Should you attend a Protestant service?

[Keath_Wade]

If you should choose to attend services at a protestant church, one thing to be careful of is to remember to not genuflect and make the sign of the cross when entering your pew. Depending on the level of anti-catholicism there, you could be chased out of the building by an angry mob with sticks!

 

[luckyirishguy14]

TPJCatholic:

No!

I feel that Catholics should remain true to the faith. They should not attend Protestant services unless there is a compelling reason (funerals, weddings, etc.). When we attend a Protestant service, we are giving some level of approval of those services.

I agree with you. I understand if you have a spouse or in-laws or friends and you don’t want to hurt them, but if you just go to Protestant service for the fun of it (by yourself), you’re wasting your valuable time getting yourself confused if they begin contradicting your beliefs and finding shaky Bible prooftexts.

 

[Katia]

I’ve been Catholic for a few years now (formerly Protestant), and once in awhile, I’ve considered going to a local Protestant church (in addition to Mass, of course), just to see what it was like, compared with all the different ones I attended in my youth. Haven’t actually done it, probably for a few reasons. I’m afraid that my presence “validates” the Protestant version of church as equal to ours, and that attenders there might think that I was considering leaving the Catholic Church, which would be as far from the truth as you could get. My very presence, however, would indicate that something was lacking in my home Church. Weddings are a different story, as it’s obvious why I’m there.

On a related note, one thing that stood out (and infuriated me) as a Protestant dating my Catholic husband-to-be was that he insisted that the Mass was different from other church services and irreplaceable. And that wafer is Jesus, not just a representation? Say what? Obviously, theology won out, once I started reading, but conversations weren’t all that civil for awhile. Still, the fact that he held Catholicism apart as totally different, and not just a theological equivilant of Protestantism, made me stop and think.

 

[Katia]

Oops. Forgot something. Relating to all the comments about praise and worship and singing, I heartily agree that Catholics should sing more! I joke that I joined the choir just so that I could hear others around me singing (it’s not entirely a joke). Catholics are so quiet. I’m not the Charismatic type, so I haven’t joined up with them. However, if you think no one sings…I just got back from chaperoning at one of the Steubenville conferences, and they never stopped singing. I don’t know that I’d want a rock-type band playing at Mass normally, but the teens got into it.

 

[Corpus_Cristi]

I haven’t attended any protestant services since I’ve become Catholic, but that’s just me. I wouldn’t say you couldn’t attend one, but there are two things you MUST remember when embarking on this path:

ONE-You CANNOT fulfill the Sunday obligation at a protestant church.
TWO-You CANNOT receive the communion at a protestant church.

 

[TheTruth]

javelin:

Thank you, robertaf, point well made!

What is the Catholic Chruch known for? For many, it’s rules and rubrics, and almost no one will follow those without trusting in the Church that gave them. IMHO, the Church has done a poor job developing and fostering that trust.

In conversations with troubled Catholics who yearn to engage in the things that Protestants do so well, I remind them that the Catholic Church can be all those things. Yet I am constantly battling the fact that we are not, and that frustrates and troubles many.

Jesus said that we would be known fby our Love. Is that how we’re known??

God Bless!
javelin

metal1633:

Why would a Catholic want to attend Protestant services? Tell me please. Attending religious services is not like choosing a play to attend, a drama or a movie. Yes, it would be perfectly fine for a Catholic to attend the wedding or funeral of a good Protestant friend, sing hymns and join in prayer. Provided that the content of the prayers and songs is not contrary to the Catholic faith. But you cannot attend regular sunday services in a non-Catholic Churh. So yes Catholics can attend Protestant services, a Catholic may not, however, have a liturgical part or regularly attend non-Catholic services. Catholics may be guests at non-Catholic services - weddings, funerals, baptisms, in connection with a family gathering. But in the case of mixed spouses, the Catholic cannot consider it a level playing field, as if divine worship can be divided between the Catholic Church and the spouse’s non-Catholic Church. That would be the error of indifferentism. While the non-Catholic spouse could accompany the Catholic to Mass without limit (Communion excepted), the reverse is not true. The Catholic in a mixed marriage must respect the truth about the Church, and thus God’s will for our salvation, as well as the spouse’s conscience. That is difficult, and why the Church discourages mixed marriages to begin with.

I won’t state what many people view the answer of this question to be…but read the statement by metal1633…read it from an objective viewpoint. When other people see you, this is what they see…you wonder why people don’t have respect for catholics…it’s because some catholics are openly disrespectful of them and their beliefs…it comes across as arrogance and ugliness…people don’t want to join an organization that is mean spirited…I don’t believe that this was really the intention of metal1633 but it certainly comes across that way to MANY PEOPLE!!!

You asked…

 

[ridesawhitehors]

I converted from evangelicalism 4 years ago. I haven’t been to a protestant service since. But I have many evangelical friends that I left behind - that I love and pray for. If they would agree to come to Mass with me, I may go to church with them in kind just so I could get them to experience the True Presence.

I am strong enough in my faith and know how to defend myself. There is nothing at the protestant churches that I am interested in except the people there that I love.
In fact ~ I would probably be booted out of my old church if I visited for too long. I would be seen as dangerous by the pastor.