.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalians]] and [[Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)|Presbyterians]], as well as other [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestant|WASPs]], tend to be considerably wealthier<ref name="THE EPISCOPALIANS">{{cite news |author=B. Drummond Ayers Jr. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/28/us/the-episcopalians-an-american-elite-with-roots-going-back-to-jamestown.html |title=The Episcopalians: An American Elite with Roots Going Back To Jamestown |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=17 August 2012 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612230306/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/28/us/the-episcopalians-an-american-elite-with-roots-going-back-to-jamestown.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and better educated (having [[Academic degree|graduate]] and [[post-graduate]] degrees per capita) than most other religious groups in [[United States]],<ref>Irving Lewis Allen, "WASP – From Sociological Concept to Epithet", ''Ethnicity'', 1975 154+</ref> and are disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American [[business]],<ref>{{cite journal |first=Andrew |last=Hacker |title=Liberal Democracy and Social Control |journal=[[American Political Science Review]] |year=1957 |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=1009–1026 [p. 1011] |doi=10.2307/1952449 |jstor=1952449|s2cid=146933599 }}</ref> [[law]] and [[politics]], especially the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Baltzell |title=The Protestant Establishment |url=https://archive.org/details/protestantestabl00baltrich |year=1964 |page=[https://archive.org/details/protestantestabl00baltrich/page/9 9]|publisher=New York, Random House }}</ref> Numbers of the most [[Old money|wealthy and affluent American families]] as the [[Vanderbilts]], the [[Astor family|Astors]], [[Rockefeller family|Rockefellers]], [[Du Pont family|Du Ponts]], [[Roosevelt family|Roosevelts]], [[Forbes family|Forbes]], [[Ford family|Fords]], [[Whitney family|Whitneys]], [[Mellon family|Mellons]], the [[Morgan family|Morgans]] and Harrimans are [[Mainline Protestant]] families.<ref name="THE EPISCOPALIANS"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Religion, Art, and Money: Episcopalians and American Culture from the Civil War to the Great Depression|first=Peter|last= W. Williams|year= 2016| isbn= 978-1469626987| page =176|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|quote=The names of fashionable families who were already Episcopalian, like the Morgans, or those, like the Fricks, who now became so, goes on interminably: Aldrich, Astor, Biddle, Booth, Brown, Du Pont, Firestone, Ford, Gardner, Mellon, Morgan, Procter, the Vanderbilt, Whitney. Episcopalians branches of the Baptist Rockefellers and Jewish Guggenheims even appeared on these family trees.}}</ref>

===Science===
{{See also|Merton thesis}}
[[File:Butler Library - 1000px - AC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Columbia University]], an [[Ivy League]] university in [[New York City]], was initially established by the [[Church of England]].]]
Protestantism has had an important influence on science. According to the [[Merton Thesis]], there was a positive [[correlation]] between the rise of English [[Puritanism]] and German [[Pietism]] on the one hand and early [[experimental science]] on the other.<ref name=sztompka2003>{{cite book|last=Sztompka|first=P.|author-link=Piotr Sztompka|chapter=Chapter 1. Robert K. Merton|title=[Extract from] the Blackwell ... Social Theorists|pages=12–33|publisher=Wiley|date=2003|doi=10.1002/9780470999912.ch2|isbn=978-0470999912|chapter-url=http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405105958_chunk_g97814051059584|via=blackwellreference.com|access-date=5 July 2023|archive-date=16 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116190223/http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405105958_chunk_g97814051059584|url-status=live}}</ref> The Merton Thesis has two separate parts: Firstly, it presents a theory that science changes due to an accumulation of observations and improvement in experimental technique and [[methodology]]; secondly, it puts forward the argument that the popularity of science in 17th-century England and the religious [[demography]] of the [[Royal Society]] (English scientists of that time were predominantly Puritans or other Protestants) can be explained by a [[correlation]] between Protestantism and the scientific values.<ref name=gregory1998>{{cite web|last=Gregory |first=Andrew|year=1998|title=Lecture&nbsp;14|type=course handout|series=215 – The Scientific Revolution|url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/gregory/215/handouts/h14_srel.doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513160014/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/gregory/215/handouts/h14_srel.doc|archive-date=2006-05-13}}</ref> Merton focused on English Puritanism and German Pietism as having been responsible for the development of the [[scientific revolution]] of the 17th and 18th centuries. He explained that the connection between [[religious affiliation]] and interest in science was the result of a significant synergy between the [[ascetic]] Protestant values and those of modern science.<ref name=becker1992>{{cite journal|last=Becker|first=George|date=December 1992|title=The Merton thesis: Oetinger and German Pietism, a significant negative case|journal=[[Sociological Forum]]|volume=7|issue=4|pages=642–660|doi=10.1007/bf01112319|s2cid=56239703}}</ref> Protestant values encouraged scientific research by allowing science to identify God's influence on the world—his creation—and thus providing a religious justification for scientific research.<ref name=sztompka2003/>

According to ''Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States'' by [[Harriet Zuckerman]], a review of American [[Nobel Prize]]s awarded between 1901 and 1972, 72% of American [[Nobel Prizes|Nobel Prize]] laureates identified a Protestant background.<ref name="Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United Statesh">[[Harriet Zuckerman]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HAHCzJfmD5IC Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003039/https://books.google.com/books?id=HAHCzJfmD5IC |date=23 May 2020 }}'' New York, The Free Press, 1977, p. 68: Protestants turn up among the American-reared laureates in slightly greater proportion to their numbers in the general population. Thus 72 percent of the seventy-one laureates but about two-thirds of the American population were reared in one or another Protestant denomination-)</ref> Overall, 84% of all the Nobel Prizes awarded to Americans in [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]],<ref name="Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United Statesh"/> 60% in [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Medicine]],<ref name="Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United Statesh"/> and 59% in [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]]<ref name="Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United Statesh"/> between 1901 and 1972 were won by Protestants.

According to ''100 Years of Nobel Prize (2005)'', a review of Nobel Prizes awarded between 1901 and 2000, 65% of [[Nobel Prizes|Nobel Prize]] Laureates, [[List of Christian Nobel laureates|have identified Christianity]] in its various forms as their religious preference (423 prizes).<ref name="Nobel prize">Baruch A. Shalev, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3jrbmL-DgZQC 100 Years of Nobel Prizes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003140/https://books.google.com/books?id=3jrbmL-DgZQC |date=23 May 2020 }}'' (2003), Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, p. 57: between 1901 and 2000 reveals that 654 Laureates belong to 28 different religion Most 65% have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference.
While separating Catholics from Protestants among Christians proved difficult in some cases, available information suggests that more Protestants were involved in the scientific categories and more Catholics were involved in the Literature and Peace categories.

Atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers constitute 11% of total Nobel Prize winners; but in the category of Literature, these preferences rise sharply to about 35%. A striking fact involving religion is the high number of Laureates of the Jewish faith—over 20% of total Nobel Prizes (138); including: 17% in Chemistry, 26% in Medicine and Physics, 40% in Economics and 11% in Peace and Literature each. The numbers are especially startling in light of the fact that only some 14 million people (0.02% of the world's population) are Jewish. By contrast, only 5 Nobel Laureates have been of the Muslim faith—1% of total number of Nobel prizes awarded—from a population base of about 1.2 billion (20% of the world's population)</ref> While 32% have identified with Protestantism in its various forms (208 prizes),<ref name="Nobel prize"/> although Protestants are 12% to 13% of the world's population.

===Government===
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During the [[Middle Ages]], the Church and the worldly authorities were closely related. Martin Luther separated the religious and the worldly realms in principle ([[doctrine of the two kingdoms]]).<ref>Heinrich Bornkamm, ''{{lang|de|Toleranz. In der Geschichte des Christentums}}'' in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band VI (1962), col. 937</ref> The believers were obliged to use reason to govern the worldly sphere in an orderly and peaceful way. Luther's doctrine of the [[priesthood of all believers]] upgraded the role of laymen in the church considerably. The members of a congregation had the right to elect a minister and, if necessary, to vote for his dismissal (Treatise ''On the right and authority of a Christian assembly or congregation to judge all doctrines and to call, install and dismiss teachers, as testified in Scripture''; 1523).<ref>Original German title: ''{{lang|de|Dass eine christliche Versammlung oder Gemeine Recht und Macht habe, alle Lehre zu beurteilen und Lehrer zu berufen, ein- und abzusetzen: Grund und Ursach aus der Schrift}}''</ref> Calvin strengthened this basically democratic approach by including elected laymen ([[church elder]]s, [[presbyter]]s) in his representative church government.<ref>Clifton E. Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', pp. 4–10</ref> The [[Huguenot]]s added regional [[synod]]s and a national synod, whose members were elected by the congregations, to Calvin's system of church self-government. This system was taken over by the other reformed churches<ref>Karl Heussi, ''{{lang|de|Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte}}'', 11. Auflage, p. 325</ref> and was adopted by some Lutherans beginning with those in [[United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|Jülich-Cleves-Berg]] during the 17th century.

Politically, Calvin favored a mixture of aristocracy and democracy. He appreciated the advantages of [[democracy]]: "It is an invaluable gift, if God allows a people to freely elect its own authorities and overlords."<ref>Quoted in Jan Weerda, ''Calvin'', in ''{{lang|de|Evangelisches Soziallexikon}}'', 3. Auflage (1958), Stuttgart (Germany), col. 210</ref> Calvin also thought that earthly rulers lose their divine right and must be put down when they rise up against God. To further protect the rights of ordinary people, Calvin suggested separating political powers in a system of checks and balances ([[separation of powers]]). Thus he and his followers resisted political [[Absolute monarchy|absolutism]] and paved the way for the rise of modern democracy.<ref>Clifton E. Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', p. 10</ref> Besides England, the Netherlands were, under Calvinist leadership, the freest country in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It granted asylum to philosophers like [[Baruch Spinoza]] and [[Pierre Bayle]]. [[Hugo Grotius]] was able to teach his natural-law theory and a relatively liberal interpretation of the Bible.<ref>Karl Heussi, ''{{lang|de|Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte}}'', pp. 396–397</ref>

Consistent with Calvin's political ideas, Protestants created both the English and the American democracies. In seventeenth-century England, the most important persons and events in this process were the [[English Civil War]], [[Oliver Cromwell]], [[John Milton]], [[John Locke]], the [[Glorious Revolution]], the [[English Bill of Rights]], and the [[Act of Settlement 1701|Act of Settlement]].<ref>Cf. M. Schmidt, ''{{lang|de|England. Kirchengeschichte}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band II (1959), Tübingen (Germany), col. 476–478</ref> Later, the British took their democratic ideals to their colonies, e.g. Australia, New Zealand, and India. In North America, [[Plymouth Colony]] ([[Pilgrim Fathers]]; 1620) and [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] (1628) practised democratic self-rule and [[separation of powers]].<ref>Nathaniel Philbrick (2006), ''[[iarchive:mayflowerstoryof00phil 0|Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War]]'', Penguin Group, New York, {{ISBN|0-670-03760-5}}</ref><ref>Clifton E. Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', pp. 65–76</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/ccflaw.html|title=Plymouth Colony Legal Structure|website=The Plymouth Colony Archive Project |first1=Christopher |last1=Fennell |access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=13 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413182727/http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/ccflaw.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.hanover.edu/texts/masslib.html|title=The Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641) |website=Hanover College History Department |access-date=13 March 2013|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020095602/http://history.hanover.edu/texts/masslib.html|url-status=live}}</ref> These [[Congregationalist]]s were convinced that the democratic form of government was the will of God.<ref>M. Schmidt, ''{{lang|de|Pilgerväter}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 3. Auflage, Band V}}'' (1961), col. 384</ref> The [[Mayflower Compact]] was a [[social contract]].<ref>Christopher Fennell, ''Plymouth Colony Legal Structure''</ref><ref>Allen Weinstein and David Rubel (2002), ''The Story of America: Freedom and Crisis from Settlement to Superpower'', DK Publishing, Inc., New York, {{ISBN|0-7894-8903-1}}, p. 61</ref>

===Rights and liberty===
[[File:JohnLocke.png|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] philosopher [[John Locke]] argued for individual conscience, free from state control and helped influence the political ideology of [[Thomas Jefferson]] and other [[Founding Fathers of the United States]].]]
Protestants also took the initiative in advocating for [[religious freedom]]. Freedom of conscience had a high priority on the theological, philosophical, and political agendas since Luther refused to recant his beliefs before the Diet of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] at Worms (1521). In his view, faith was a free work of the Holy Spirit and could, therefore, not be forced on a person.<ref>Clifton E. Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', p. 5</ref> The persecuted Anabaptists and Huguenots demanded freedom of conscience, and they practiced [[separation of church and state]].<ref>Heinrich Bornkamm, ''{{lang|de|Toleranz. In der Geschichte des Christentums}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band VI (1962), col. 937–938</ref> In the early seventeenth century, Baptists like [[John Smyth (Baptist minister)|John Smyth]] and [[Thomas Helwys]] published tracts in defense of religious freedom.<ref>H. Stahl, ''{{lang|de|Baptisten}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band I, col. 863</ref> Their thinking influenced [[John Milton]] and [[John Locke]]'s stance on tolerance.<ref>G. Müller-Schwefe, ''Milton, John'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band IV, col. 955</ref><ref>Karl Heussi, ''{{lang|de|Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte}}'', p. 398</ref> Under the leadership of Baptist [[Roger Williams]], Congregationalist [[Thomas Hooker]], and Quaker [[William Penn]], respectively, [[Rhode Island]], [[Connecticut]], and [[Pennsylvania]] combined democratic constitutions with freedom of religion. These colonies became safe havens for persecuted religious minorities, including [[Jews]].<ref>Clifton E. Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', pp. 99–106, 111–117, 124</ref><ref>Edwin S. Gaustad (1999), ''Liberty of Conscience: Roger Williams in America'', Judson Press, Valley Forge, p. 28</ref><ref>Hans Fantel (1974), ''William Penn: Apostle of Dissent'', William Morrow & Co., New York, pp. 150–153</ref>

