Protestantism

Protestantism is the general name for hundreds of Christian denominations and sects that differ slightly or greatly from one another.  About 420 million people-about 8 per cent of the world's population-belong to these various groups.  Among Christian bodies, only the Roman Catholic Church has more members. 

 

Protestantism resulted chiefly from the Reformation, a religious and political movement that began in Europe in 1517.  The word Protestant comes from the Latin word protestans, which means one who protests.  It was first used in 1529 at a Diet (special assembly) in Speyer, Germany.  At the Diet, several German leaders protested against an attempt by Roman Catholics to limit the practice of Lutheranism, an early Protestant movement.  The leaders became known as Protestants because of their protest.  The name Protestants soon came to include all of the Western Christians who had left the Roman Catholic Church. 

 

Most Protestants live in Europe and North America.  A Protestant denomination is the state religion of a number of nations, including Denmark, Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden.  Protestantism has strongly influenced the cultural, political, and social history of these and other countries.

 

Protestant beliefs : Protestants share certain Christian beliefs with members of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.  For example, Protestants believe there is only one God.  Most members of Protestant denominations also believe that in God there are three Persons who together form the Trinity.  These Persons are the Father; the Son, who is Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit.  Protestants also believe in the central importance of Christ as the saviour of humanity. 

 

Protestants disagree with other Christians about the relationship between humanity and God.  As a result of this disagreement, certain Protestant beliefs differ from those of other Christians.  These beliefs involve (1) the nature of faith and grace and (2) the authority of the Bible. 

 

Faith and grace:  Protestants oppose the Roman Catholic doctrine on salvation.  Catholics believe that people achieve salvation by having faith in God's grace and by their own merit--that is, by doing good works.  However, Protestants think this belief in human merit makes people too important in their relationship with God.  They also believe it demands too much of humanity because people cannot know when they have done enough to please God.  Protestants stress the importance of faith and reject the emphasis that Catholics place on good works. 

 

According to Protestantism, God is gracious--that is, He is loving and forgiving.  He establishes and is responsible for His relationship with people.  Protestants believe people are incapable of saving themselves because of their sins.  Therefore, they are saved by the grace of God and not by their own merit.  Protestants believe this grace of God comes to people through Christ.  They regard Christ's death on the cross as a gift of God's grace.  But this grace comes to those who have faith, not to those who do good works.  Thus, people receive salvation by having faith in God's grace, which comes to them through Christ. 

 

The authority of the Bible:  The beliefs of Roman Catholics are based on both the Bible and the traditions of their church.  These traditions come from the declarations of church councils and popes.  They also come from short statements called creeds and from longer, formal statements called dogmas.  Most Protestants, on the other hand, believe that the Bible should be the only authority for their religion. 

 

Through the centuries, several Protestant denominations have based their beliefs on other authorities in addition to the Bible.  For example, certain churches believe that personal religious experience serves as a measure of their faith.  Others believe they can test their faith through human reason or certain church traditions.  But in general, the Bible remains the central religious authority for Protestants.

 

Worship and liturgy:  Protestants worship only one God.  But various denominations worship Him in greatly different ways.  Protestant liturgies (worship services) range from the simple, informal meetings of the Quakers to the elaborate ceremonies of certain Anglican churches.  But despite many differences, most Protestant liturgies share such basic features as (1) faith in the word of God, (2) belief in sacraments, and (3) the importance of the laity. 

 

Faith in the word of God:  Most Protestant liturgies stress preaching and hearing the word of God.  Protestants believe that God is present in their midst and inspires faith in them when they discuss, hear, and read the Bible.  For this reason, most Protestant services focus attention on the preacher and the sermon. 

 

Belief in sacraments:  Various Protestant denominations disagree about the nature and number of solemn observances called sacraments.  But most denominations include at least two sacraments--Baptism and the Lord's Supper--in their worship. 

 

Baptism is a ceremony that represents either the beginning of the Christian life or a sign of a person's faith.  Most Protestants connect baptism with a gift of faith and grace from God. 

