When was protestant first used

It's a matter of principle. And because it is about standing for truth, Catholics can be protestants too. Roland H. Originally posted on the Ancient Evangelical Future blogsite.

Click for reprint information. Sections Home. Bible Coronavirus Prayer. Subscribe Member Benefits Give a Gift. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. Christian History Archives Eras Home. Positively Protestant. Current Issue November Subscribe. Read This Issue. Wednesday, April 7, The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform movement that swept through Europe in the s. It resulted in the creation of a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used collectively to refer to the many religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church due to differences in doctrine.

The Protestant Reformation began in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, , when Martin Luther, a teacher and a monk, published a document he called Disputation on the Power of Indulgences , or 95 Theses.

The document was a series of 95 ideas about Christianity that he invited people to debate with him. These ideas were controversial because they directly contradicted the Catholic Church's teachings. Luther's statements challenged the Catholic Church's role as intermediary between people and God, specifically when it came to the indulgence system, which in part allowed people to purchase a certificate of pardon for the punishment of their sins.

Luther argued against the practice of buying or earning forgiveness, believing instead that salvation is a gift God gives to those who have faith. Luther's objections to the indulgence system paved the way for other challenges to the Catholic doctrine throughout Europe.

For example, John Calvin in France and Huldrych Zwingli in Switzerland proposed new ideas about the practice of Holy Communion, and a group called Anabaptists rejected the idea that infants should be baptized in favor of the notion that baptism was reserved for adult Christians.

Broadly speaking, most of the challenges to the Catholic Church revolved around the notion that individual believers should be less dependent on the Catholic Church, and its pope and priests, for spiritual guidance and salvation.

Instead, Protestants believed people should be independent in their relationship with God, taking personal responsibility for their faith and referring directly to the Bible, the Christian holy book, for spiritual wisdom. Subsequently, King Henry rejected the Pope's authority, instead creating and assuming authority over the Church of England, a sort of hybrid church that combined some Catholic doctrine and some Protestant ideals.

Over the next 20 years, there was religious turbulence in England as Queen Mary — reinstated Catholicism in England while persecuting and exiling Protestants, only to have Queen Elizabeth I and her Parliament attempt to lead the country back toward Protestantism during her reign — Some English citizens did not believe Queen Elizabeth's efforts to restore England to Protestantism went far enough.

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Clinton on Healthcare Reform. Christianity Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with more than 2 billion followers. How the Renaissance Challenged the Church and Influenced the Reformation The Renaissance, roughly spanning the 14th to 17th centuries, marked a time of cultural, intellectual and scientific advances.

The Puritans The Puritans were members of a religious reform movement known as Puritanism that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century. The Bible The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A. See More. Apply market research to generate audience insights.

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Robert Wilde. History Expert. Robert Wilde is a historian who writes about European history. He is the author of the History in an Afternoon textbook series. Updated December 13, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Wilde, Robert. What Is the Origin of the Word 'Protestant?