What is the difference between Catholics and Protestants?

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Catholics and Protestants are both Christians, so they do have some things in common - the main one being the belief in Jesus. However, Catholics have seven sacraments (baptism, holy communion, confession, marriage, holy orders, anointing of the sick, confirmation) whereas Protestants only have the Eucharist, and baptism. Also, Catholics believe that Mary was a virgin all her life, most Protestants on the other hand deny Mary's perpetual virginity. Martin Luther, a very famous Protestant believed that divine authority is inherent to the Bible, Catholics believe that divine authority is inherent to the Church.

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The main difference is the Protestants use the Bible as their authority, whereas Catholics follow the pope and the Church. I believe that the popes and various elders have developed and changed what Catholics believe over time and that Protestants follow whatever interpretation of scripture they choose to believe.

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Catholics see the Pope as their leader on earth. They confess their sins to a priest, believing him to act as Christ through his holy orders . Protestants do not see the need for a third party to confess to.

Catholics believe that the bread and wine turn into Christ's body and blood. Protestants see them as symbols.

Catholics believe that Mary, as Jesus' mother should be venerated. She is known as "Our Lady". Catholics pray to saints, asking them for intercession. Protestants pray to God alone.

Catholics believe in Purgatory, a place that people may go to when they die, a time of purification before heaven. They believe that it is pious to pray for people's souls to be released from Purgatory to Heaven.

Latin rite Catholic priests must be celibate and are not allowed to marry. This is not the case for protestant ministers.

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One main difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Catholics tend to hail from parts of the world where the Catholic Church had influence, while Protestants tend to hail from parts of the world where the Protestant Churches held power. Doctrinal differences or tendencies certainly exist, e.g Catholics have a tendency to favor sacraments as a visible sign of the invisible God while Protestants have a tendency to favor the Bible as the point of entry rather than sacraments (or the Church as a sacrament for that matter). However, the similarities between Catholics and Protestants are great, especially once the historical and political factors that contributed to the Reformation have withered away and lost their salience for most contemporary Catholics and Protestants alike. A more useful division today might be between traditionalist (or conservative) Christians versus progressive (or liberal) Christians. An example of the latter would be the Jesus Seminar which includes many Catholic and Protestant scripture scholars mostly of a liberal bent trying to understand the historical Jesus. This would contrast to literalist/fundamentalist Christians where the traditionalist Protestants favor inerrant scriptures along with traditionalist Catholics favoring an inerrant Church. The main point however is that all of these groups are Christian and share the belief that Jesus is an important focus in the search for God.

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I believe the difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Protestants read the Bible to know what to do. Catholics on the other hand let other people read the Bible for them and you really shouldn't do that because what if that person misunderstood? Plus Catholics are constantly changing stuff, I've got an Italian friend that says he doesn't believe in Christ because of how often the Vatican changes "rules".

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Contrary to the above, both Catholics and Protestants read and look to the Bible for guidance. One difference is the structure of both Churches. The word Catholic means "universal". The goal of the Catholic Church was, and still is, to unite the world in Christ. The Reformation stemmed out of corruption in the Church. Since the Reformation, the Catholic Church has undergone a "Counter-Reformation", fixing the problems within the Church. What really angers me about the above response is that it is completely misinformed but is still a widely held belief. The Vatican is in place to guide Catholics and serve as a moral authority. I doubt your "Italian friend" was alive or even knows what Vatican II is. Vatican II was a complete reworking of the Church in the 1960s. It brought forth a new age in the Church. These "changes" were actually beneficial. Now there is much more participation in mass, the masses are said in English (or the native language), and countless other changes. The main difference between Protestants and Catholics is not whether they read the Bible; It is the structure.

First answer by Lmc. Last edit by Mmcguire. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 34 [recommend question]