History and Diversity

In many respects, "Protestant" is now the catchall label for Christian denominations and groups that are not either Orthodox, Catholic, or part of the Latter-Day Saints. Historically, however, the designation refers to churches that emerged out of reform movements in the Catholic church of western Europe during the 16th century. As with the earlier "Great Schism" that divided Orthodoxy and Catholicism, the historical factors that led to the "Protestant Reformation" were a complex mixture of theological dissent and political forces that were shaping the emergence of nation-states in Europe out of what had been the "Holy Roman Empire."

Four major sub-divisions of Protestant churches emerged out of the Protestant Reformation. The "Anglican" movement may most clearly reveal the political as well as theological differences that caused the divisions. It refers to those churches that emerged out of the Church of England when Henry VIII precipitated a break with the Catholic Church, in part, because the pope would not recognize his several divorces as annulments that would have permitted him to remarry within the church. Anglicanism now includes many churches and denominations around the world, such as the Episcopal Church in the United States, that maintain common ties with the Church of England. The other major sub-divisions are the "Lutheran" churches (primarily emerging in German-speaking areas of Europe) under the theological leadership of Martin Luther, the "Reformed" churches influenced by the theology of John Calvin (especially early on in parts of Switzerland, France, and Scotland), and "Arminian" under the influence of the theology of Jacob Arminius (in some ways more a response to "Reformed" theology in Holland than directly a reform of Catholicism). Each of these sub-divisions have led to the formation of various denominations in the centuries that followed. Most "Lutheran" churches have maintained that designation somewhere in their titles. "Reformed" churches include Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and some Baptist churches, whereas some other Baptist churches are more influenced by aspects of the "Arminian" theology that is typical of the Methodist churches.

The great revival movements during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in America sparked a variety of "restorationist" movements among churches that ultimately added to the range of denominations (such as "the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)" and more recently the "House Church" movement) by trying to return to practices that may have been typical of Christians in the first century. Similarly, a major revival movement at the turn of the 20th century within Arminian/Holiness churches caused the formation of various Pentecostal churches (such as the Assemblies of God and Church of God of Prophecy). There are also literally thousands of "independent" or "non-denomitional" churches that are not part of any organization of congregations, although some with similar interests or origins are beginning to form associations with one another (an example would be the "Vineyard" churches and what some are calling the "Emerging Church movement").

Protestant Scriptures

The Protestant Reformation championed two major developments with regard to the Christian scriptures: the translation of the Bible into the vernacular (that is, the languages commonly spoken by Christians around the world), and the restriction of the "Old Testament" to the books contained in Tanakh so that its scriptures more directly paralleled those of Judaism. Up until the 14th and 15th centuries, the Bible had been read in the Latin of the Vulgate translation in Catholic churches and in Greek in most Orthodox churches. Although both Catholic and Orthodox churches eventually came around to reading scripture "in the vernacular," neither have followed Protestantism in narrowing their canons of scripture. Many Protestant groups refer to the books excluded from the Catholic and Orthodox canons as the "Apocyrpha," and may read them for religious and spiritual benefit without granting them the status of "scripture."

Although the Protestant "Old Testament" has the same content as the Jewish Tanakh, that content is not arranged in the same way. Rather, in keeping with centuries of Christian practice, if follows the basic pattern of the Septuagint in dividing both the individual books and the groupings of these scriptures. Thus, while the Jewish Tanakh includes 24 books grouped in Torah, Prophets and Writings, the Protestant "Old Testament" has 39 books grouped as Pentateuch (matching the Torah), Historical Books, Poetic Books, and Prophetic Books. One example of why the number of books differs is because whereas Jewish scriptures group all the so-called "minor prophets" into a single book called "The Twelve," Christian canons divides this into 12 separate books under the names of each respective prophet.

Protestant Practices

Because Protestantism has become something of a "cath-all" category, there is no such thing as "typical Protestant practices" in terms of communal worship or individual spiritual disciplines. They also cover the full range of the "conservative" to "liberal" continuum. To take up only the issue of "Holy Communion" discussed with reference to Catholic Practices, some Protestant churches likewise allow on members in good standing within their own denomination to receive the elements of bread and wine (and many use unfermented grape juice rather than wine). Others will allow any baptized Christian to participate, and still others permit anyone willing to receive the elements to receive them. In most instances the person leading the service will indicate who may participate as part of the "invitation" at the beginning of this ritual during the worship service, although admittedly the specific vocabulary used may not always be clear to those familiar with the particular tradition. Scouts and Scouters participating in "Scout Sabbath" services at churches other than their own should clarify ahead of time the expectations in this regard out of respect for the beliefs and practices of the particular denomination. And since their is no standard practice across Protestant churches, "Communion" should not be included as part of an inter-denominational Protestant "Scouts Own" service even if a clergy person authorized to perform the rite is available.

Copyright © 2005 Scouting and Religious Diversity
Last modified: 10/10/05