Which protestant denomination is most close in doctrine to the catholic church?

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I was Evangelical Protestant for the first 47 years of my life.

I don’t know the mainline Protestant denominational beliefs in detail, but I question whether the mainlines are truly closest to Catholicism in doctrine. Liturgical worship, yes–many of the mainline liturgical worship services are similar to the Catholic Mass, although many of the mainlines are getting away from liturgical worship services and using a more contemporary, non-liturgical approach in a desperate attempt to try to attract people away who are flocking into the Evangelical Protestant denominations, including many of the non-denominational church and of course, the megachurches that use a “non-church” approach to worship.

However, many of the mainlines are very “fuzzy” in their doctrines, and practice or endorse things that are utterly contrary to Christianity, including support of abortion rights and support and ENCOURAGEMENT of active practice of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Also, many of the mainlines have adopted a very liberal theology in which “Jesus” was just a “good man” who died, but his “goodness” is alive today in anyone who has “love.” I’ve actually heard a sermon in the Congregational Church denying the literal resurrection of Jesus and claiming that it was his love for all mankind that lives on in all of us. Shudder.

I would say that the Protestant denomination most close in doctrine to the Catholic Church is the Christian church/Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ. These are the Campbellite denominations.

The small “c” in “Christian church” is deliberate. The Church of Christ is NOT the same as the United Church of Christ–oh, good heavens no, slap your mouth for even thinking such an awful thing!!!

My husband and I were involved in several denominations of Evangelical Protestantism, including several years in a Christian church, and knew the beliefs of quite a few of the denominations. The Campbellite denominations are unique in several respects:
  1. They are part of the “restoration” movement, which seeks to restore the church to the way it was in the New Testament.
  2. They offer Communion at every service.
  3. They believe that a person must be baptized to be saved. This was very difficult for my husband and I to accept while we were in the Christian church, as we were always taught that baptism is an outward sign of an inner commitment. But the Christian church clearly teaches that a person MUST be baptized to be saved. We considered this a “work of man,” and didn’t really believe it at the time. (It’s OK in most Protestant denoms and churches to disagree with points of doctrine, as long as you believe in Jesus.)
  4. The pastor is not in charge of the church. He is just another elder in the Church. There is no denominational headquarters, and Jesus is considered the Head of the Church.
My husband and I both feel strongly that our years in the Christian church prepared us to eventually be attracted to the Catholic Church. We learned to love and long for Communion in the Christian church, and always felt deprived in Evangelical Protestant churches where communion services were held only a few times a year.
 
Chiefsinner said:
Could be Lutherans or Anglicans not to sure about the others
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It would be a pretty short swim across the Tiber for Lutherans (at least LCMS ones). Then again, a lot of them find it easy enough to swim the Bosphorus, too.
 
Celtic_Maiden said:
The Eastern Orthodox Church not in Communion with Rome.
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As I’m sure many others will point out we’re not Protestant . Reformation came long after schism. Protestants were “protesting” against Roman Catholicism
 
All High Church Anglicans and LCMS would have to do is accept some papal ideas and they would pretty much be Catholic.
 
Cat said:
I would say that the Protestant denomination most close in doctrine to the Catholic Church is the Christian church/Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ. These are the Campbellite denominations.

The small “c” in “Christian church” is deliberate. The Church of Christ is NOT the same as the United Church of Christ–oh, good heavens no, slap your mouth for even thinking such an awful thing!!!

My husband and I were involved in several denominations of Evangelical Protestantism, including several years in a Christian church, and knew the beliefs of quite a few of the denominations. The Campbellite denominations are unique in several respects:
  1. They are part of the “restoration” movement, which seeks to restore the church to the way it was in the New Testament.
  2. They offer Communion at every service.
  3. They believe that a person must be baptized to be saved. This was very difficult for my husband and I to accept while we were in the Christian church, as we were always taught that baptism is an outward sign of an inner commitment. But the Christian church clearly teaches that a person MUST be baptized to be saved. We considered this a “work of man,” and didn’t really believe it at the time. (It’s OK in most Protestant denoms and churches to disagree with points of doctrine, as long as you believe in Jesus.)
  4. The pastor is not in charge of the church. He is just another elder in the Church. There is no denominational headquarters, and Jesus is considered the Head of the Church.
My husband and I both feel strongly that our years in the Christian church prepared us to eventually be attracted to the Catholic Church. We learned to love and long for Communion in the Christian church, and always felt deprived in Evangelical Protestant churches where communion services were held only a few times a year.
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Hi Cat;

My stepchildren were initially raised in the Church of Christ, and based on what they have shared, there are some pretty significant differences in sacraments (infant baptism, Real Presence in the Eucharist). Those were two big issues for our family in the early years and while they never became members of the Lutheran church, they did learn some true church history (and by that I mean the history of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, and where the other churces branched off).
 
That would be Episcopalian. …aka “Catholic Lite”…all tbe same sins…half the guilt.
 
I’ve heard Episcopalian is very close to Catholic. I’ve often wanted to attend just to see what it’s about.
 
cradlecatholic5 said:
I’ve heard Episcopalian is very close to Catholic. I’ve often wanted to attend just to see what it’s about.
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It came directly from the Catholics, bishops and all, iirc, until they changed the rite of oordination or something.
 
A few options:
  • Revisionist Anglo-Catholic splinter groups (who claim to be Anglican, but reject the whole doctrine of the Reformers - they just happen to like thees and thous and dislike the idea of obeying the Pope)
  • SSPX and other “traditionalist” “more Roman than Rome” churches
  • PNCC and the more orthodox among “Old Catholic” jurisdictions
  • Conservative Methodists have Arminian doctrines concerning salvation than are pretty close to Roman Catholicism
Both of these groups would hate being called Protestant. Since they are mostly of 19th and 20th century origin, the term “Protestant” (more a 16c Reformation label) might fit awkwardly.
 
Depends on what you mean by Protestant. If you mean any ecclesial body that split from the Catholic Church, then you could say the Society of St. Pius X (and the SSPV), Old Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and the Assyrian Church of the East are the closest to a full confession of Catholicism, in that order.

If you’re specifically referring to any ecclesial group that can trace their heritage to the apostasies of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and King Henry in the 16th century: most definitely “Anglo-Catholics”, which are members of the Catholic Church in all but name, and members of the Anglican Communion or Episcopal Church in nothing but formality. Next would probably be conservative Lutherans and Methodists.
 
From what little I know, I will answer as best I can.

Based on what I have seen here, I would have to say the Lutherans. They support many of our Catholic doctrines, and their separation is MOSTLY (but not exclusively) a result of authority issues.

As another poster said, it would be a rather short swim for them.
 
Some High-Church Anglicans and Lutherans (especially LCMS). They’re practically Catholics, just without the Pope. 😃

I think what you’ll find is that, the younger the denomination is, the further it’ll be from Catholicism.
 
rfournier103 said:
Based on what I have seen here, I would have to say the Lutherans. They support many of our Catholic doctrines, and their separation is MOSTLY (but not exclusively) a result of authority issues.
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Wouldn’t literally every apostasy or schism from the Catholic Church be a result of not accepting the Church’s authority? Even if there are some underlying doctrinal disagreements – after all, the only reason those can exist is if one posits that the Church is not the infallible interpreter of the Holy Scriptures and Sacred Tradition.
 
Lutherans believe in sola fide. That is an entirely different from the doctrine of synergy/semipelagianism codified at Trent.
 
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