The [[United States Declaration of Independence]], the [[United States Constitution]], and the American [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] with its fundamental human rights made this tradition permanent by giving it a legal and political framework.<ref>Robert Middlekauff (2005), ''The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789'', Revised and Expanded Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, {{ISBN|978-0-19-516247-9}}, pp. 4–6, 49–52, 622–685</ref> The great majority of American Protestants, both clergy and laity, strongly supported the independence movement. All major Protestant churches were represented in the First and Second Continental Congresses.<ref>Clifton E. Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', pp. 192–209</ref> In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the American democracy became a model for numerous other countries and regions throughout the world (e.g., Latin America, Japan, and Germany). The strongest link between the American and [[French Revolution]]s was [[Marquis de Lafayette]], an ardent supporter of the American constitutional principles. The French [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] was mainly based on Lafayette's draft of this document.<ref>Cf. R. Voeltzel, ''{{lang|de|Frankreich. Kirchengeschichte}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band II (1958), col. 1039</ref> The [[Declaration by United Nations]] and [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] also echo the American constitutional tradition.<ref>Douglas K. Stevenson (1987), ''American Life and Institutions'', Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart (Germany), p. 34</ref><ref>G. Jasper, ''{{lang|de|Vereinte Nationen}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band VI, col. 1328–1329</ref><ref>Cf. G. Schwarzenberger, ''{{lang|de|Völkerrecht}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band VI, col. 1420–1422</ref>

Democracy, social-contract theory, separation of powers, religious freedom, separation of church and state—these achievements of the Reformation and early Protestantism were elaborated on and popularized by [[Age of Enlightenment]] thinkers. Some of the philosophers of the English, Scottish, German, and Swiss Enlightenment—[[Thomas Hobbes]], [[John Locke]], [[John Toland]], [[David Hume]], [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz]], [[Christian Wolff (philosopher)|Christian Wolff]], [[Immanuel Kant]], and [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]—had Protestant backgrounds.<ref>Karl Heussi, ''{{lang|de|Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte}}'', 11. Auflage, pp. 396–399, 401–403, 417–419</ref> For example, John Locke, whose political thought was based on "a set of Protestant Christian assumptions",<ref>Jeremy Waldron (2002), ''God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought'', Cambridge University Press, New York, {{ISBN|978-0521-89057-1}}, p. 13</ref> derived the equality of all humans, including the equality of the genders ("Adam and Eve"), from Genesis 1, 26–28. As all persons were created equally free, all governments needed "the [[consent of the governed]]".<ref>Jeremy Waldron, ''God, Locke, and Equality'', pp. 21–43, 120</ref>

Also, other human rights were advocated for by some Protestants. For example, [[torture]] was abolished in [[Prussia]] in 1740, [[slavery]] in Britain in 1834 and in the United States in 1865 ([[William Wilberforce]], [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]], [[Abraham Lincoln]]—against Southern Protestants).<ref>Allen Weinstein and David Rubel, ''The Story of America'', pp. 189–309</ref><ref>Karl Heussi, ''{{lang|de|Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte}}'', 11. Auflage, pp. 403, 425</ref> [[Hugo Grotius]] and [[Samuel Pufendorf]] were among the first thinkers who made significant contributions to [[international law]].<ref>M. Elze,''Grotius, Hugo'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band II, col. 1885–1886</ref><ref>H. Hohlwein, ''Pufendorf, Samuel'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band V, col. 721</ref> The [[Geneva Convention]], an important part of humanitarian [[international law]], was largely the work of [[Henry Dunant]], a reformed [[pietist]]. He also founded the [[Red Cross]].<ref>R. Pfister, ''{{lang|de|Schweiz. Seit der Reformation}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band V (1961), col. 1614–1615</ref>

===Social teaching===
Protestants have founded hospitals, homes for disabled or elderly people, educational institutions, organizations that give aid to developing countries, and other social welfare agencies.<ref>Clifton E. Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', pp. 484–494</ref><ref>H. Wagner, ''{{lang|de|Diakonie}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band I, col. 164–167</ref><ref>J.R.H. Moorman, ''{{lang|de|Anglikanische Kirche}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band I, col. 380–381</ref> In the nineteenth century, throughout the Anglo-American world, numerous dedicated members of all Protestant denominations were active in social reform movements such as the abolition of slavery, prison reforms, and [[woman suffrage]].<ref>Clifton E.Olmstead, ''History of Religion in the United States'', pp. 461–465</ref><ref>Allen Weinstein and David Rubel, ''The Story of America'', pp. 274–275</ref><ref>M. Schmidt, ''{{lang|de|Kongregationalismus}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band III, col. 1770</ref> As an answer to the "social question" of the nineteenth century, Germany under Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] introduced insurance programs that led the way to the [[welfare state]] ([[health insurance]], [[accident insurance]], [[disability insurance]], [[old-age pension]]s). To Bismarck this was "practical Christianity".<ref>K. Kupisch, ''Bismarck, Otto von'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', 3. Auflage, Band I, col. 1312–1315</ref><ref>P. Quante, ''{{lang|de|Sozialversicherung}}'', in ''{{lang|de|Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart}}'', Band VI, col. 205–206</ref> These programs, too, were copied by many other nations, particularly in the Western world.

The [[Young Men's Christian Association]] was founded by Congregationalist [[George Williams (YMCA)|George Williams]], aimed at empowering young people.

===Liturgy===
{{main|Protestant liturgy}}

===Arts===
{{further|Reformation#Music and art}}
The arts have been strongly inspired by Protestant beliefs.

[[Martin Luther]], [[Paul Gerhardt]], [[George Wither]], [[Isaac Watts]], [[Charles Wesley]], [[William Cowper]], and other authors and composers created well-known church hymns.

Musicians like [[Heinrich Schütz]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], [[George Frideric Handel]], [[Henry Purcell]], [[Johannes Brahms]], [[Philipp Nicolai]] and [[Felix Mendelssohn]] composed great works of music.

Prominent painters with Protestant background were, for example, [[Albrecht Dürer]], [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], [[Lucas Cranach the Younger]], [[Rembrandt]], and [[Vincent van Gogh]].