 

The Lord's Supper, or Communion, is a ceremony that reenacts or recalls Christ's words and actions at the Last Supper.  Most Protestants believe it represents God's forgiveness of sinners. 

 

The importance of the laity:  Most Protestant churches stress the role of the laity, church members who are not clergy.  Protestantism encourages these people to take part in the liturgy through singing and prayer.  Such participation establishes a sense of community in which God's word may be heard and His relationship to humanity understood. 

 

Many Protestant churches encourage the ordination of women members of the congregation.  Through ordination, women can become members of the clergy.  This was not a practice of the early Christian Church, but is seen to reflect the position of women in society today.

 

History:  Most Protestant denominations originated during the Reformation.  But some, such as the Moravian Church, had been established before this.  The Reformation was the culmination of a period of renewal in the Roman Catholic Church, during which scholars closely examined their Christian faith.  One of the first changes that this renewal brought about was the translation of the Bible from Latin into the vernacular (the language of the people).  The first translation of the Bible into English was by John Wycliffe in the late 1300's.  This and other translations made Christian teaching more easily available to many people and led to a desire to return to the simplicity and Christian values of the early Church. 

 

The Reformation itself began in 1517, when Martin Luther, a German monk, protested against certain practices of the Roman Catholic Church.  By about 1550, Protestantism had spread throughout almost half of Europe. 

 

Protestantism developed as a series of semi-independent religious movements.  These movements resembled one another in their rejection of the central authority of the pope.  But cultural, geographic, political, and religious differences caused them to develop independently in varying degrees.  Many such differences resulted in the division of a movement into various denominations and sects. 

 

Despite their differences, the various Protestant movements can be divided historically into five general groups.  These groups are (1) the conservative reform movements, (2) the radical reform movements, (3) the Free Church movements, (4) the Methodist movement, and (5) the unity movement. 

 

The conservative reform movements (the 1500's):  These movements include groups that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church but kept many basic beliefs of that church.  Among such movements, in order of their establishment, are the Lutheran; the Reformed, or Presbyterian; and the Anglican, or Episcopalian. 

 

The Lutheran movement, based on the teachings of Martin Luther, was the earliest major Protestant movement.  It spread rapidly throughout northern Germany and the Scandinavian nations during the 1520's.  Lutherans largely agreed on the importance of faith and the authority of the Bible.  But they disagreed widely over the form of the liturgy and church government.  These disagreements led to the formation of several denominations. 

 

The Reformed, or Presbyterian, movement developed largely from the teachings of two reformers, Huldreich Zwingli and John Calvin.  During the 1520's, Zwingli, a Swiss priest, urged reforms that were more radical than Luther's.  In the 1530's, the French reformer John Calvin largely combined the ideas of Luther and Zwingli.  Calvin's teachings strongly influenced people in England, France, the Netherlands, and Scotland.  In England, many of his followers became known as Puritans.  In France, they were called Huguenots.  The Scottish reformer John Knox introduced Calvin's teachings in Scotland. 

 

The Anglican, or Episcopalian, movement started in England.  It resulted from the Act of Supremacy of 1534, in which King Henry VIII declared his independence from the pope.  The king became the supreme head of the church in England, but he remained a Roman Catholic.  Protestant ideals were not at first encouraged.  However, after the break from Rome, he ordered an English translation of the Bible to be placed in every church.  The Anglican Church became established in England only after much dispute and bloodshed.  In 1559, Queen Elizabeth I established a moderate form of Protestantism that became known as Anglicanism. 

 

The radical reform movements (the 1500's and 1600's):  Some small religious sects differed widely from both the Roman Catholic Church and major Protestant churches.  Most of these radical groups believed that conservative Protestants had not gone far enough in reforming the Catholic Church.  Many of the sects rejected conservative reforms and developed their own forms of worship. 

 

The Anabaptists and other radical groups first appeared during the Reformation.  Other radical sects developed in Europe and North America after the Reformation.  They included the Quakers, the Separatists, and the Shakers. 

