Protestantism and Catholicism - Essay Example

Without a doubt, there is an indelible connection between the secular and religious lives of many individuals. In many instances, religious beliefs transcend into the daily existence and have a prolific effect on popular culture. This notion became evident during the Reformation Era which occurred between 1500 A.D. and 1650 A.D. During this period in history, Martin Luther, noticed that there were many inconsistencies within the Catholic Church. Much of this had to do with the sale of indulgences as well as the notion that there was systematic corruption within the Catholic Church. Other significant concerns expressed by Martin Luther entailed the notion that there were fundamental ideological differences between the religious truths as Martin Luther saw it and the doctrine of the Catholic Church. These differences included the notion of purgatory, particular judgment, devotion to Mary, the intercession of the saints, most of the sacraments, and the authority of the Pope.1 These ideological differences led to a split within the Catholic Church. This split effectively led to the creation of the Protestant Church as well as a difference in the way in which both churches set out to negotiate with the popular culture of the time. This paper will focus on these differences and illuminate the underlying causes of contention. First and foremost, in order to conceptualize the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism with regards to the negotiation of popular culture it is prudent that we discuss the basic tenets of the two religions. Most importantly, the fundamental religious beliefs of Catholics are those that have been derived from the New Testament and are symbolized through the many sacraments. The most fundamental belief is one that entails the notion that there is a holy trinity and the deity consists of three divine persons-God the father, the son and the Holy Ghost.2 Within the Catholic Church there is a central belief that God came into being as a direct result of the incarnation of his Son. Within the Catholic tradition there is an emphasis on sacraments. Essentially, there are seven sacraments. These sacraments include Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick. The Sacraments are essentially ceremonies which highlight what is important, sacred and significant in the lives of Catholics. Of these sacraments, the Baptism and the Eucharist have special prominence in that the Baptism is the sacramental entry into religious life for Catholics and the Eucharist is the symbolic memorial of the death and subsequent resurrection of Christ. Another important sacrament is that of the Reconciliation wherein Catholics are given absolution from their sins through the process of confession.3 The Protestant Reformation era represents a split within the Catholic Church and the emergence of the Protestant Church as a corrective action for dealing with what Martin Luther and other reformists felt were inherent flaws within Christianity. First and foremost, the official start of the reformation can be seen in 1517 when Martin Luther, an ex-communicated monk, produced his ninety-five theses which delineated his repugnance at the fact that there was a systematic abuse of papal power. This abuse was most evident in the sale of indulgences by Pope Leo X as a means of raising funds for the construction of the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.4 This action served to infuriate an already furious Martin Luther who was essentially appalled at the fact that the powers afforded the Pope continued to expand and had become such that the Catholic Church not only asserted its influence on the mundane existence of its constituents but its influence was now evident in the determination of the quality of after-life afforded to believers. Essentially, his main contention involved the fact that faith had taken a diminished role while good acts were given a more prominent role. The notion of one buying his/her way into heaven was one that disturbed Luther who resorted to the Bible for guidance. In so doing, the scriptures served as reassurance that many of the practices adopted by the Catholic Church proved to deviate from the scriptures.5 As a direct result of the repugnance experienced by Martin Luther, the Protestant Church was born. The Protestant Church embodied four main distinctions from the Catholic Church. One of the most fundamental differences was one which revolved around the utility of the scriptures and the source of guidance within the faith. In this vein, Protestants believe that the Bible served at the only source of God's desires with regards to mankind. Protestantism views the Bible as offering the only guidelines for Christian behavior. This concept is referred to as "Sola Scriptura" and is one of the "Five Solas" which emerged as a direct result of the Protestant Reformation and stand as the defining factors in the delineation of differences between Protestants and Catholics.6 Another major defining factor among Catholics and Protestants is the relative roles of the Pope within the different religions. Within Catholicism the Pope is seen as somewhat of a replacement for Christ in that he is seen as the visible head of the Church. As such he is granted the unilateral ability to discuss matters as they relate to faith and is seen as the ultimate authority on the practice of faith among Catholics. His teachings are essentially viewed as infallible and binding to all Christians. In Protestantism, however, the