World literature was enriched by the works of [[Edmund Spenser]], [[John Milton]], [[John Bunyan]], [[John Donne]], [[John Dryden]], [[Daniel Defoe]], [[William Wordsworth]], [[Jonathan Swift]], [[Johann Wolfgang Goethe]], [[Friedrich Schiller]], [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], [[Matthew Arnold]], [[Conrad Ferdinand Meyer]], [[Theodor Fontane]], [[Washington Irving]], [[Robert Browning]], [[Emily Dickinson]], [[Emily Brontë]], [[Charles Dickens]], [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Thomas Stearns Eliot]], [[John Galsworthy]], [[Thomas Mann]], [[William Faulkner]], [[John Updike]], and many others.
<gallery>
File:Martin-Luther-Denkmal, Worms.JPG|[[Luther Monument (Worms)|Luther Monument in Worms]], which features some of the [[Reformation]]'s crucial figures
File:ReformationsdenkmalGenf2.jpg|The [[Reformation Wall|International Monument to the Reformation]] in [[Geneva]], Switzerland
File:Albrecht Dürer - Adoration of the Trinity (Landauer Altar) - Google Art Project.jpg|The ''Adoration of the Trinity'' by [[Albrecht Dürer]]
File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. - The Lamentation of Christ - The Schleißheim Crucifixion - Alte Pinakothek.jpg|The ''Crucifixion of Christ'' by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]
File:Lucas Cranach d. J. - Adam and Eve - WGA05729.jpg|''Adam and Eve'' by [[Lucas Cranach the Younger]]
File:Huguenot lovers on St. Bartholomew's Day.jpg|''A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew's Day, Refusing to Shield Himself from Danger by Wearing the Roman Catholic Badge'' by [[John Everett Millais]]
File:Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn - Return of the Prodigal Son - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[The Return of the Prodigal Son]]'', a 1669 portrait by [[Rembrandt]]
File:Vincent van Gogh - The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise, View from the Chevet - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[The Church at Auvers]]'', 1890. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, by [[Vincent van Gogh]].
</gallery>

==Catholic responses==
{{Main|Anti-Protestantism|Counter-Reformation#Politics|Council of Trent|Criticism of Protestantism}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 200
| image1            = Matanzas Inlet Aerial view.jpg
| caption1          = [[Matanzas Inlet]], Florida, where Protestant shipwreck [[Spanish assault on French Florida#Massacre at Matanzas Inlet|survivors were executed]] by [[Pedro Menéndez de Avilés|Menéndez]] "because they had built it there without Your Majesty's permission, and were disseminating the Lutheran religion"
| image2            = La masacre de San Bartolomé, por François Dubois.jpg
| caption2          = [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] of French Protestants, 1572
}}

The view of the [[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{{efn|this varies among Protestants today. In Sweden, the bishops switched to Lutheranism during the Reformation and there was no break in ordinations. See [[Apostolic succession#Lutheran claims to apostolic succession|Apostolic succession in Sweden]] for more on this. Today, as a result of shared ordinations, the entire [[Porvoo Communion]] can trace an unbroken chain of Archbishop-level ordinations going back to before the Reformation through the Swedish line. However, today Rome does not accept these ordinations as valid not because there was a break in the chain, but rather because the occurred apart from papal permission.}} and therefore lack true [[apostolic succession]].<ref>Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church, 29 June 2007, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.</ref><ref name=AFAC>{{cite book|last1=Stuard-will|first1=Kelly|title=A Faraway Ancient Country|year=2007|publisher=Gardners Books|location=United States|isbn=978-0-615-15801-3|page=216|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q469xc7mbksC&pg=PP1|author2=Emissary|editor=Karitas Publishing|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003149/https://books.google.com/books?id=q469xc7mbksC&pg=PP1|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Bishop [[Hilarion (Alfeyev)]] the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] shares the same view on the subject.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://orthodoxeurope.org/page/14/124.aspx#2 |title=Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria: The Vatican Document Brings Nothing New |publisher=Orthodoxeurope.org |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=25 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025084339/http://www.orthodoxeurope.org/page/14/124.aspx#2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 Protestant 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 Catholic Church, which they viewed as having become corrupted.{{efn|For more on this, see [[crypto-paganism]] and the [[Great Apostasy#Overview|Great Apostasy]]. In some areas, pagan Europeans were forced to adopt Christianity at least outwardly, such as after being defeated in battle by Christians. However, outlawing their paganism did not just make it go away. Rather, it persisted as crypto-paganism. For example, [[Philip Melanchthon]], in his 1537 [[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] identified the mechanical character of [[ex opere operato]] sacraments as being a form of pagan [[Deterministic system (philosophy)|deterministic philosophy]].}} Each of them took very seriously the charges of schism and innovation, denying these charges and maintaining that it was the Catholic Church that had left them. The Protestant Reformers formed a new and radically different theological opinion on ecclesiology, that the visible Church is "catholic" (lower-case "c") rather than "Catholic" (upper-case "C"). Accordingly, there is not an indefinite number of parochial, congregational or national churches, constituting, as it were, so many ecclesiastical individualities, but one great spiritual republic of which these various organizations form a part,{{efn|This is the position of the Protestants who believe the church is visible. For those who think the church is invisible, organizations are irrelevant, as only individual sinners can be saved.}} although they each have very different opinions. This was markedly far-removed from the traditional and historic Catholic understanding that the Catholic Church was the one true Church of Christ.{{efn|See [[Augustine of Hippo#Ecclesiology|Ecclesiology of Augustine of Hippo]] for an example of a church father who discussed the invisible church.}}

Yet, in the Protestant understanding, the ''visible church'' is not a genus, so to speak, with so many species under it.{{efn|This is a reference to the [[Marks of the Church (Protestantism)|Marks of the Church]] in Reformed theology. It is thus you may think of the State, but the visible church is a ''totum integrale'', it is an empire, with an ethereal emperor, rather than a visible one. The churches of the various nationalities constitute the provinces of this empire; and though they are so far independent of each other, yet they are so one, that membership in one is membership in all, and separation from one is separation from all.... This conception of the church, of which, in at least some aspects, we have practically so much lost sight, had a firm hold of the Scottish theologians of the seventeenth century. James Walker in ''The Theology of Theologians of Scotland.'' (Edinburgh: Rpt. Knox Press, 1982) Lecture iv. pp. 95–96.}} In order to justify their departure{{efn|At least at first, Protestants did not depart per se. Rather, they were excommunicated such as in the 1520 ''[[Exsurge Domine]]'' and the 1521 ''[[Edict of Worms]]''. Some Protestants avoided excommunication by living as [[crypto-Protestant]]s.}} from the Catholic Church, Protestants often posited a new argument,{{efn|Some Protestants claim the church is visible today, this is a matter of dispute.}} 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,{{efn|The assertion of papal supremacy varied through history. For example, in 381 the [[First Council of Constantinople]] recognized the sees of Rome and Constantinople as being equal in authority. Papal supremacy continued to evolve after the Reformation with the [[First Vatican Council]].}} namely the Papacy and central authority of the 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 [[Conciliarism|Conciliar movement]], rejecting the [[papacy]] and [[papal infallibility]] in favor of [[ecumenical council]]s, but rejecting the latest ecumenical council, the [[Council of Trent]].{{efn|Lutherans did not completely reject Trent. In fact, some attended it, although they were not given a vote. Instead, [[Martin Chemnitz]] on the basis that all councils are subject to examination, wrote the ''[[Examination of the Council of Trent]]'' in which some parts of Trent were accepted and others dissented from.}} 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.

