Protestants and Catholics: Differences and Similarities - Essay Sample

Introduction

Protestants and Catholics are among the divisions in one religion, all of them worship the same Supreme Being. There are some differences and similarities that make the two to be seen as different or related to each other (Mary et al 51). Starting from the beliefs regarding the Bible, both Catholics and Protestants believe differently. There are some practices which make them differ from one another. Despite the differences, they are still Christians in terms of religion. As discussed in this context, both the similarities and differences are seen as essential in keeping the two divisions.

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One of the similarities of the Catholics and the Protestants is that they both worship one God. This makes them be related to one another. The common belief that there exists one God who is the Father, one Son who is Jesus and the Spirit, is common in both Protestants and Catholics (Starks 315). Both of them also believe that God is the only sole giver of life.

The common understanding of the church is among the many differences that exist between the Catholic Church and the Protestant church. The Catholics tend to think that their church is the only church that is true, on the other hand, the Protestants are made up of other subdivisions of churches and none of them tend to think they are bigger than others (Zulfikar 490). This belief causes a difference between the two.

The common understanding of the Bible is also a difference between the Catholics and Protestants. The Bible is important according to the Protestants because it gives them a proper way to relate to God (Zulfikar 492). In other words, the Bible helps Protestants to live with God in their lives. On the other hand, the Catholics are dependent on that Roman Church Culture when it comes to the way of living and how to relate to God. The Catholics do not have to depend on the Bible; their doctrines seem to control them.

The Catholics under the papal Supremacy seem to think that the Pope who is the pastor of the whole division has powers to do anything he likes (Starks 316). The pope is given powers that are not regulated in any way. This case comes about because they believe that the Pope is ordained by God. On the other hand, the Protestants consider the church as a place where everyone is equal. According to them, anyone can be a priest; it only depends on the calling from God. This belief seems to create some freedom among the Protestants.

According to the Protestants, the provisions of the Papal supremacy are not part of Christianity (Starks 319). This argument makes them go against the common practice of Papal supremacy by Catholics. The Catholics, on the other hand, seem to think that the Bible supports this practice and the Pope is given authority by God. They argue that the presence of the Pope is a symbolic representation of the time of Peter. The Pope is seen to have succeeded in the roles of Peter who was appointed by Jesus to take control of the gospel among people.

The common practice of Eucharist in Catholics or the Lord's Supper in Protestants makes them differ in a way (Mary et al 52). The Catholics tend to believe that the priest is the one that takes charge of the whole ceremony. The Protestants think that the people who are baptized are the same; therefore anyone can lead the process. As per the Protestants, there is no specific person who should control the Last Supper.

The Catholics also tend to believe that Mary the mother of Jesus is the queen of heaven. Mary's virginity is significant to purity according to the Catholics (Mary et al 57). The Protestants do not put much interest in Mary as a symbol of a queen in heaven; she is just seen as the mother of Jesus. The Catholics are also known to have a common practice of remembering the people who died in faith as Saints (Zulfikar 498). This allows them to use such people as role models in faith. In most cases, their remains are preserved. The Protestants do not consider this as important; they consider the practice as not biblical.

The Catholics have the seven rites of the sacrament, all of them are important to them. The rites include; Baptism, Matrimony, Penance, Holy Orders, Confirmation, extreme unction and Eucharist (Zulfikar 500). The Catholics practice all the seven compared to Protestants who only practice two. Baptism and Eucharist are the only practices that the Protestants are involved in. The Eucharist among the Protestants is called the Lord's Supper.

Conclusion

To sum up, what makes the Catholics be different from Protestants is the belief based on bread and wine. Among the Catholics, bread and wine are believed to be the body of Christ when taken together. The Protestants on the other side believe that the bread and wine only represent the body of Christ and blood; they cannot be the body of Christ and blood. However, the two are similar in the belief in the supreme God. Papa supremacy has been the reason for the Protestants keeping anti-Catholic campaigns through history. Through the ways that Catholics are organized under Roman culture, the Protestants claim that they are not Christians.

Work Cited

Mary E. Bendyna, R. S. M., et al. "Uneasy Alliance: Conservative Catholics and the Christian Right." Sociology of Religion, vol. 62, no. 1, 2001, pp. 51-64.

Starks, Brian. "Exploring Religious Self-Identification among U.S. Catholics: Traditional, Moderates, and Liberals." Sociology of Religion, vol. 74, no. 3, 2013, pp. 314-342.

Zulfikar, Yavuz Fahir. "Do Muslims Believe More in Protestant Work Ethic than Christians? Comparison of People with Different Religious Background Living in the US." Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 105, no. 4, 2012, pp. 489-502.