pope is viewed as a fallible human with an intimate knowledge of the scriptures. It is felt within the Protestant Church that only Christ has the power to be the head of the church. Essentially, Protestants believe that the authority of the Church is derived from the scriptures while Catholics rely on the belief that the Christian Church is the spiritual successor of the Apostles and attempts to establish the Pope's authority through this apostolic succession. More appropriately, this difference can be articulated in the fact that Catholicism teaches that only the Catholic Church is able to interpret the Bible while Protestantism teaches that God sent the Holy Spirit to inculcate the power to understand the Bible in each and every believer. In supporting this notion Protestants cite the following passage in the Bible which was taken from John 14 verses 16-17.7 A third major difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is the fact that Protestants view salvation as one that is accomplished through faith and total adherence to the scriptures. Catholics, on the other hand feel that faith is essential but it must be supplemented by civic contribution or what is referred to as "meritorious works" in order to be gain redemption. Additionally, the Catholic doctrine includes tenets for salvation which rely on the Seven Sacraments. This notion is absent in the Protestant tradition wherein there is a strong belief that faith alone is necessary for salvation in that Christ has offered the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of man and believing in him is the only penitence necessary.8 A fourth major difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is one that involves the treatment of icons. According to the Protestant Reformists, the fact that the Catholic Church utilized images of the saints proved to be blasphemous and against the religious teachings contained in the bible. More specifically, it violated the very specific standards delineated in the bible with regards to the treatment of idols and graven images. For example, Exodus 20: 4-5 states "You shall not make for yourself an image in the likeness of anything in heavens above or on the earth beneath or in the waters underneath the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them." It was clear that the utility of saints within the Catholic Church violated this and in becoming cognizant of this blatant violation, Martin Luther and the other reformists were very diligent in engaging in the practice of iconoclasm which essentially meant that the religious icons within the Catholic Church would be systematically destroyed under the tenets that they proved detrimental to religion as we know it.9 Finally, the fifth major difference between Protestantism as embodied in the tenets of the Reformation and Catholicism can be seen in the fact that there is a fundamental difference between the two with regards to the final disposition of believers. The Catholic tradition speaks of the doctrine of purgatory whereby individuals who have not sought penitence for their sins but have otherwise led God-fearing lives are placed for all eternity. Essentially, it is that undefined place between heaven and hell. This concept, however, is one that is absent in the Protestant tradition. Within the Protestant tradition, it is believed that because individuals are endowed with faith in Christ, this serves as absolution for their sins and facilitates direct admission into heaven. This is substantiated in the Bible and is present in the fifth chapter of Corinthians verse 6-10 and the first chapter of Philippians verse 23.10 The stark differences between the practices of the Catholic Church and the desires of the Reformists proved to be too monumental to be settled through peaceful protest and other non-violent means. Essentially, this disagreement had taken a violent turn and effectively resulted in a series of seven religious wars fought in France during the time period of 1562 and 1598. These wars include the First Religious War (1562 - 1563), The Second War (1567-1568), The Third War (1568-1570), The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572), The Fourth War (1572-1573), The Fifth War (1576), The Sixth War (1577), The Seventh War (1580), The War of the Three Henries (1584-1589) and The Wars of the League (1589-1598). These wars were fought based on the fact that the Protestant Reformists failed to exhibit religious tolerance and were unrelenting in their demands of the Catholic Church.11 As a direct result of the religious wars, millions of individuals lost their lives and the Christianity was fractured into approximately 35,000 different faith groups.12 After having discussed the fundamental difference between Catholicism and Protestantism it is now prudent that we examine the way in which these two religions negotiate with popular culture. Burke (1978) purport that the Catholic and Protestant Churches had two very different ways of negotiating with popular culture. The Catholic Church embodied a more tolerant view of popular culture and was all in favor of reform in some of the fundamental areas of incongruence. The Protestant Church, however, embodied the belief that complete abolition was necessary. Essentially, the Church had to negotiate between the discourse experienced in popular culture as a direct result of the diametrically opposing points-of-view within religion and secular thought. In negotiating this, the Catholic Church attempted to reach a compromise with what had become a much more