 

The Free Church movements (the 1500's and 1600's):  This group consisted of two movements, the Congregational and the Baptist.  They developed chiefly from Puritan churches that had been established during the Reformation. 

 

During the late 1500's in England, various Puritans opposed certain policies of the Anglican Church.  They believed they could not reform the church from within, and so they separated from it.  This separation resulted in their being called Separatists.  But they soon became known as Congregationalists because of their belief in the rights of local congregations. 

 

In the early 1600's, an English clergyman named John Smyth led a group of Separatists to the Netherlands.  He and his followers believed that only people who were old enough to express their faith should be baptized.  Smyth's group became known as Baptists. 

 

The Free Church movements spread into colonial America.  The Pilgrims, a separatist group led by William Brewster, established the Plymouth Colony in 1620.  In 1638, the religious leader Roger Williams founded a Baptist church in Providence in the Rhode Island Colony.  By the 1920's, the Baptist Church ranked as the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. 

 

The Methodist movement (the 1700's): Methodism developed largely from pietism, a religious attitude that began in Europe during the late 1600's.  Pietism stressed the importance of personal devotion and morality as the most profound expressions of faith. 

 

In the early 1700's, John Wesley, an English clergyman, set out to reform the Anglican Church, also known as the Church of England.  Wesley preached doctrines that were evangelical--that is, they emphasized the need for personal religious experience.  He was not satisfied by the Anglican response to his reform and, in 1744, he organized the Methodist movement.  Methodism grew rapidly in England and, later, the movement spread to the United States. 

 

Pietism and various evangelical churches greatly influenced other Protestant denominations.  Many missionary movements began, and Protestantism in different forms had spread throughout the world by 1900.

 

The more conservative and enthusiastic branches of Methodism gave birth to the Holiness movement, including the Nazarenes.  In the early 1900's, the Holiness movement, in turn, inspired a movement called Pentecostalism.  Pentecostalism has become one of the most rapidly growing forms of Protestantism.  The Pentecostals are sometimes called charismatics. 

 

The unity movement (the 1800's and 1900's):  Since the mid-1800's, many Protestants and other Christians have shown an increasing desire to overcome their differences.  They have sought to unite various Protestant denominations and to encourage cooperation through federations and councils.  They also have worked to increase good will among Protestants and members of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. 

 

In 1846, a group in London formed the Evangelical Alliance to give individual Christians an opportunity to unite in friendship and discussion.  During the early 1900's, the trend toward Christian unity became known as the ecumenical movement.  Representatives of different Protestant denominations met with one another, as did representatives of Protestant churches and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.  In 1948, church leaders founded the World Council of Churches.  This organization works for cooperation and unity among all the churches of the world. 

 

In 1965, Pope Paul VI expressed the need for unity among all Christians.  He made the statement at the end of an ecumenical council called Vatican Council II. Many Protestants and other Christians welcomed the pope's expression of unity and the unifying spirit of the council itself. 

 

       The impact of Protestantism in India began to be felt only from the beginning of the 18th century. The three pioneering Protestant missions in India were (1) the Tranquebar mission started in 1706 by Lutherans from Halle in Germany, which was patronized by King Frederick IV of Denmark and supported by such British associations as the "Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge" (SPCK) and the "Society for the Propagation of Gospel" (SPG); (2) the Serampur mission founded by William Carrey (1793-1834) in collaboration with two other Englishmen, Joshua Marshman and William Ward; (3) the Mission Movement started in Calcutta by Alexander Duff in 1830. One of the notable and new features of these missions was the pride of place given to the Bible. Protestant missionaries had the Bible translated into several regional languages of India and other East-Asian countries, and this helped to popularize it. The Serampur mission gave great importance to education and journalism.

The word Protestant Church is applied to virtually all non-Roman Catholic Western Churches set up by Reformers in the 16th century. The Supremacy of the Bible, Justification by faith alone, and universal priesthood of believers are the three fundamental principles of Protestantism.

