With so many Protestant denominations surely at least a few of them went back to thinking that the world’s de facto agency is free will,didn’t they?
Except for Calvinists, I’m wondering how far apart most Protestant denominations are from Roman Catholic teaching. Along with Catholicism, I think most would say that the will is not free to turn to God on its own, but needs prevenient Grace to enable it. Article 10 of the Anglican 39 Articles says:
“The condition of Man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith, and calling upon God: Wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing [going before] us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.”
According to a Wikipedia article, Arminius said, “Concerning grace and free will, this is what I teach according to the Scriptures and orthodox consent: Free will is unable to begin or to perfect any true and spiritual good, without grace… This grace [prœvenit] goes before, accompanies, and follows; it excites, assists, operates that we will, and co operates lest we will in vain.”
That same article quotes the Council of Trent as saying, “The Synod furthermore declares, that in adults, the beginning of the said Justification is to be derived from the prevenient grace of God, through Jesus Christ, that is to say, from His vocation, whereby, without any merits existing on their parts, they are called; that so they, who by sins were alienated from God, may be disposed through His quickening and assisting grace, to convert themselves to their own justification, by freely assenting to and co-operating with that said grace.”
Even with Lutherans, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification seems to indicate that it’s more a difference in emphasis than a major theological rift:
" Human Powerlessness and Sin in Relation to Justification
19.We confess together that all persons depend completely on the saving grace of God for their salvation. The freedom they possess in relation to persons and the things of this world is no freedom in relation to salvation, for as sinners they stand under God’s judgment and are incapable of turning by themselves to God to seek deliverance, of meriting their justification before God, or of attaining salvation by their own abilities. Justification takes place solely by God’s grace. Because Catholics and Lutherans confess this together, it is true to say:
20.When Catholics say that persons “cooperate” in preparing for and accepting justification by consenting to God’s justifying action, they see such personal consent as itself an effect of grace, not as an action arising from innate human abilities.
21.According to Lutheran teaching, human beings are incapable of cooperating in their salvation, because as sinners they actively oppose God and his saving action. Lutherans do not deny that a person can reject the working of grace. When they emphasize that a person can only receive (mere passive) justification, they mean thereby to exclude any possibility of contributing to one’s own justification, but do not deny that believers are fully involved personally in their faith, which is effected by God’s Word."
So Catholics and a wide range of Protestants seem to agree that the will is not free to turn to God without the grace of God enabling that response. It is in Pelagianism that we find the will of fallen man truly free to choose good without special divine aid.
We certainly have free will to reject grace. On this the confessions are quite clear.