refined distinction between what has been known during the Middle Ages as the godly and the ungodly. Much of the teachings of the Catholic Church were seen as the epitome of ungodliness according to Martin Luther and the other reformists and it was felt that those teachings needed to be abolished in favor for living a life modeled after that of Jesus.13 A secondary objection to popular culture was one which was fought on moral grounds. It was felt that many of the traditional festivals within popular culture were plagued by sin and even more specifically were conducted in the presence of alcohol, extreme gluttony, the propensity to lust for things of flesh and all of the devilish pleasures. Essentially there seemed to be a prevalence of indecency and moral decadence associated with popular culture. Ulte (1976) remarked that the notoriety of the festivals had gotten to the point where the number of festivals had systematically decreased over the course of time. This decrease was a direct result of mitigating the damages caused by the proliferation of ungodliness among popular culture. As a precautionary measure, Henry IV appealed to the pope in order to reduce the number of fets within France. It was felt that as a direct result of the number of fets within France, the people succumb to drunkenness and as a result a clear and constant dereliction of their duties in the fields. This was not to be tolerated as popular culture was responsible for not only the degradation of moral values but also the systematic decay of a strong work ethic that had been established among the men in the Middle Ages.14 The Protestants, on the other hand, sought to outlaw any and all celebrations as they proved to be blasphemous in nature.15 Finally, in exploring the varying views of the Catholic and Protestant Churches from a merely superficial point of view, one would think that the Catholic Church would prove to be more rigid with regards to negotiating with popular culture. A close examination revealed that this was definitely a fallacy. The Catholic Church proved to be more permissive and embodied the belief that a middle ground between the Church and secular life was essential in facilitating a peaceful coexistence. The Reformists on the other hand embodied the belief that there was a dire need for complete restructuring of the Church and a return to godliness. As a direct result, the Protestant Church was born and had grown to embody the belief that popular culture was responsible for the slow and consistent descent into ungodliness-one that could not be tolerated and had to be stopped by any means necessary. After having explored the varying views of the Catholic and Protestant Churches within the realm of religious tolerance, it is prudent that to state that the Reformists had a clear vision of what they felt was morally and ethically correct based on the contents of the bible. The wars incited by the Reformist were done on the basis of the teachings of the bible. It was interesting to see that they utilized the methods delineated in the Old Testament as a basis for fighting their battles when there is a clear contradiction between the teachings of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament teaches us that if we are wronged by an individual or a group, we are to seek reparation yet the New Testament teaches us that if we are wronged, we should not seek reparation. Clearly, we are faced with a case where we are given diametrically opposing points of view encompassed in the same book. This begs the question of how do we interpret this One answer to this question is that the New Testament superseded the Old Testament and any ambiguity between the two should be cleared up by resorting to the teachings of the New Testament. This is logical but the Reformists did not implore logic. This is an example of what could happen when logic is neglected. Bibliography Armstrong, D., The Protestant Inquisition: Reformation Intolerance and Persecution, Retrieved 1 March 2007 from < http://ic.net/erasmus/RAZ247.HTM>. Burke, P., Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe, New York, New York University Press, 1978, pp. 198-224. Cooper, J.F., Tenacious of Their Liberties: The Congregationalists in Colonial Massachusetts, New York, Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 14-16 Forell, G.W., The Protestant Faith. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1960, p. 199. Le Poulet Gauche, The Wars of Religion, Retrieved 1 March 2007 from < http://www.lepg.org/wars.htm>. O'Collins, G. & Farrugia, M., Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity. Oxford, England, Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 234-297. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, Glossary of Religious Terms Starting with "R", Retrieved 1 March 2007 from < http://www.religioustolerance.org/gl_r.htm> Sheridan, T.L., Newman and Luther on Justification. Retrieved 1 March 2007, from Questia database: , 2001, pp. 217-223. Ulte, J.M., 'The suppression of fets in France 1666', The Catholic Historical Review, No. 62(2), 1976, pp. 181-199. Webber, F.R., Church Symbolism: An Explanation of the More Important Symbols of the Old and New Testament, the Primitive, the Mediaeval and the Modern Church (2nd Rev. ed.). Cleveland, OH, J. H. Jansen, 1938, pp. 39-49. Wikipedia, Protestant Reform, Retrieved 1 March 2007 from . Witte, J., Law and Protestantism: The Legal Teachings of the Lutheran Reformation, Cambridge, England, Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 65. Read More