What to Call Non-Catholic Christians

[Pedro]

Another thing you might want to think about - what term do you use to refer to the Mormons, JW and other sects that believe in their version of Christ. They call themselves Christian as well.

There’s the term “psuedoChristian”, but I don’t think they would appreciate being called that.

 

[OhioBob]

bengal_fan:

well, if you are a Christian and you are not catholic, you are a protestant.

Yup, that’s my thought too.

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If they don’t like being ducks, that’s their problem.

Blessings.

 

[OhioBob]

Pedro:

Another thing you might want to think about - what term do you use to refer to the Mormons, JW and other sects that believe in their version of Christ. They call themselves Christian as well.

There’s the term “psuedoChristian”, but I don’t think they would appreciate being called that.

I have a term for them, but it fails La Chiara’s “charitable” requirement.


Maybe we can call them “Lost Sheep”? Or “Dazed and Confused”? The reality is that they are non-Christians whether they are willing to admit it or not.

 

[Cat]

As a rule, Protestants don’t like being called “Protestants,” or to be identified with any organized denomination. They like being called “just Christians.”

Of course there are always exceptions, and some Christians will proudly announce, “I’ve been Southern Baptist all my life.” or whatever.

But the big trend in Protestantism right now is to disassociate oneself from “organized religion” and “denominations.”

(This could be a good thing for Catholics involved in outreach, BTW. At least we don’t have to struggle against denominational loyalties like we used to.)

Many denominations who plant new churches don’t name their churches “Main Street Baptist Church.” (or whatever the name of the denomination is.) Instead, they will name the church “Main Street Community Church” or something that hides the denomination. Other examples would be “The Friendship Church,” or “Calvary Chapel.” etc.

The justification is that people don’t want to be part of “denominations” anymore, they just want to be “Christians.”

And many (non-Catholic) Christians don’t join churches anymore. They go from church to church, enjoying music at one church, teaching at another church, fellowship with friends at still another church, and getting involved with charitable works at still another church!

Isn’t that amazing? But it’s true.

I know a lot of you disagree with all of this. I know I do. But that’s the way it is in Protestant Land, and all our disagreeing won’t make a fig’s worth of difference. If we rail against it to our Protestant friends, we will just alienate ourselves and not build any bridges, but instead, tear them down.

“Christian” is always the correct term. Follow it up by the statement, "A Christian who attends “Name of Church.”

For example, before I became a Catholic, I was “a Christian who attends ____ Evangelical Free Church.”

Now I am “a Christian who is a member of the Catholic Church.”

If the Christian does not attend any church, then they are “a Christian who does not attend any church,” or “a Christian who attends church as they feel led.”

There is a difference, BTW, between “membership” in a Protestant Church and just “attending” a Protestant Church. Many Protestant Churches don’t push membership anymore. It’s all part of the same trend–getting away from man-made, organized religion.

 

[asquared]

well I did it again, mea culpa. my point in mentioning the term “Protestant” was merely to note that often Catholics who are unfamiliar with the various sects and their historical background that we sometimes use that word as a catch-all, in trying to avoid being offensive or sounding ignorant. Not all non-Catholics who adhere to the profession, confession or belief system of any of a number of Christian sects refer to themselves as Protestant, or are, in fact, members of sects whose growth had roots in the Protestant Reformation.

 

[RBushlow]

La Chiara:

In another thread, asquared says that “Protestant” is the term that Catholics call non-Catholic Christians. Is there not agreement on the use of “Protestant” to mean non-Catholic Christian? I very much object to the use of the term “Christian” to refer to Protestants because that implies, incorrectly, that Catholics are not Christians. What are the other ways to designate Catholic vs. non-Catholic Christians? (Restricting ourselves to charitable terms, of course.)

As far as I know there are mainly three main groups of Christians. They are Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant.

 

[Robert_in_SD]

Just my two cents: Never call a non-Catholic Christian a “non-Catholic.” I inadvertently used the term once in a conversation with my protestant relative and received an “earfull” for my slip of the tounge.

My experience is that Christians coming from a mainline protestant background take no offense at being called a “protestant.” In fact they would proudly claim the title.