There are Protestants,{{efn|In history, Catholic sympathizing Protestants were termed [[crypto-papist]]s and lived as such because Catholicism was illegal in some areas under the legal principle of ''[[cuius regio, eius religio]]''. However, outlawing Catholics did not always force them to emigrate. Instead, they remained continued to influence the dominant church in their area.}} especially of the [[Reformed tradition]], that either reject or downplay 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spindleworks.com/library/faber/008_theca.htm |title=''The Canadian Reformed Magazine'', 18 (20–27 September, 4–11 October, 18, 1, 8 November 1969) |access-date=15 May 2007 |archive-date=6 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806081139/http://www.spindleworks.com/library/faber/008_theca.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Ecumenism==
{{Main|Christian ecumenism}}
{{multiple image
|align=right
|direction=horizontal
|Size=thumb
|total_width=400
|image1= Marburger-Religionsgespräch.jpg
|caption1=The [[Marburg Colloquy]] (1529) was an early attempt at uniting [[Martin Luther|Luther]] and [[Huldrych Zwingli|Zwingli]]. It failed as both reformers and their delegations could not agree on the sacrament of the [[Eucharist]]. Similar discussions were held in 1586 during the [[Colloquy of Montbéliard]] and from 1661 to 1663 during the [[Syncretistic controversy]]. Anonymous woodcut, 1557.
|image2= The 1910 World Missionary Conference,the Edinburgh Missionary Conference.jpg
|caption2=The Edinburgh Missionary Conference is considered the symbolic starting point of the contemporary ecumenical movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/what-we-do/cwme/history|title=History – World Council of Churches|website=www.oikoumene.org|access-date=30 July 2014|archive-date=25 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725221218/https://www.oikoumene.org/en/what-we-do/cwme/history/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
The ecumenical movement has had an influence on [[Mainline (Protestant)|mainline]] churches, beginning at least in 1910 with the [[Edinburgh Missionary Conference]]. Its origins lay in the recognition of the need for cooperation on the mission field in Africa, Asia and Oceania. Since 1948, the [[World Council of Churches]] has been influential, but ineffective in creating a united church. There are also ecumenical bodies at regional, national and local levels across the globe; but schisms still far outnumber unifications. One, but not the only expression of the ecumenical movement, has been the move to form united churches, such as the [[Church of South India]], the [[Church of North India]], the US-based [[United Church of Christ]], the [[United Church of Canada]], the [[Uniting Church in Australia]] and the [[United Church of Christ in the Philippines]] which have rapidly declining memberships. There has been a strong engagement of [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] churches in the ecumenical movement, though the reaction of individual Orthodox theologians has ranged from tentative approval of the aim of Christian unity to outright condemnation of the perceived effect of watering down Orthodox doctrine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0804/__P1T.HTM |title=Orthodox Church: text – IntraText CT |publisher=Intratext.com |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-date=27 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527224429/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0804/__P1T.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref>

A Protestant [[baptism]] is held to be valid by the Catholic Church if given with the trinitarian formula and with the intent to baptize. However, as the ordination of Protestant ministers is not recognized due to the lack of [[apostolic succession]] and the disunity from Catholic Church, all other sacraments (except marriage) performed by Protestant denominations and ministers are not recognized as valid. Therefore, Protestants desiring full communion with the Catholic Church are not re-baptized (although they are confirmed) and Protestant ministers who become Catholics may be ordained to the [[Catholic priesthood|priesthood]] after a period of study.

In 1999, the representatives of [[Lutheran World Federation]] and Catholic Church signed the [[Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification]], apparently resolving the conflict over the nature of [[Justification (theology)|justification]] which was at the root of the Protestant Reformation, although [[Confessional Lutheran]]s reject this statement.<ref name=WELS-JD>{{cite web|url=https://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=19&cuItem_itemID=6741 |website=WELS Topical Q&A |title=Justification |publisher=[[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] |quote=A document which is aimed at settling differences needs to address those differences unambiguously. The Joint Declaration does not do this. At best, it sends confusing mixed signals and should be repudiated by all Lutherans. |access-date=26 July 2016 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090927213720/https://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=19&cuItem_itemID=6741 |archive-date=27 September 2009}}</ref> This is understandable, since there is no compelling authority within them. On 18 July 2006, delegates to the World Methodist Conference voted unanimously to adopt the Joint Declaration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.1863123/k.FF49/World_Methodists_approve_further_ecumenical_dialogue.htm |title=News Archives |publisher=UMC.org |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721210415/http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.1863123/k.FF49/World_Methodists_approve_further_ecumenical_dialogue.htm |archive-date=21 July 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0604186.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060725190303/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0604186.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 July 2006 |title=CNS Story: Methodists adopt Catholic-Lutheran declaration on justification |publisher=Catholicnews.com |access-date=19 November 2010}}</ref>

