Protestant Churches

PROTESTANTISM IS COMMONLY referred to as one of the three major branches of Christianity, the others being the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, Protestants represent a diverse range of theological and social perspectives, including unique views concerning poverty. With all three branches combined, Christianity is the world's largest religion, with an estimated 2.1 billion adher-ents—about one-third of the total world population. Of those, about 590 million are Protestants. They include 170 million in North America, 160 million in Africa, 120 million in Europe, 70 million in Latin America, 60 million in Asia, and 10 million in Oceania.

Twenty-seven percent of all Christians worldwide are Protestants. However, these numbers do not take into consideration what may be the largest group of Protestants in any country. China officially is atheist and reports that only two percent of its estimated 1.3 billion people are Christian—26 million. However, the majority of Christians in China worship in unofficial churches, usually private homes, prompting speculation that the total is closer to 90 million—most of them Protestant.

Protestant churches are generally considered to be those that do not recognize the Roman Catholic pope as the infallible leader of modern Christianity. Historically, Protestant churches were started on October 31, 1517, when German theologian Martin Luther protested what he saw as heresy within the Catholic Church. Over the next three years, Luther—himself a Catholic university professor, theologian, ordained priest, and former Augustine monk—published a series of convincing challenges to key Catholic doctrines.

At the heart of his protest was his theological contention that a believer gains eternal salvation as a free gift of grace from God through Christ's death on the cross, contrary to the Catholic dogma that salvation is earned through faithful participation in sacraments such as church attendance, confession of sin, and receiving communion. Luther's protestations were supported by a host of other Catholic theologians and gained a wide popular appeal. As a result, his many supporters included followers from all levels of society, from landless peasants who considered him a local hero, to knights who swore to protect him, to German princes who jumped at the chance to end what they saw as the distant Roman pope's meddling in local politics.

Martin Luther's break with the Catholic Church 500 years ago has spawned thousands of Protestant denominations today.

Concerned about open rebellion, the pope sent an emissary to Luther ordering him to retract his challenges to the pope's infallibility. Luther rebutted with new lists of objections. As a result, the pope excommunicated him and anyone who followed or assisted him.

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V wanted to arrest and execute Luther, but feared provoking civil war, as Luther had become immensely popular and had the protection of the local German prince, Elector Frederick the Wise. So Luther was summoned to a religious tribunal at the city of Worms. There, when ordered to [Page 875]recant, he replied on April 16, 1521: “I cannot submit my faith either to the Pope or to the Councils, because it is clear as day they have frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless therefore, I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture, I cannot and will not retract.”

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