Evangelical (fundamentalist) Christians - on the other hand - go out of their way to avoid any association with a recognized protestant denomination. I once asked a “Christian” her denomination over and over again before she finally conceded - “Oh, I guess I’m a baptist if you force me to pick one.” That clarified her doctrine for purposes of our discussion, but I referred to her faith as that of a “non-denominational Christian” out of respect for her wish to be unassociated with any denomination.

My mormon friends, on the other hand, have actually taken offense at being called “protestant” even though their sacred scripture includes the reinterpreted KJV bible. My understanding is that they are offended because they believe their faith is the original Church of Jesus Christ restored to earth after a 1700 year absence. Thus, they never left any faith out of protest as did Luther, Calvin, etc.

These experiences are anecdotal of course. But from my experiences, I think the best route to take is to establish what the person you are speaking with prefers to be called, and then use that term.

Peace be with you,

:twocents:

 

[RBushlow]

Cat:

As a rule, Protestants don’t like being called “Protestants,” or to be identified with any organized denomination. They like being called “just Christians.”

The problem is, when discussing beliefs such as in these forums or in conversation, you need a way to distinguish between the different sets of beliefs. If you refer to the “Christian” beliefs, it implies that we are not Christian, which is incorrect. So, as far as I’m concerned, Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox the most useful linguistic facilities.

 

[Exporter]

Timidity:

Are you including the Othodox churches? They’re not Catholic, but it’s inappropriate to call them Protestants.

---

You just said that the Orthodox Churches are not Catholic. May I say never in my long life have I heard the Russian Orthodox or the Greek Orthodox Churches Called Protestant.

I’ve been taught that the Protestants were “protesting” against the Catholic Church starting in about 1540. Lutherans were the first protestors.

The Orthodox Churches separated in 1054. Over the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. Their Eucharist is valid!

 

[Andyman1517]

I’m a protestant and don’t feel ashamed to be called one. I don’t think it’s right to label the Orthodox Churches as protestant, however. The word protestant wasn’t coined and used by anyone until during the Council of Trent period. If you tend to adhere to the “tradition” of the church, like all good catholics should, then those of the Orthodox Churches shouldn’t be called protestant. In fact, they have just as much claim to call Catholics protestants

As for Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, there leaders all broke away from mainline protestant denominations, so perhaps a more apt name for them would be “protestant protesters”.

 

[jennstall]

I’ve never met a member of the mainline churches who disputed the term Protestant so I think that term is fine for them. If you’re protesting something you’re usually happy to have that label stuck to you.

Some Evangelicals and Pentacostals are happy to have those attributions so I refer to them as Evangelical Christians and Pentacostal Christians.

As for JWs and Mormons, they aren’t Christian so I don’t lump them in with Christians. I call them JWs and Mormons. I won’t dispute their “Christianity” with them because it is not worth it though.

As for the non-denominational Christians it is tricky. My experience with many of them is that they purposely refer to themselves as “just Christian” in an attempt to establish the higher ground. I’m all in favor of ecuminism, but there has to be some limits so I’d prefer to annoy them by lumping them in with the Protestants rather than letting them get away with that. The only reason I’d hesitate to do that is for fear of offending the real Protestants Of course, many non-denominational Christians are fundamentalist so maybe we could just call them that??

 

[RobedWithLight]

La Chiara:

Yes, I know that is a term that the Catholic Church (the Catechism of the Catholic Church and priests) use. But when you are talking to and about people who are Christian but not Catholic, are you going to say “You separated brethen have different practices than Catholics”?

Nor do I think it makes sense in that circumstance to say “You Christians have different practices than Catholics.”

Instead, the only term that seems right to me is to say “You Protestants have different practices than Catholics.”

So my question is: Would non-Catholic Christians resent the use of Protestant in that way to refer to those Christians who are not Catholic? It seems to me that only a very few, if any at all, would object.

Indeed. But the original post does not ask about what term we should use when talking to non-Catholics**.** The title of the original post simply asks what term should we use when referring to non-Catholics,

Gerry