==Spread and demographics==
{{Main|Protestantism by country}}
{{See also|Christianity by country}}
[[File:St. Peter's Church, Bermuda, Front.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[St. Peter's Church, St. George's|St. Peter's Church]] in [[Bermuda]], built in 1612, is the oldest surviving Protestant church in the "New World", including the [[Americas]] and certain Atlantic Ocean islands. It was the first of nine [[Parish church]]es established in Bermuda by the [[Church of England]]. Bermuda also has the oldest [[Presbyterian]] church outside the British Isles, the [[Church of Scotland]]'s [[Christ Church in Warwick|Christ Church]] (1719).]] 
There are more than 1.18 billion Protestants worldwide,<ref name="pewforum1"/><ref name="gordonconwell.edu"/><ref name="Hillerbrand" /><ref name="Clarke, Beyer">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rBgn3xB75ZcC&pg=PA510|title=The World's Religions: Continuities and Transformations|first1=Peter B.|last1=Clarke|first2=Peter|last2=Beyer|date=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis|via=Google Books|isbn=9781135211004|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=10 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210203239/https://books.google.com/books?id=rBgn3xB75ZcC&pg=PA510|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lplJPBYWefcC&pg=PA13|title=Protestantism|first=Stephen F.|last=Brown|date=2018|publisher=Infobase Publishing|via=Google Books|isbn=9781604131123|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003040/https://books.google.com/books?id=lplJPBYWefcC&pg=PA13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Noll">{{Cite book|url={{Google books|id=1GKBgK00JSsC|plainurl=y|page=9}}|title=Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction|first=Mark A.|last=Noll|authorlink=Mark Noll|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191620133|archive-date=2020-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003134/https://books.google.com/books?id=1GKBgK00JSsC&pg=PA9|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Diamond, Plattner, Costopoulos, 2005">Jay Diamond, Larry. Plattner, Marc F. and Costopoulos, Philip J. ''World Religions and Democracy''. 2005, p. 119. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CTqTeiBfdxEC&pg=PA119 link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003137/https://books.google.com/books?id=CTqTeiBfdxEC&pg=PA119 |date=23 May 2020 }} (saying "''Not only do Protestants presently constitute 13 percent of the world's population—about 800 million people—but since 1900 Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.''")</ref>{{efn|Estimates vary considerably, from 400 up to more than a billion. One of the reasons is the lack of a common agreement among scholars which denominations constitute Protestantism. Nevertheless, 800 million is the most accepted figure among various authors and scholars. For example, author Hans Hillerbrand estimated a total 2004 Protestant population of 833,457,000,<ref name="books.google.pl"/> while a report by Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary—1,189,781,000 (with inclusion of independents as defined in this article) in early 2025.<ref name="gordonconwell.edu"/>}} among approximately 2.6&nbsp;billion Christians.<ref name="gordonconwell.edu"/><ref name="World">~34% of ~7.2&nbsp;billion world population (under the section 'People') {{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/|title=World|date=15 November 2021|publisher=CIA world facts|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126032610/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Global Christianity">{{cite web |author=Analysis |url=http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-exec.aspx |title=Global Christianity |publisher=Pewforum.org |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=17 August 2012 |archive-date=30 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730062627/http://www.pewforum.org/christian/global-christianity-exec.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|Current sources are in general agreement that Christians make up about 33% of the world's population—slightly over 2.4&nbsp;billion adherents in mid-2015.}} In 2010, a total of more than 800&nbsp;million included 300&nbsp;million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260&nbsp;million in the Americas, 140&nbsp;million in the Asia-Pacific region, 100&nbsp;million in Europe and 2&nbsp;million in Middle East-North Africa.<ref name="pewforum1"/> Protestants account for nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide, and are more than one tenth of the total human population.<ref name="pewforum1"/> Various estimates put the percentage of Protestants in relation to the total number of world's Christians at 33%,<ref name="Clarke, Beyer" /> 36%,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/rel04-demograph.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318101547/http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/rel04-demograph.htm|url-status=dead|title=Protestant Demographics and Fragmentations|archive-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> 36.7%,<ref name="pewforum1"/> and 40%,<ref name="Hillerbrand"/> while in relation to the world's population at 11.6%<ref name="pewforum1"/> and 13%.<ref name="Diamond, Plattner, Costopoulos, 2005"/>

In European countries which were most profoundly influenced by the Reformation, Protestantism still remains the most practiced religion.<ref name="Clarke, Beyer" /> These include the [[Nordic countries]] and the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="Clarke, Beyer" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Religious Populations in England|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=954|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=8 April 2011|archive-date=24 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824122412/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=954|url-status=live}}</ref> In other historical Protestant strongholds such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Latvia, and Estonia, it remains one of the most popular religions.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9OyQ9mEpxkC&pg=SL1-PA42|title=The Pearson General Knowledge Manual 2012|first=Edgar|last=Thorpe|date=2018|publisher=Pearson Education India|via=Google Books|isbn=9788131761908|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003139/https://books.google.com/books?id=I9OyQ9mEpxkC&pg=SL1-PA42|url-status=live}}</ref> Although what is now the Czech Republic was the site of [[Hussites|one of the most significant pre-reformation movements]],<ref name="museeprotestant.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/protestantism-in-the-republic-of-czechoslovakia/|title=Protestantism in Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic) – Musée virtuel du Protestantisme|website=www.museeprotestant.org|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015211407/http://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/protestantism-in-the-republic-of-czechoslovakia/|url-status=live}}</ref> there is only a small Protestant population today;<ref>{{cite web|language=cs |url=http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_1_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_municipality_size_groups/$File/PVCR071_ENG.pdf |title=Tab 7.1 Population by religious belief and by municipality size groups |publisher=Czso.cz |access-date=19 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221184947/http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_1_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_municipality_size_groups/%24File/PVCR071_ENG.pdf |archive-date=21 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|language=cs |url=http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_2_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_regions/$File/PVCR072_ENG.pdf |title=Tab 7.2 Population by religious belief and by regions |publisher=Czso.cz |access-date=19 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104224923/http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_2_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_regions/%24File/PVCR072_ENG.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2013}}</ref> mainly due to historical reasons like persecution of Protestants by the [[Catholic]] [[Habsburgs]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqJNavelP3UC&pg=PA108|title=Frommer's Prague & the Best of the Czech Republic|first=Hana|last=Mastrini|date=2008|publisher=Wiley|via=Google Books|isbn=9780470293232|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003043/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqJNavelP3UC&pg=PA108|url-status=live}}</ref> restrictions during the [[Communism|Communist rule]], and also the ongoing [[secularization]].<ref name="museeprotestant.org"/> Over the last several decades, religious practice has been declining as [[secularization]] has increased.<ref name="Clarke, Beyer" /><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/arts/31iht-idlede1.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all | work=The New York Times | first=Mark | last=Lilla | title=Europe and the legend of secularization | date=31 March 2006 | access-date=12 February 2017 | archive-date=30 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130062241/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/arts/31iht-idlede1.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all | url-status=live }}</ref> According to a 2019 study about Religiosity in the European Union in 2019 by [[Eurobarometer]], Protestants made up 9% of the [[EU]] population.<ref>{{citation |title=Discrimination in the EU in 2019 |work=[[Eurobarometer|Special Eurobarometer]] |year=2019 |series=493 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/SPECIAL/surveyKy/2251 |access-date=15 May 2020 |publisher=European Commission |location=European Union |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518204808/https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/SPECIAL/surveyKy/2251 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Pew Research Center]], Protestants constituted nearly one fifth (or 18%) of the [[Christianity in Europe|continent's Christian population]] in 2010.<ref name="pewforum1"/> Clarke and Beyer estimate that Protestants constituted 15% of all Europeans in 2009, while Noll claims that fewer than 12% of them lived in Europe in 2010.<ref name="Clarke, Beyer"/><ref name="Noll"/>

