Protestantism and Catholicism

Religion is a system of principles, sentiments, practices, beliefs, and values that define the interactions that exist between a body or sect of humanity and deity. Some features of an assembly of believers, such as dogmas, sacred books, interdicts, ceremonies, moral prescription, and so on, govern the religion. The bulk of faiths in the modern world arose from revelations based on exemplary historical events of a nation, a wise man, or a prophet who taught life's principles. The study of religion illustrates the phenomenon's universality as well as a wide range of rites, concepts, and behaviors. The idea of religion is a significant source of controversy, meaning, and inspiration in the human culture informing various aspects of life such as economics, history, literature, and art. In this sense, religion influences the lives of people in a large-scale on a global platform and in a majority of daily operations of a group of people (Jung 24). For this reason; it becomes important to be highly knowledgeable about religion in a world perspective. Also, religion impacts on various cultures in varying ways; it can potentially affect the same culture in multiple ways and at different times. When a group of people in a particular culture strongly believe in religion, which is the case with a majority of traditions, it is likely to come with a significant effect on the element of culture.

Possessing a broad range of knowledge regarding the world religion is important in the modern world because it offers an individual the diversity and exposure to people of different backgrounds. People can respect and appreciate one another when they are conscious of religion since they understand each other’s sentiments and approaches towards life (Iannaccone 76). This paper looks into the Christianity religion which enjoys a majority following of the entire world population. It is the religion that has the highest number of followers, to the tune of more than two billion people of the entire global community. The numbers show that Christianity is highly represented in different geographical regions around the world. Familiarizing oneself with Christianity is vital so that an individual can manage to be flexible enough and be able to stay in various parts of the world. Understanding Christ’s teachings are imperative for a person who wishes to assess the Christians’ conformance with the doctrines passed by their savior.

Catholics and Protestants

Within the Christianity religion, there are two groups referred to as the Catholics and the Protestants. The Roman Catholic Church is the indigenous congregation that was formed by Jesus Christ. In the same context, there is the aspect of Protestantism ‘which is a form of Christianity that came from the Reformation; it is a movement against what the followers consider to be mistakes within the Roman Catholic Church. First, the two groups disagree on understanding and interpreting the Bible regarding its meaning and authority. For the Protestants, the Bible is God’s only book that offers His revelations to the people and provides for them to engage in communion with Him. On the contrary, Catholics do not base their faith solely on the Bible. On top of the Holy Scriptures, they are guided by the culture of the Roman Catholic Church (Torgler, Benno and Schaltegger 31).

Second, the two groups disagree on understanding the church; the Catholic Church believes that it is the only true church across the world which is under the pope. On the other hand, the Protestants do not come under one united church, but all the various formations pursue the teachings of Jesus and are deemed equal (Torgler, Benno and Schaltegger 32). Thirdly, Protestants do not appreciate the papal supremacy, arguing that it controverts Biblical teachings. However, the members of the Catholic Church look at the pope as the successor of Apostle Peter, the initial head of the church as appointed by Christ (Torgler, Benno and Schaltegger 33). Fourth, the Catholic Church embraces Mary mother of Jesus as the queen of heaven and also worships saints. The Protestants are against this practice and view it as unbiblical as it is not in accordance with the teachings of Jesus (Torgler, Benno and Schaltegger 34). Fifth, the two groups differ on the issue of celibacy; in the Catholic Church, priests are obliged to observe high levels of abstinence as this portrays an undivided succession of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the Protestants are against the obligatory celibacy imposed on the priests (Torgler, Benno and Schaltegger 34). The argument here is that priests should be allowed to engage in marital affairs like other members of the church and the society as a whole.

Both the Catholics and Protestants share virtually all the teachings of Christ and the ways of life for which He advocated. For example, the two group believe in and spread the message of love to their members and even people who are non-Christians (Torgler, Benno and Schaltegger 34). “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” is among the teachings of Christ that both factions of the religion embrace and teach the world. Also, the two concur about the Ten Commandments; they believe in pursuing the teachings of Moses in the Old Testament of the Bible. The ideological differences between the Catholics and the Protestants come as technical issues that are viewed as mistakes in the Roman Catholic Church.

Applicability

In the modern world, Christianity is the most extensive religion as it enjoys the highest number of followers (Iannaccone 79). In this respect, it is applicable in the 21st century because many people subscribe to its ideologies, beliefs, and values. The religion’s crucial aspects include salvation by the grace of God, the deity of Jesus, the resurrection of Christ, the gospel, and the Holy Trinity. These issues are personal, and hence they are observed by the Christians collectively, but at individual levels. Christianity is a religion that upholds peace and advocates for a cordial existence between people of different backgrounds in various parts of the world. For this reason; no person is forced to follow Christ, and so the multiple aspects are assumed by people at free-will. In this light, they are feasible for application in the modern generations where people appreciate autonomy highly.

Conclusion

Religion is instrumental in the lives of people, and it has been the case both in the ancient times and contemporary world. For this reason; it is essential to comprehend it in a global perspective through understanding that different people are guided by various dogmas, beliefs, and values. Being knowledgeable about other people’s religions. Knowing other people’s religions assists in appreciating diversity and respecting rationale behind different persons’ ways of doing things. Both the Protestants and Catholics are Christians, and they agree on a broad range of items based on the teachings of Christ. However, they disagree on various technical issues regarding their religion. The differences revolve understanding of the church and the Bible where they interpret the scriptures in different ways. The Protestants believe that with their reformation way of doing things, they avoid mistakes prevalent in the Roman Catholic Church.

Works Cited

Iannaccone, Laurence R. ""Rational choice."" Rational choice theory and religion: summary and assessment (2016): 76

Jung, Carl Gustav. Psychology and Religion Volume 11: West and East. Routledge, 2014: 24

Torgler, Benno, and Christoph Schaltegger. ""Suicide and religion: new evidence on the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism."" Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 53.2 (2014): 31-34.