Is the term "Protestant" derogatory?

[NFrancis]

Is it bad to use the term “Protestant”? On another thread someone said that it was. I have never thought of it as such and am wondering if I should continue using the term. If it is derogatory should I use non-Catholic Christians instead or something else?

 

[followingtheway]

:nope: Not really. It’s a historical term to be honest with you. It’s just that a lot of Non-Denominational Evangelical Christians don’t like to be known as “Protestant” because they want to be free of labels, since to a lot of them since Protestantism is a denomination/a label/a church division they don’t use the word “Protestant”. And would rather be known as just “Christian”

 

[JonNC]

Is it bad to use the term “Protestant”? On another thread someone said that it was. I have never thought of it as such and am wondering if I should continue using the term. If it is derogatory should I use non-Catholic Christians instead or something else?

Its not derogatory. Its just rather vague and general. It doesn’t identify a particular doctrine or communion, other than to say that a particular communion has its roots, first, in the Western Church (Rome), and then for later groups, its roots in one or more of those communions of the Reformation era (even this isn’t always accurate).

Part of the problem with the term is that it is born, not of a protest of the Catholic Church, but as a protest against government limiting religious expression (2nd Diet of Speyer of 1529).

So, if one wants to use the term to identify in a very broad sense Western non-Catholic Christian communions, that’s fine. But beyond that, it seems to lack any helpful description. I, myself, don’t identify myself as Protestant, which is typical of Lutherans who feel a closer tie to Catholic beliefs than to, say, Reformed or Baptist or Pentecostal, as examples.

Jon

 

[Swiss_Guy]

Is it bad to use the term “Protestant”? On another thread someone said that it was. I have never thought of it as such and am wondering if I should continue using the term. If it is derogatory should I use non-Catholic Christians instead or something else?

It’s not bad. It’s just annoying if you are trying to generalize that all of us believe in 1 thing, as there are so many different beliefs in Protestantism, which might be why they said it was bad. Continue to use, cause in a sense any non-Catholic christian is a Protestant.

 

[JonNC]

It’s not bad. It’s just annoying if you are trying to generalize that all of us believe in 1 thing, as there are so many different beliefs in Protestantism, which might be why they said it was bad. Continue to use, cause in a sense any non-Catholic christian is a Protestant.

I think, Swiss, this muddies the water even more. Certainly Orthodoxy does not have its roots in the Western Church in the way we Lutherans do, and neither do the Old Catholics, PNCC, etc.

Alas, the problem with an outdated term

Jon

 

[FabiusMaximus]

I personally don’t find it offensive, but I recall once off-the-cuff referring to ourselves as Protestants and my parents blew their stack. ‘Protestant is a Catholic derogatory term for our faith, son!’

 

[Swiss_Guy]

Alas, the problem with an outdated term

Jon

Well, that’s why denominations have names

 

[Cat_Herder]

:nope: Not really. It’s a historical term to be honest with you. It’s just that a lot of Non-Denominational Evangelical Christians don’t like to be known as “Protestant” because they want to be free of labels, since to a lot of them since Protestantism is a denomination/a label/a church division they don’t use the word “Protestant”.

Thus they are protesting something, namely, that the Church is visible and authoritative. Thus they are Protestant.

And would rather be known as just “Christian”

Hence they are protesting that everyone else (especially the Catholic Church) is as purely Christian as they are, thus they are Protestant.

 

[Krakatoa]

While most of them don’t call themselves Protestant, all non-Catholic Christian Churches are derivatives and variations of Martin Luther’s split-off church.

 

[Krakatoa]

Sorry, that doesn’t include the Orthodox Church (The Great Schism)

 

[PattiDay]

There is a period of history referred to as ‘The Protestant Reformation’ a name given to religious and political developments in the early 16th century, by individuals or groups who protested beliefs and/or the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. It may be considered a broad reference, but many people here refer to themselves as Protestant. They don’t seem to consider it to be derogatory.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

The only way I can think of in which it could really be considered derogatory is when it is applied to Traditionalist dissenters. Yes, in any group of Christians that refuses submission to the Roman Pontiff there will be elements in common with Protestantism, but really the word refers to those Christians whose theology and spiritual tradition goes back in some significant historical way to the Protestant Reformation, and especially those who adhere to Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. To apply the name to another group of dissenters, especially one that often particularly loathes the Protestant Reformation and that rejects Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide, is not really accurate and is likely to be taken by them to be derogatory.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

While most of them don’t call themselves Protestant, all non-Catholic Christian Churches are derivatives and variations of Martin Luther’s split-off church.

There are many exceptions to this, like the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church, the Old Catholic Church (though they have been significantly influenced by Protestantism, I think), Polish National Catholic Church (perhaps also some Protestant influence, or Protestant by way of Old Catholic), and the various “Traditionalist Catholic” schismatic groups. There are also various quasi-Christian sects that really couldn’t be called Protestant even though they have historical roots in Protestantism, like the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Unitarian Universalists. And finally there are modern reconstructions of ancient Christian or quasi-Christian heresies, like the Gnostics/Neo-Gnostics.

 

[TinaG]

No, I don’t think it is derogatory.

Threads like this illustrate to me that Catholics profoundly misunderstand, uh, Protestants/non-Catholics/whatever, similar to the way that we don’t tend to understand them. So it is very good to bring this up! Whenever I get on CAF I am always amused by some thread with a title like “Why do all Protestants…” or the ideas circulating about Luther by people wholly ignorant of history. I also always learn something new about Catholics - you do WHAT? Etc. It illustrates a divide that should not be - we look at each other in fear and suspicion and ignorance.

-Tina “My Fears, Suspicions and Ignorance are of Course Right and Proper - Yours are Foolish, Though” G

 

[hn160]

While most of them don’t call themselves Protestant, all non-Catholic Christian Churches are derivatives and variations of Martin Luther’s split-off church.

Beg to differ, Lutherans are not the same as other so called Protestant Churches. We are really Evangelical Catholics. We have the same right to the word Catholic as the Roman Catholic Church. Zwingli was the father of Anabaptist Churches and John Calvin was the father of Reform Churches and to a certain extent a heavy influence on Church of England.
Their views of the Eurchast is completely different from Lutherans among other things.

 

[JonNC]

While most of them don’t call themselves Protestant, all non-Catholic Christian Churches are derivatives and variations of Martin Luther’s split-off church.

Certainly not. In fact, almost no protestant churches have “spun off” of Lutheranism… Clearly not Zwingli or Calvin, and undoubtedly not the anabaptists.

Jon

 

[JonNC]

Thus they are protesting something, namely, that the Church is visible and authoritative. Thus they are Protestant.

Hence they are protesting that everyone else (especially the Catholic Church) is as purely Christian as they are, thus they are Protestant.

The term “protestant” does not have its origin in a protest of the CC, but instead a protest at the Second Diet at SPeyer, which was government, not the Church.

Jon

 

[JonNC]

reformationhappens.com/events/speyer/

 

[rdscheirer]

hn160
you are way off base- the only Lutheran church that holds to Transubstatiation is the Swedish Lutheran church- they can receive the Eucharist in a Catholic church- grew up Lutheran but finally came to realize after reading the early church fathers and researching rather than just swallowing what I was fed that the Catholic Church is the original true Church founded by Christ on ST. Peter the first Pope.

 

[Conor7]

Thus they are protesting something, namely, that the Church is visible and authoritative. Thus they are Protestant.
.

Actually Protestant means to “stand for a witness.” Which I would assume would mean Christ.