Changes in worldwide Protestantism over the last century have been significant.<ref name="Hillerbrand"/><ref name="Noll"/><ref name = "Witte and Alexander">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Ie-AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT44|title=The Teachings of Modern Protestantism on Law, Politics, and Human Nature|first1=John|last1=Witte|first2=Frank S.|last2=Alexander|year=2018|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231142632|via=Google Books|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003155/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Ie-AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT44|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 1900, Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America.<ref name = "Encyclopedia of Protestantism" /><ref name="Diamond, Plattner, Costopoulos, 2005"/><ref name = "Witte and Alexander" /> That caused Protestantism to be called a primarily non-Western religion.<ref name="Noll"/><ref name = "Witte and Alexander" /> Much of the growth has occurred after [[World War II]], when [[decolonization of Africa]] and abolition of [[Anti-Protestantism|various restrictions against Protestants]] in [[Latin America]]n countries occurred.<ref name="Diamond, Plattner, Costopoulos, 2005"/> According to one source, Protestants constituted respectively 2.5%, 2%, 0.5% of Latin Americans, Africans and Asians.<ref name="Diamond, Plattner, Costopoulos, 2005"/> In 2000, percentage of Protestants on mentioned continents was 17%, more than 27% and 6%, respectively.<ref name="Diamond, Plattner, Costopoulos, 2005"/> 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]].<ref name="Noll"/> By 2010, 59% of Anglicans were found in Africa.<ref name="Noll"/> In 2010, more Protestants lived in India than in the UK or Germany, while Protestants in Brazil were as numerous as those in the UK and Germany combined.<ref name="Noll"/> Almost as many lived in each of [[Nigeria]] and China as in all of Europe.<ref name="Noll"/> China is home to world's largest Protestant minority.<ref name="pewforum1"/>{{efn|Estimates for China vary in dozens of millions. Nevertheless, in comparison to the other countries, there is no disagreement that China has the most numerous Protestant minority.}}

Protestantism is growing in Africa,<ref name = "Encyclopedia of Protestantism" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-20/christianity-growth-africa-europe/52125920/1|title=Study: Christianity grows exponentially in Africa|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=20 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120193240/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-20/christianity-growth-africa-europe/52125920/1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TIME 2001">{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,156277,00.html|title=The Battle for Latin America's Soul|first=Richard N.|last=Ostling|magazine=Time|date=24 June 2001|via=content.time.com|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=26 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926044305/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,156277,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Asia,<ref name = "Encyclopedia of Protestantism" /><ref name="TIME 2001"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/china-protestantisms-simplicity-yields-more-converts-catholicism-213465|title=In China, Protestantism's Simplicity Yields More Converts Than Catholicism|website=[[International Business Times]]|date=28 March 2012|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=12 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812085447/http://www.ibtimes.com/china-protestantisms-simplicity-yields-more-converts-catholicism-213465|url-status=live}}</ref> Latin America,<ref name="TIME 2001"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/03/201232593459332334.html|title=Evangelicals rise in Latin America|first=Chris|last=Arsenault|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=8 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308115716/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/03/201232593459332334.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and Oceania,<ref name = "Encyclopedia of Protestantism" /><ref name = "Witte and Alexander" /> while declining in [[Anglo America]]<ref name = "Witte and Alexander" /><ref>[http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ America's Changing Religious Landscape] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226054944/http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |date=26 December 2018 }}, by [[Pew Research Center]], 12 May 2015</ref> and Europe,<ref name="Clarke, Beyer" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRLBF3KW8HkC&pg=PA59|title=Religion in a Secularizing Society: The Europeans' Religion at the End of the 20th Century|first1=Loek|last1=Halman|first2=Ole|last2=Riis|year=2018|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9004126220|via=Google Books|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003154/https://books.google.com/books?id=XRLBF3KW8HkC&pg=PA59|url-status=live}}</ref> with some exceptions such as [[France]],<ref name = "Jean-Paul Willaime">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DaJtXsY4ttQC&pg=PA99|title=Religious Newcomers and the Nation State: Political Culture and Organized Religion in France and the Netherlands|first1=Erik|last1=Sengers|first2=Thijl|last2=Sunier|date=2018|publisher=Eburon Uitgeverij B.V.|isbn=9789059723986|via=Google Books|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003132/https://books.google.com/books?id=DaJtXsY4ttQC&pg=PA99|url-status=live}}</ref> where it was driven underground from the 1685 [[Edict of Fontainebleau|revocation]] of the [[Edict of Nantes]] until shortly before the [[French Revolution]], but its adherents are now claimed to be stable in number or even growing slightly.<ref name = "Jean-Paul Willaime" /> According to some, [[Russia]] is another country to see a Protestant revival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/april/protestant-revival-sweeps-moscow/|title=Moscow Church Spearheads Russia Revival|access-date=14 February 2015|archive-date=27 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527024350/http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/April/Protestant-Revival-Sweeps-Moscow/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/rss/28-1_093.pdf|title=Protestantism in Postsoviet Russia: An Unacknowledged Triumph|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=10 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110073012/http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/rss/28-1_093.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/june10/13.22.html?paging=off|title=Growing Protestants, Catholics Draw Ire|author=Felix Corley and Geraldine Fagan|website=ChristianityToday.com|date=10 June 2002 |access-date=14 February 2015|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120113934/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/june10/13.22.html?paging=off|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2010, the largest Protestant denominational families were historically Pentecostal denominations (11%), Anglican (11%), Lutheran (10%), Baptist (9%), [[United and uniting churches]] (unions of different denominations) (7%), Presbyterian or Reformed (7%), Methodist (3%), Adventist (3%), Congregationalist (1%), [[Plymouth Brethren|Brethren]] (1%), [[The Salvation Army]] (<1%) and [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] (<1%). Other denominations accounted for 38% of Protestants.<ref name="pewforum1"/>

The United States is home to approximately 20% of the world's Protestants.<ref name="pewforum1"/> According to a 2012 study, the Protestant share of U.S. population was 48%, marking the first time in which it was not the religion of the majority of the country.<ref name = "Nones of the Rise">[http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf "Nones" on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826234925/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf |date=26 August 2014}}, Pew Research Center (The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life), 9 October 2012</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19892837|title=US Protestants no longer majority|work=BBC News|date=10 October 2012|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=10 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010042339/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19892837|url-status=live}}</ref> The decline is attributed mainly to the dropping membership of the [[Mainline Protestant]] churches,<ref name = "Nones of the Rise"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9303/articles/johnson.html|title=Mainline Churches: The Real Reason for Decline|website=www.leaderu.com|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=29 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429115337/http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9303/articles/johnson.html|url-status=live}}</ref> while [[Evangelical Protestant]] and [[Black church]]es are stable or continue to grow.<ref name = "Nones of the Rise"/>