Each Church or sect is independent and autonomous. Therefore there is no single headquarters that unites all these churches. The Protestant Church in India is the result of the missionary work of different Protestant missionary societies during 18th and 19th centuries. The first Protestant missionaries to India were sent by Kind Federic of Denmark in 1706. Protestant Churches of almost all denominations have missionary activities in India. Each Church remains independent and autonomous.

The one umbrella that brings all these Churches together in India is the National Council of Churches. It has 29 member Churches. It includes the Oriental Orthodox Churches of India also.

Most of the early missionaries, i.e., Baptists, Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians, Lutherans, American Presbyterians and American Methodists, failed to identify themselves with the local people and their culture. Many of them were individualists, and thought of Christianity largely in terms of a personal experience of Christ. For some others, the Christian faith primarily was a set of beliefs that could be shown to be superior to the beliefs of other religions. Many missionaries in the beginning were not interested in the poor or lower castes. They considered themselves to be superior to the natives. The majority of Protestant Christians in India today are the product of Christian mass movements, especially in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and parts of West Bengal.

In the 19th century more and more Protestant denominations from Europe and also from America began to arrive in India. The denominational differences posed great problems in a mission situation. By sheer force of necessity the various denominations formed the habit of consulting together on common problems.

Some of the early attempts resulted in the formation of a local union of Presbyterians in South India (1901), Presbyterian Church of India (1904), the South India United Church (SIUC - 1908), the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (1926), and several other local and smaller unions. As a result of international ecumenical movements, in India there came into being the National Christian Council (N.C.C.I.) in 1914. Various Congregational and Presbyterian Churches which have missionary links with the U.S.A., Scotland, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, etc., came together and formed the United Church of Northern India (U.C.N.I.) in 1924. This new Church in the same year sent out invitations to other Protestant Churches and gave a call for organic unity.

Joint ventures in the fields of education and charity gave birth to many United Theological Colleges and also united secular colleges and charitable institutions. The Church of South India (C.S.I.) was formed in 1947. In the C.S.I., four different traditions came together: Anglican (Episcopal) Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist. Of the Churches seeking union, the Anglican was an episcopally ordered Church; the South India United Church, generally speaking, followed the Presbyterian model of order and worship combined with that of the Congregational Church. The Methodist Church, while having much in common with the Anglican Church from which it originated, developed a greater freedom in its worship and use of lay people in the conduct of services and in administration.

The Scheme for Church Union for South India was, in many ways, a test case for the Church of England. It envisaged the uniting of Episcopal, Congregational and Presbyterian elements into a single Church order. The scheme received cautious approval from the Lambeth Conferences of 1920 and 1930. Many critics, especially among Anglo-Catholics, saw it as a denial of the Church's Catholic principles in regard to the historic episcopate, the sacraments and the creeds. The formation of the Church of South India took place on September 27, 1947.

Negotiations started soon after for a similar union of Churches in North India, and in 1970 the Church of North India (CNI) was born. The following six Churches came into the CNI: (1) the Council of Baptist Churches in North India which professes that baptism could only be administered by immersion and to those who consciously profess their faith in Jesus Christ and also repentance of sin; (2) the Church of Brethren of India which is deeply committed to peace and opposes war; (3) the Disciples of Christ that believes in the practice of adult baptism and sees the celebration of the Lord's supper as the central act of worship; (4) the Church of India which grew out of the work of Anglican missionary Societies; (5) the Methodist (British and Australian conferences) Church which emphasizes personal commitment to Jesus Christ, salvation through faith, holiness of life and fellowship of believers; (6) the United Church of Northern India which emphasizes preaching and the exposition of the word of God, discipline, and unity of Churches and Christians.

The history of Protestant Christianity assumes a significant turn from the middle of the 19th century. This period witnessed the creation of the British Empire in India, the growth of cultural renaissance in Indian society, the emergence of Indian nationalism and the final achievement of independence. For the Protestant Churches in India, this was a period of growth and expansion both in terms of numbers and in other respects.