Protestant and Catholic Denominations: Reconciling the Differences

Many people throughout the world feel that their religion, whether Protestant or Catholic, is the true religion of Jesus Christ. However, it is very common knowledge that the Protestant Christian Church formed out of the Catholic Christian Church during the Protestant Reformation. Yes, if Martin Luther hadn't tacked up his ninety-five theses or how many ever there were and the King of England didn't want a divorce from his wife during that time, it is safe to say that right now there would be only one universal Christian Church. But nevertheless, these events did occur and Christians all over the world have to live with the fact that there are literally hundreds of Christian religion denominations.

However, there are two basic types of Christianity: Protestant and Catholic. For the purpose of this article, the generic Protestant definition will engulf the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and the like. The Catholic definition will include the Catholic church in the United States and throughout the world that is guided by the Vatican in Rome under the authority of the Pope.

Although there are many differences, small and large, between the Protestant and Catholic Christian churches, there are only a few main fundamental differences. One of these differences is the main one: the issue of Communion. Catholicism teaches that the bread and wine that is used in the Mass is transubstantiated into the real presence of Jesus Christ and his Body and Blood. Protestants, however, believe that Communion time in their church services are only a symbol of the Last Supper and Jesus' death.

Several other differences lie within the other Sacraments. The Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession is an important part of the Catholic Church while it is hardly used in the Protestant denominations. Protestants use the argument that you do not need to confess your sins to a priest in order to gain absolution from your sins. However true this may be or not, wouldn't one like to have confidence that they are forgiven? For Catholics, Confession allows them to have reassurance and knowledge that they are absolutely forgiven of all of their sins by Jesus Christ.

Even though I have attended church services of only one Protestant Church but have attended the Catholic Mass my entire life, I can tell you that I see one important difference between the Protestant and Catholic church services. This difference is in the amount of reverence that is shown before and during the church service. People who attend Catholic Masses use reverence by being silent before Mass begins, genuflecting to the presence of God in the church, and have the utmost reverence when Communion-time is experienced.

On the other hand, when I attended the Protestant Church I have noticed that people are laughing and talking before the service begins and there just seems to be a "lighter" mood throughout the entire service altogether. This is not to say that Jesus Christ did not have a lighter side, because he certainly did! But it seems like that since Jesus is present where his followers are gathered, the congregation inside the Protestant Church would want to take that into account more by being more reverent.

All that being said, though, the differences between the Catholic and Protestant Churches certainly don't stop here! There are many differences between the two denominations, but those listed above are a couple of the bigger and more important issues conflicting between Catholicism and Protestantism.