By 2050, Protestants are projected to form to slightly more than half of the world's total Christian population.<ref name=":3">Johnstone, Patrick, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AVzFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 "The Future of the Global Church: History, Trends and Possibilities"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519062536/https://books.google.com/books?id=AVzFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |date=19 May 2020 }}, p. 100, fig 4.10 & 4.11</ref>{{efn|Magisterial Protestant, Independent, Anabaptist and Anglican parties are understood as Protestant as stated previously in the article, as well as in the book: ''Statistics for the P, I and A megablocs are often combined because they overlap so much-hence the order followed here.''}} According to other experts such as Hans J. Hillerbrand, Protestants will be as numerous as Catholics.<ref name=":2">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Hillerbrand |editor-given=Hans J. |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |volume=1–4 |year=2004 |place=London; New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-92472-6 |url={{Google books|id=PMSTAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=y|page=1815}} |archive-date=2020-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523003036/https://books.google.com/books?id=4tbFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT3311 |url-status=live |page=1815 |quote="Observers carefully comparing all these figures in the total context will have observed the even more startling finding that for the first time ever in the history of Protestantism, ''Wider Protestants'' will by 2050 have become almost exactly as numerous as Catholics—each with just over 1.5&nbsp;billion followers, or 17 percent of the world, with Protestants growing considerably faster than Catholics each year."}}</ref>

According to [[Peter L. Berger]], popular Protestantism{{efn|A flexible term; defined as all forms of Protestantism with the notable exception of the historical denominations deriving from the Protestant Reformation.}} is the most dynamic religious movement in the contemporary world, alongside [[Islamic revival|resurgent Islam]].<ref name="books.google.com"/>

<gallery widths="300px" heights="155px" class="center">
File:Protestant majority countries (2010).svg|Protestant-majority countries in 2010
File:Countries by percentage of Protestants (2010).svg|Countries by percentage of Protestants, 2010
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Anti-Catholicism]]
* [[Criticism of Protestantism]]
* [[European wars of religion]]
* [[Protestantism and Islam]]
* [[Protestantism in Germany]]
* [[Church architecture#The Reformation and its influence on church architecture|The Reformation and its influence on church architecture]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book |surname=Ammerman |given=Nancy T. |authorlink=Nancy Ammerman |chapter=North American Protestant Fundamentalism |chapter-url={{Google books|id=qd5yzP5hdiEC|plainurl=y|page=1|keywords=|text=}} |editor-surname=Marty |editor-given=Martin E. |editor-link=Martin E. Marty |editor-surname2=Appleby |editor-given2=R. Scott |editor-link2=R. Scott Appleby |year=1991 |title=Fundamentalisms Observed |series=[[Fundamentalism Project|The Fundamentalism Project]], 1 |place=Chicago, Il; London |publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=1–65 |url={{Google books|id=qd5yzP5hdiEC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-226-50878-1}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Becker |first1=Sascha O.|last2=Pfaff |first2=Steven |last3=Rubin |first3=Jared |title=Causes and Consequences of the Protestant Reformation |journal=ESI Working Paper 16–13 |year=2016 |url=https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1177&context=esi_working_papers|issn=2572-1496}}

==Further reading==
'''General'''
* {{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Hillerbrand |editor-given=Hans J. |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |volume=1–4 |year=2004 |place=London; New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-92472-6 |url={{Google books|id=PMSTAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=y|page=}} |archive-date=2020-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002949/https://books.google.com/books?id=PMSTAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA349 |url-status=live}} 2195 pp. Reprint 2014.
* {{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Melton |editor-given=J. Gordon |editor-link=J. Gordon Melton |year=2005 |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions |url={{Google books|id=bW3sXBjnokkC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-8160-5456-8}} 628 pp.

'''Special'''
* Bruce, Steve (2019). ''A house divided: Protestantism, Schism and secularization''. London; New York: Routledge.
* Cook, Martin L. (1991). ''The Open Circle: Confessional Method in Theology''. Minneapolis, Mn: Fortress Press. xiv, 130 p. N.B.: Discusses the place of Confessions of Faith in Protestant theology, especially in Lutheranism. {{ISBN|0-8006-2482-3}}
* [[John Dillenberger|Dillenberger, John]], and [[Claude Welch (theologian)|Claude Welch]] (1988). ''Protestant Christianity, Interpreted through Its Development''. Second ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. {{ISBN|0-02-329601-1}}
* Giussani, Luigi (1969), trans. Damian Bacich (2013). American Protestant Theology: A Historical Sketch. Montreal: McGill-Queens UP.
* Grytten, Ola Honningdal. "Weber revisited: A literature review on the possible Link between Protestantism, Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth." (NHH Dept. of Economics Discussion Paper 08, 2020). [https://openaccess.nhh.no/nhh-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2657268/DP%2008.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y online]
* Howard, Thomas A. ''Remembering the Reformation: an inquiry into the meanings of Protestantism'' (Oxford UP, 2016).
* Howard, Thomas A. and Mark A. Noll, eds. ''Protestantism after 500 years'' (Oxford UP, 2016).
* Leithart, Peter J. ''The end of Protestantism: pursuing unity in a fragmented church'' (Brazos Press, 2016).
* {{cite book|title=Christianity's Dangerous Idea|last=McGrath|first=Alister E.|author-link=Alister McGrath|year=2007|location=New York|publisher=[[HarperOne]]|isbn=978-0060822132|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/christianitysdan00mcgr_0}}
* Nash, Arnold S., ed. (1951). ''Protestant Thought in the Twentieth Century: Whence & Whither''? New York: Macmillan Co.
* {{cite book|title=Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction|last=Noll|first=Mark A.|author-link=Mark Noll|year=2011|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* Ryrie, Alec ''Protestants: The Radicals Who Made the Modern World'' (HarperCollins, 2017).
* Ryrie, Alec "The World's Local Religion" [http://www.historytoday.com/alec-ryrie/worlds-local-religion ''History Today'' (Sept 20, 2017) online]

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Protestant|Protestantism|evangelical}}
{{Commons category|Protestantism}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{cite web|url=https://m.wikihow.com/Declare-Your-Personal-Christian-Statement-of-Faith-%28Protestant%29|title= Personal Christian Statement of Faith (Protestant)|language=en|publisher= [[wikiHow]]|date= 29 July 2015}}
* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Protestantism.aspx Protestantism] ([[Encyclopedia.com]])
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180521073511/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12495a.htm "Protestantism"]}} from the 1917 ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://historyscoper.com/protestantscope.html The Historyscoper]
* [http://www.oikoumene.org/ World Council of Churches] – World body for mainline Protestant churches

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[[Category:Protestantism| ]]
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